# "Please correct my mistakes."



## geve

Hello forum,

I have seen parts of posts deleted for the reason that they were chat and should be dealt with by PM. The parts that were deleted indeed did not address the thread question; they were corrections on the wording of the original post. As many members on this forum, the thread starter has a signature that reads "Please correct my mistakes".

This example leads to a broader question: Are we or are we not allowed to correct the wording of posts?


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## timpeac

I think that this does vary from forum to forum a bit. Without seeing the exact example it's hard to say, but from the way you describe the situation I don't think this would be a problem in the English Only forum (perhaps by quoting the original and correcting it, for example. I think any written explanation as such would not be acceptable as it would indeed detract from the subject of the thread and invite off-topic discussion).


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## geve

Thanks Tim. I feel more comfortable if corrections are offered, especially when the poster's signature specifically asks for corrections, otherwise people (including further readers) would assume that if it weren't corrected then it's correct - or we would need to forbid this kind of signatures!!
I wanted to see if there was a general agreement on this. Well there doesn't seem to be major objections at least!


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## Kelly B

I usually begin with a PM to the person who made the error; if that doesn't result in a correction, then I might indicate it within the thread, but only if I think it is important to a clear understanding of the thread topic. Public corrections may lead the discussion off in another direction, disrupting the original discussion.  If it is really simple, it's probably fine, but sometimes it seems that even the simplest issues result in an awful lot of talk.


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## geve

Kelly B said:


> I usually begin with a PM to the person who made the error; if that doesn't result in a correction, then I might indicate it within the thread, but only if I think it is important to a clear understanding of the thread topic. Public corrections may lead the discussion off in another direction, disrupting the original discussion. If it is really simple, it's probably fine, but sometimes it seems that even the simplest issues result in an awful lot of talk.


Ok, then I might just stop correcting anything, and assume that you already sent a PM to the poster.


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## Kelly B

Probably not. I really don't send many of them. Actually, I get more of those PMs than I send - I make silly mistakes all over the place. I very much appreciate all the help I've received.

I'm sorry to sound like a... curmudgeon. Please understand that I think your suggestions are very valuable.


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## Alxmrphi

I would be very worried if someone's potential corrections cannot be given because the errors in question were deemed off topic, I really would, surely that is the _exact essence_ of what this forum is about?


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## cubaMania

I'm with Alex on this one.  I like to see corrections in the forums.  I think a great deal of the benefits of this forum derive from being able to read correct language modeled for us.  It is a language learning tool.  

Personally I have not noticed that corrections derail the threads very often.


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## timpeac

Alex_Murphy said:


> I would be very worried if someone's potential corrections cannot be given because the errors in question were deemed off topic, I really would, surely that is the _exact essence_ of what this forum is about?


Be worried, then, I'm afraid. I see your point - but a basic tenet here is not to push a thread off topic. If I ask about, say, the uses of "to do" versus "to make" and make mistakes in the question then I would feel it fine for a native speaker to correct those errors in the quote, like this 





> I do make several errors and I doesn't don't know why


but to go in to a discussion - to my understanding of the ethos here - would be wrong. Viable options would be to PM the writer or start a new thread, perhaps posting a link to what you've done in the "offending" thread.
Just to give an example of the potential scope for off-topicness, your own quote there could give a (pontentially interesting albeit off-topic) discussion of whether there should be a hyphen between "off" and "topic" and whether you should have used a full stop between "I really would" and "surely...". I say that not as a sly dig at your expression (I actually went back to read your post to see if there was anything I could potentially disagree with to make my point), simply to try to show how posts can be derailed by off-topic discussion. And say someone disagreed with the explanations given? The thread would never be about its supposed topic.


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## elroy

Personally, I think it's acceptable to make corrections to a post you are responding to, but any further discussion of those corrections should take place in a new thread.

I am not, however, a fan of submitting a whole post just to correct someone else's.


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## PhilFrEn

That's indeed a good question.

So far correcting a mistake or two is helpful and quickly made. but quoting the entire post and searching all the mistakes and so on, will lead to a confusing post in my opinion. As Elroy said, opening a new thread should be the clue. Or best, by PM.


