Magnum Mania!

James,

Is there any way you can add a "spell check" so that when we add a post we can push a button and check our spelling? My apologies if this is an unrealistic request, but I have no idea what adding something like that would involve, i.e., memory wise, storage sapce, cost, etc. Thanks.

Hi IH,

Hmm, a spell checker. There appears to be one that should work with this version of phpBB - Spelling Cow. I'm a little bit hesitant, however. I've added several "Mods" to this board (mostly for thwarting various types of SPAM bots), which basically means changing and/or adding certain lines of code to the forum software. This "customization" can cause other add-ons to not work properly, or worse yet, break the existing software! I hate mucking around in the forum PHP code. I kind of feel like if I sneeze the wrong way, the whole house of cards could come crashing down!

But let me take a look at it further.

James J. Walters wrote:This "customization" can cause other add-ons to not work properly, or worse yet, break the existing software! I hate mucking around in the forum PHP code. I kind of feel like if I sneeze the wrong way, the whole house of cards could come crashing down!

James,

Don't worry about it, because your site is perfect as it is. Like they say, "don't fix what's not broken."

IslandHopper, there is one solution to your spell-checker problem, if you're willing to switch to another browser. Firefox, which is a free browser, offers an automatic spell check feature in their latest version.

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

The spell-checker works by underlining misspelled words with a dashed red line after you've typed them. It won't go so far as to autocorrect your words, or to suggest what word you might want to use in the place of the misspelled one. Personally, I like it, as it provides an unobtrusive hint that you might want to change a word, but still allows you to choose to deliberately misspell a word if you want to.


However, if you're unwilling to make a switch to a different browser, you can add a spell-checker plug-in for Internet Explorer. It's free, according to the website.
http://www.iespell.com/
Unfortunately, I can't tell from their website if it works in IE7, or only in IE6.

Of course, the ultimate and drastic solution is to compose your replies in a simple, lightweight word processor or word editor, and once it's done to your satisfaction, cut and paste it into the reply form in the forum. However, I'm sure this has occurred to you already. I still do that upon occasion, but most often when I really want to make sure that I've composed my thoughts, and that what I have to say makes sense. It is not a practical solution for firing off a quick response when the inspiration hits you.

Thanks for the information Grapeshot, I'll look into that. I have also cut and pasted on occasion, but as you say "it is not a practical solution when the inspiration hits you." It doesn't really matter anyway, we are all here for fun, and I'm sure nobody is critiquing our spelling (I hope I spelled 'critiquing' correctly ). Thanks again.

I usually do the cut and paste if I even bother at all. Besides, it may be good for our investigative skills to decypher some butchered spelling. I know I am an expert at it due to my poor typing skills.

Spelling doesn't count when we're here for fun and with friends. Kinda like in a chat room...

SelleckLover wrote:Spelling doesn't count when we're here for fun and with friends. Kinda like in a chat room...

I agree, we're not THAT formal here!

Glad to hear that, cause for me it`s not only spelling, but also finding the proper words, putting it into some understandable grammar and last but not least typing.
Somewhere I read, it´s hard to be funny while speaking in a foreign language - I`m glad if I`m not misunderstood at all.
And for the fun I can always use the emoticons *BG*

You're doing fine Carmen--we always welcome nice people here!

That Firefox feature is great and I now can use UK/Canadian English as my default;)

This is more of a tool for addressing typos sitewide (as opposed to proofreading individual threads) but you can consider https://www.triplechecker.com for checking every thread in the forum for errors.