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## LV4-26

I agree with some of the opinions here.
I've already seen signatures that said "please/feel free to *correct* my mistakes" but I've never seen one saying "please *comment* on my mistakes".
Therefore, I think correcting in the quote is fine. But the answerer should do just that, and the original poster should refrain from asking questions about the corrections, and open a new thread/new threads for that instead.

That's what usually happens in the EO forum. Otherwise, the thread in question is bound to go off topic. It may even get to the point that the participants no longer know what the original topic was.


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## Agnès E.

PhilFrEn said:


> That's indeed a good question.
> 
> So far correcting a mistake or two is helpful and quickly made. but quoting the entire post and searching all the mistakes and so on, will lead to a confusing post in my opinion. As Elroy said, opening a new thread should be the clue. Or best, by PM.


Merci, Phil. This is exactly what is expected from our members. 

As usual, common sense and reality don't match all the time  and some people cannot refrain; we then have to remove the off-topic discussion started inside the thread.


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## geve

Just to make this clear, I am NOT speaking here about typos - I send PMs for that, too. I am specifically talking about *language mistakes made by people who bear a signature that says "please correct me". *And I agree with Elroy - I'm not suggesting that people start posting messages just to correct mistakes (not that I have seen this happen often). 

So on one side there seems to be an agreement on the fact that *correcting is fine but not commenting*. 
Active members seem to already have the habit of opening a new thread when a correction leaves them puzzled - at least in the French-English forums, many a thread is started by a non-native speaker based on what s/he read in a post (those who have this kind of signatures are usually people eager to learn anyway ). 

On the other side, am I to understand that it's something we are not allowed to do any more in the French forums?

Agnès, I don't understand why you say "some people cannot refrain". It's not an irrrepressible urge to chat, but an answer to the original poster's request for corrections. It never seemed to me that writing "Tim, it's _mécanicien_, not _mécanichien_" as a note to one's post was an unforgivable sin - please tell me that at least it's not as bad as using English in the French only forum!!!


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## KaRiNe_Fr

I usually correct into my posts (often into a P.S.) one big mistake (not all, of course!) I think it is worth it, and in a lower font size at the end of my answer.
I saw some of my fellow foreros doing this way. They all have such a lack of common sense sometimes...  
I understand now they are no good examples and we should avoid behave this way even if the original poster claimed for corrections in their posts (or into their sig)... and count on others to PM them.


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## Agnès E.

geve said:


> Agnès, I don't understand why you say "some people cannot refrain".


Because some people just cannot refrain. 

Seriously, some members persist in hijacking other people's threads with their own questions/comments on corrections made by other members, thus starting a parallel discussion inside a thread.
This is not only disturbing and unpolite, this is also forbidden. 


> It's not an irrrepressible urge to chat, but an answer to the original poster's request for corrections. It never seemed to me that writing "Tim, it's _mécanicien_, not _mécanichien_" as a note to one's post was an unforgivable sin


Why write corrections in the thread when sending a PM is so easy and won't interrupt the discussion?
After the one-day period granted for editing their own posts, members can easily ask a moderator to edit and correct on their behalf. Mistakes are mostly spotted very quickly, nevertheless, while the person is still online, can read the pm and correct his mistakes without any problem.

What isn't an unforgivable sin when made once in a while becomes a major annoyance when repeated dozens of times everyday. 
Replying to posters' request for corrections is fine (no one is arguing against that!) but within the frame of WR rules. Sending a PM is so easy! why pollute threads with off-topic discussions, then?



KaRiNe_Fr said:


> I usually correct into my posts (often into a P.S.) one big mistake (not all, of course!) I think it is worth it, and in a lower font size at the end of my answer.
> I saw some of my fellow foreros doing this way. They all have such a lack of common sense sometimes...
> I understand now they are no good examples and we should avoid behave this way even if the original poster claimed for corrections in their posts (or into their sig)... and count on others to PM them.


The problem, as stated, is not to correct them publicly. 
The problem occurs when a post is limited to a correction of another member's post without any addition to the topic involved, and when this member (or worse: another one) jumps on the opportunity to open a parallel discussion inside the thread. THIS is lack of common sense and politeness, don't you agree? 

I don't understand this part of your post: _and count on others to PM them. _


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## geve

I think we have a misunderstanding here Agnès.


Agnès E. said:


> Seriously, some members persist in hijacking other people's threads with their own questions/comments on corrections made by other members, thus starting a parallel discussion inside a thread.
> This is not only disturbing and unpolite, this is also forbidden.


Everyone in this thread seems to agree with that. 
What surprised me in your post is that you seem to consider that posting a correction (a _correction_, not a _comment _- and provided it's not the only purpose of the post) is chat and should be deleted. 
There are contradictory opinions here, so I really think it's important that we clarify that.

I am personally in favour of the edit function being used only for minor changes (such as typos) - I feel especially incomfortable when edition is done a while after the post was originally posted; I see it as a disturbing way to re-write reality (and members who had posted in the meantime might not even read the corrected version). But that's just my very personal opinion.


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## KaRiNe_Fr

Agnès E. said:


> [...] Replying to posters' request for corrections is fine (no one is arguing against that!) but within the frame of WR rules. Sending a PM is so easy! why pollute threads with off-topic discussions, then?


 I didn't speak about "discussions" here, I agree with you it shouldn't occur, but only about "corrections".
And I didn't know (until now) corrections were seen as "pollutions" either.


Agnès E. said:


> The problem, as stated, is not to correct them publicly.


But you just seem to encourage not to do it publicly but privately, right?


Agnès E. said:


> The problem occurs when a post is limited to a correction of another member's post without any addition to the topic involved,


No, this is not the topic of this thread. We were talking only about corrections inside of a "valuable" post.


Agnès E. said:


> and when this member (or worse: another one) jumps on the opportunity to open a parallel discussion inside the thread. THIS is lack of common sense and politeness, don't you agree?


This is perfect hijacking I think, hence reprehensible. And such a behaviour can be particularily annoying for the mod you are, I can understand that. But once again, I think it's not the subject of this thread not speaking about "discussion" but "correction".
As an aside, sometimes what one can call "parallel" can be seen as "connate" by another one. 



Agnès E. said:


> I don't understand this part of your post: _and count on others to PM them. _


Let me translate my bad English (Karinish? ) in better French for you: "et compter sur d'autres membres pour leur envoyer un PM".


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## DearPrudence

OK, I hope I've read everything through but I'll just say what I usually do (sorry for possible repeats).

I never correct a whole post, no matter what the signature is. 
What I do is that I correct what surrounds the question, or the sentence in which the expression is rather. I usually do it on the sly, sometimes I put it green, or sometimes, I just change it to the correct spelling (especially when I know it's just a typo (& I hope the poster will see it & change it)) & make no comment. 
I think it's important sometimes for other learners. If you don't correct mistakes, they could assume it's right while it's not.
And if I have nothing to say in the thread where I notice an important mistake, then I PM the person, with the hope he will change the typo. Sometimes, unfortunately, the forer@ refuses to make the change, is not polite or ignore you(r advice), but that's another story ... ) 
Personally I think it would be a pain in the ... neck to send a PM for every mistake, typo you see in a thread you participate in while you could simply correct it very quickly for the sake of everyone.

For the moment, I have had only one thread going really off-topic (which I have reported myself )* with a particularly chatty & off-topic-habit forer@ so I think it's not that bad. 

But if I'm not mistaken we've all agreed on that, haven't we?

* Actually I seem to remember it was not even on something "off-topic" I had corrected but just because hewas curious :-D


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## Agnès E.

The original question being:


> This example leads to a broader question: Are we or are we not allowed to correct the wording of posts?


I genuily think that we all were on topic.
Sometimes, a yes-or-no reply is not enough; the present question cannot be answered by a simple yes or no, since corrections too often lead to comments and off-topic discussions. Furthermore, _yes_, having several posts corrected for the sake of correction _is_ pollution, when nothing else is added to answer the original question. Not to mention that this directly infringes rule #9:



> Stay on the topic of the first post in each thread. If you wish to talk about a related subject, open a new thread.


Correcting whole posts all along the thread is not _staying on the topic of the first post in each thread_.

Should one carefully read all answers in this thread, one would find replies from various mods from various forums, who actually all agree about the ins and outs of correcting other members' posts: it's just a matter of common sense, courtesy and respect of the rules. As long as people cannot stay within the frame of common sense and respect of the rules, we'll have to act in accordance, I'm afraid. Don't forget that we all, as members, shape the atmosphere of forums by our attitude. Some forums are easily maintained with a light hand, some need more care.


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## mickaël

Agnès E. said:
			
		

> Why write corrections in the thread when sending a PM is so easy and won't interrupt the discussion?
> After the one-day period granted for editing their own posts, members can easily ask a moderator to edit and correct on their behalf.


I think it would give more work for the moderators, and I'm not convinced it's useful. Lots of forer@s wouldn't like to lose time to write a PM to indicate a mistake, and most of the forer@s will never be aware that they shouldn't correct the mistakes off-topic on the forum (so the modos would have to delete the corrections, and add it in the start message). I find that just report the thread if it goes off-topic is better. A little correction is not really disturbing for the reading.


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## geve

Agnès E. said:


> Furthermore, _yes_, having several posts corrected for the sake of correction _is_ pollution, when nothing else is added to answer the original question.


Let's not always consider the worst eventuality, shall we?  There will always be chatty members, but do we have to punish honest learners with preventive censorship (self- or mod-applied) meant to prevent any potential nasty step that the "bad guys" could maybe possibly take? I honestly think that further readers can learn from corrected mistakes.
(and we've already agreed that corrections should come as a bonus to the post and not be the main point)


Agnès E. said:


> Should one carefully read all answers in this thread, one would find replies from various mods from various forums, who actually all agree about the ins and outs of correcting other members' posts: it's just a matter of common sense, courtesy and respect of the rules.


So you agree with Tim, Elroy and LV that it is ok to correct posts in their quotes?



Agnès E. said:


> Some forums are easily maintained with a light hand, some need more care.


And in a same forum some mods might have a lighter hand and others a heavier one. This is why it's sometimes hard for forer@s to adjust to expectations.


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## DearPrudence

As usual Geve, you've read my mind & expressed yourself much better than I 


geve said:


> Let's not always consider the worst eventuality, shall we? There will always be chatty members, but do we have to punish honest learners with preventive censorship (self- or mod-applied) meant to prevent any potential nasty step that the "bad guys" could maybe possibly take? I honestly think that further readers can learn from corrected mistakes.


 
We are here to learn first of all 
 And some people in the back of the room may be too shy to put their hands up to ask a question but will be very pleased to learn something from a remark made to someone else (that's a comparison with school class, right, I'm not saying people should ASK a question if they're unsure of something). I mean, this way, *other *forer@s will also benefit from the correction, visible for all, without even having to ask for anything, & even visible for the next generations of eager-to-learn forer@s 

And finally, a phrasing I've seen like "*chat*" sounds (a bit) rude to me. I thought it was a chatty comment, a bad joke or something but actually, I had read the post & it was most helpful  

In fact I haven't found a better example of what I currently do, just putting accents for instance (because it's really no effort for me & it's important) or changing a letter, a wrong word, ...
So, would something like   that be deleted as *chatty *nowadays? (see post #1 & #2) (I must say that it's the kind of things I've seen deleted. If you think it's chatty, I agree you delete it, I don't care) 

And yes, to a question I've been asked: I've been ignored twice by someone to whom I pointed a typo by PM (quite important as it changed the meaning of the word) + ignored in a thread by that same person but at least, I gave the right spelling so everybody could see there was a difference between "ballade" (music) & "balade" (walk) & received a quite rude answer from another one, because he argued it was a mistake some American people did when they wrote so he didn't see why he should change it *. But I must admit I signalled the same mistake to another forer@ who was most pleased & edited his post 
Sorry if I'm going off-topic on typos here ...

* By the way, chatspeak is banned, I whole-heartedly agree, why big/common mistakes/typos should be kept when they can easily be corrected in some cases?

Just to say that posting *+ *sending a PM (not always effective) doesn't seem really practical to me, not really productive either as only *one *person would take benefit of your correction.
And on the other hand, leaving a big mistake uncorrected could mislead others. 

I think that as mentioned, everything is a question of common sense but I have seen more nonsensical things than making a useful correction, like answering just to say a bad pun & just confusing learners even more ...


But I agree that for more *in-depth corrections*/comments, you can send a *PM *but not for every single little mistake, easily dealt with in the thread.
And I have seen many forer@s who are responsible enough to open a new thread when they would like to know more about something that has arisen in a thread. Let's note that sometimes, it doesn't even come from a correction you have made but from the simple fact of saying something in French that surprises or puzzles a forer@. In that case, should we only say "right/wrong", for fear everything we say be a source of untopicness?

Phew, that was long


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## ireney

I had prepared a long post but I thought better of it so I'll just ask one thing:

Have things changed since yesterday when I last lurked and saw quite a few posts containing corrections of other posts?  Where does this "right/wrong" -to borrow DearPrudence's expression -concern comes from? From what I've seen quite a few posts in which corrections to other are included are NOT deleted. Maybe there is something "wrong" with those deleted even if they are interesting? I know I had some of mine deleted some time ago because I was having a wonderful chat with a fellow member who also spoke language X fluently about a mistake someone made. I still maintain that they were interesting posts. They may even be interesting to language learners. I have to admit though that they were off topic and probably confusing   (sorry mods, you know who you are)


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## DearPrudence

Sorry if I've expressed myself badly  The thing about "right/wrong" was rather written on the spur of the moment and pushing the reasoning further (a bit too far I guess ). I remember that actually the big off-topic I was involved in didn't even come from a correction. Questions not only arise from corrections made but from the mere fact of writing something. There's nothing we can do about it, can't we?
And I agree, if you want to know more, you always have the possibility to open a thread (done quite often on the French only forum, & not arising from corrections).


ireney said:


> Maybe there is something "wrong" with those deleted even if they are interesting?



Often I had only seen "better dealt with by PM" & I had always assumed it was chat or something until I was faster than a mod & remembered the interesting comment made. I don't think it would have been very convenient to write a PM. And I don't really see what comment/discussion could have come from it 
The post I'm talking about was more or less of the same nature of the one I wrote in my post above. OK, maybe it's off topic to correct "what means this expression" while the subject of the thread is "what's that got to do with the price of tea" but is it really necessary to write one PM & receive one ("thank you, DP/Go to hell, DP" according to the forer@ who answers  Unless you are ignored, as I've said ) for that? I don't think there was anything to talk about here, no reason to open a thread & no use losing time & space in your PM inbox for that.

Let's note I'm not against sending PMs, even for typos, especially in a thread you don't even participate in, but to write a post + a PM for one correction ... Our PM inbox is not extensive.


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## geve

ireney said:


> Have things changed since yesterday when I last lurked and seen quite a few posts containing corrections of other posts?  Where does this "right/wrong" -to borrow DearPrudence's expression -concern comes from?


The reason I started this thread is that I have seen parts of posts deleted for chat - parts that read things like "by the way, we say "poser une question", not "demander une question"". 
I can watch people _demander_ questions over and over, or I can just add a line to my post, and if they are part of these people who "just can't refrain", I might even go as far as opening a new thread for them or post a link to an existing thread.

But you are right, not all corrections are deleted.  Maybe it depends on a variety of factors, such as the color of the poster's avatar or the weather conditions above the mod's living place at that moment.  Discussing the topic here might help clear everyone's mind, which was my intent.


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## ireney

> "But you are right, not all corrections are deleted.  Maybe it depends on a variety of factors, such as the color of the poster's avatar or the weather conditions above the mod's living place at that moment.  Discussing the topic here might help clear everyone's mind, which was my intent. "



Ah, so you believe that the moderators were chosen regardless of their moody and irrational decisions and that the forums manage to operate and become more popular despite the whimsical decisions of the moderators? 

Random thoughts.

As I said, I am neither a moderator of the "French" forums nor an active participant. I cannot therefore say that I have an in-depth knowledge of the situation there. I do know that posts including corrections are left untouched and I do know that if I ever post a message in French and have it corrected I will probably think it twice before posting again. I also know that I have friends here and elsewhere who learn Greek and have asked for their posts to be corrected but, when someone (not on this forum) overdid it some were scared away.

You can always incorporate the correct version of what someone wrote in a mistaken way in your answer if you feel it is something that has to be corrected and it has to be corrected in public. That's just a suggestion and this is what I do.

The only thing I can tell you for certain is that I still remember how my professors in the Uni practically screamed and bellowed that we should NOT over-correct papers. It's wrong in so many levels!

I don't know if this is what was wrong with the posts deleted. I do know that if a moderator is moody and whimsical he or she is not a good moderator. If there IS such a case and I and the rest of the moderators and Mike have missed it please send a PM to whom it might concern (in other words not me  ) with links to examples of such behavour. If that is not the case then you are more experienced in this field than I am and I am sure you are more capable than I am to understand why some posts remain and some are deleted.


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## timpeac

A similar issue, which I hope won't be considered off-topic in this thread (and applies to all multilanguage forums) :

I find it much more rude when a non-native composes a question in a foreign language to them and natives of that language reply in the questioner's own language straight-off as if their foreign-language attempts are not even worth a reply. I see this happening often. I would rather have a few corrections than the attempt simply ignored.


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## geve

Irene,

I am not here to incriminate people. What positive outcome could we expect from that? My intent - that I have stated several times - was to share views on the topic together, and I was brought to ask because of inconsistencies I have witnessed. It doesn't mean that some people are "right" and others are "wrong". It simply illustrates the fact that people are not robots who never have hesitations, nor are they clones who all and always have the same take on things. You can see in this very thread that not all mods feel the same about the topic at hand! (I'm mentioning specifically "mods" here because they are the ones holding the magic eraser, but I'm sure that not all forer@s think alike either!) 




timpeac said:


> I find it much more rude when a non-native composes a question in a foreign language to them and natives of that language reply in the questioner's own language straight-off as if their foreign-language attempts are not even worth a reply. I see this happening often. I would rather have a few corrections than the attempt simply ignored.


I think that this may have something to do about English being seen as the default language somehow. I've seen this occur many times reverting from French to English, a lot less so the other way; and I surely did it myself a few times  although I try hard not to. Sometimes I write a reply in English, then before submitting I realise the question was asked in French, so I go and put it back in French (and usually have a hard time expressing my thoughts in French after having thought the reply in English...!!) But I can certainly see how one would like to get corrected.
Occasionally I visit the French-Spanish forum, but am usually too shy to post anything in Spanish. Yesterday though I got around to post something, and was deeply reminded how much sweat and worries one can put in a two-sentence post.  If people correct my mistakes I might feel a bit more comfortable next time I throw myself into such a big project.


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## cubaMania

timpeac said:


> A similar issue, which I hope won't be considered off-topic in this thread (and applies to all multilanguage forums) :
> 
> I find it much more rude when a non-native composes a question in a foreign language to them and natives of that language reply in the questioner's own language straight-off as if their foreign-language attempts are not even worth a reply. I see this happening often. I would rather have a few corrections than the attempt simply ignored.


 
Wow, timpeac, that interpretation of the issue has never even occurred to me. I'm on the forums for the purpose of improving my mastery of a foreign language. To that end, whenever possible I write my responses to language questions in the foreign tongue. Only if I am not able to express the answer in the foreign language do I resort to English. It does me no good to phrase my answers in English since I already have mastery in that language.

EDIT: Oh, also occasionally when I am rushed I'll resort to English rather than take the time to phrase my answer in another language.


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## TimLA

timpeac said:


> A similar issue, which I hope won't be considered off-topic in this thread (and applies to all multilanguage forums) :
> 
> I find it much more rude when a non-native composes a question in a foreign language to them and natives of that language reply in the questioner's own language straight-off as if their foreign-language attempts are not even worth a reply. I see this happening often. I would rather have a few corrections than the attempt simply ignored.


 
I *strongly agree* with you!
In my opinion, responses should be in the same language as the original question.
I always try to do that, and if the person changes languages, then I try to change.
If their question is half-and-half, then I respond in their non-native language.

I'm here to learn about *another* language.
If a person chooses not to correct my attempts in the other language, so be it (it's nice if they do, but OK if they don't).
But when they respond in their native language, it helps me, and is probably easier for them.


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## timpeac

TimLA said:


> I *strongly agree* with you!
> In my opinion, responses should be in the same language as the original question.


Well - just to be clear, I was only referring to the situations where someone asks the question in a language foreign to them, and native speakers of that language reply in the questioner's native tongue. I don't have a problem where people who don't natively speak the language the question was asked in reply in their own native tongue, since it may be the case that they do not have the ability or confidence to make their reply in the foreign tongue.

Rereading that, I'm not sure if I've clarified things or made them more complicated!


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## geve

timpeac said:


> Rereading that, I'm not sure if I've clarified things or made them more complicated!


No, no, it's crystal-clear, Tim; maybe a somewhat dark shade of crystal though.  Here's what I understand (and agree with):

- If someone asks a question in Spanish, and I reply to them in French because I'm lousy and lazy in Spanish, it's ok (I hope!!!). 

- If I were to ask a question in Spanish and a Spanish native answers in French, it's a bit rude and I would prefer him/her to correct my mistakes instead of just dismissing my attempt.


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## timpeac

geve said:


> No, no, it's crystal-clear, Tim; maybe a somewhat dark shade of crystal though.  Here's what I understand (and agree with):
> 
> - If someone asks a question in Spanish, and I reply to them in French because I'm lousy and lazy in Spanish, it's ok (I hope!!!).
> 
> - If I were to ask a question in Spanish and a Spanish native answers in French, it's a bit rude and I would prefer him/her to correct my mistakes instead of just dismissing my attempt.


That's certainly how I would feel.


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## cubaMania

> - If I were to ask a question in Spanish and a Spanish native answers in French, it's a bit rude and I would prefer him/her to correct my mistakes instead of just dismissing my attempt.


 
Well, I still do not understand. Why would responding in French in any way prevent correcting the mistakes of the original posting made in Spanish? And "dismissing my attempt", huh? I really don't get it. 

* P.S.  I ask because I'm wondering whether I should put into my signature a disclaimer saying that the reason I answer in a language other than English is that I need the practice, no reflection on them.


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## geve

cubaMania said:


> Well, I still do not understand. Why would responding in French in any way prevent correcting the mistakes of the original posting made in Spanish? And "dismissing my attempt", huh? I really don't get it.
> 
> * P.S. I ask because I'm wondering whether I should put into my signature a disclaimer saying that the reason I answer in a language other than English is that I need the practice, no reflection on them.


Good point. Yes, you are right, people can reply in whatever language they wish (or rather, the languages that are allowed in that subforum!). I'm even thinking that some people reply in the poster's native language because they think that someone else with a lower level in the language could come with the same inquiry later and not be able to grasp the comments. So there are good reasons to revert languages and none to take offense.


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## Amityville

Just to belatedly post my two cents, prompted by the over-correction discussion above. Generally people beg to be corrected and are very grateful if you do correct them, aren't they ? I count myself among them - ok, it's discouraging to have your work returned covered in red pen but the corrected version allows you stride forth with confidence. Corrections are a gift -I'd no idea anyone took offense or became terminally discouraged.


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## ireney

Look, there are people who cannot handle over-correction. Especially if it's frequent. I am not speaking of these forums, I am speaking about what is generally true and has been hammered through my thick skull by my professors. Some people are not fazed by a mostly red "paper"  Others though are discouraged after the third or fourth one usually. There are people you see who feel embarrassed when they even make a single mistake in one language. These people are generally the same people who seeing a lot of corrections in their text feel that they are not going to make it. People who need encouragement.

There are people for example in an ESL chat-room dash site who will only engage in private conversations due to their lack of confidence. Even during these private conversations care must be taken to not overwhelm them with corrections.
You can  correct every single mistake *I* make in English or Greek either by a PM or in the public forums _as long as this does not interfere with the flow of the conversation and as long as it is an aside to actually answering the topic_. I'm supposedly fluent enough in both languages that any mistake  could be avoided if I was more careful (bar typos, I just can't seem to be able to type write ). When it comes to French however, I am one of those people who don't even dare write anything in French and will do my utmost to avoid talking French even to my French cousins. I would personally welcome a correction or two, the correction of the most serious mistakes really, but since it seems the norm for some people, out of pure eagerness to help I'm sure, to correct all mistakes I won't post anything in French.

In addition to all that, this discussion has another topic: Should the correction been done in the public forums? As long as the posts also include an answer to the question asked on the thread I personally have no problem with this practise (if the person has asked for the correction of his/her mistakes and with my aforementioned stand on the matter in mind).
If however the posts include nothing else or just a comment to sort of add something to the correction and, even worse, if a conversation  concerning the corrections arises within the same thread (opening a new thread to discuss a correction is a totally different matter) then I personally do have a problem and I'll be glad to explain why to anyone interested.


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## Amityville

Thanks for taking the time to explain, ireney.


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## geve

Agnès E. said:


> The problem occurs when a post is limited to a correction of another member's post without any addition to the topic involved, and when this member (or worse: another one) jumps on the opportunity to open a parallel discussion inside the thread. THIS is lack of common sense and politeness, don't you agree?


Not wanting to be accusatory, just trying to nail things down... but isn't this what you did in this thread? (the question as stated clearly was about "de la date à laquelle") 
I'm not saying that your post isn't useful, but it would be considered off-topic if we wanted to enforce the rules to the letter. Do we?


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## KaRiNe_Fr

geve said:


> Not wanting to be accusatory, just trying to nail things down... but isn't this what you did in this thread? (the question as stated clearly was about "de la date à laquelle")
> I'm not saying that your post isn't useful, but it would be considered off-topic if we wanted to enforce the rules to the letter. Do we?


Good example, geve.  For me it's not only an example of a useful proofreading but also an example of "apparently" (cause this is not my opinion as you can guess) useful  off-topic correction. I'm glad you pointed this out.
I already wrote couples of PM to say exactly the same trick to some of French learners making the same mistake because it's one of the best trick my school teacher at CE1 has taught to me. So I'm beaming with joy (hum... maybe this expression is a little too strong for expressing my feelings but... ) it's now written down, and especially by an exemplary mod.


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## ireney

Ummm I've already stated the "state" of my French but doesn't "Merci de m'aviser si la phrase suivante est correctement ecrite" means that he wants people to tell him/her if the phrase is writen correctly? He/she has particular doubts about one part of the phrase but as Agnes points out,  the phrase as a whole would be better if another part was changed. 

Of course I may have completely misunderstood what "phrase" means


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## KaRiNe_Fr

ireney said:


> Ummm I've already stated the "state" of my French but doesn't "Merci de m'aviser si la phrase suivante est correctement ecrite" means that he wants people to tell him/her if the phrase is writen correctly? He/she has particular doubts about one part of the phrase but as Agnes points out,  the phrase as a whole would be better if another part was changed.
> 
> Of course I may have completely misunderstood what "phrase" means


You perfectly understood the sentence Ireney!  Your French is not that rusty, see? 
It's exactly why I think this kind of exception or disgression (name it as you wish) is perfectly valuable even if the poster asked specifically about a part only (here "de la date")  it's obvious the whole sentence could be enhanced with not that much effort. So why not giving him hints for this purpose?
I think the same exception could exist for people asking for correction into their signature (unless you don't count a sig as part of a post...).


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## Musical Chairs

When people post things in your language and the text itself has mistakes, are you supposed to, or can can you correct it even if it has nothing to do with the actual point or question?

I would assume not since this would crowd things up quite a bit but I noticed some people in the Cultural Discussions forum say things a little funny, and maybe they'd like to know about their mistakes. (I guess you can always PM.)


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## Etcetera

Oh no, not again!
This eternal question of corrections has been discussed many times. Try searching this forum for corrections.


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## cheshire

Yes you can, and it's very helpful!


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## Musical Chairs

It just makes me go to a blank page.


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## cubaMania

Musical Chairs, I'll give you a link to a previous thread on corrections:
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=504968&highlight=corrections

But, actually, you could use the search function yourself.  In the blue bar running across the page near the top (at the left "User Control Panel" at the right "Log Out",) there is the Search function.  Click there, then you can enter a term for which to search, or click on Advanced Search to refine it.


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## TrentinaNE

Etcetera said:


> Oh no, not again!
> This eternal question of corrections has been discussed many times. Try searching this forum for corrections.


Search links expire after about 30 minutes or so -- the next time you run the search, new relevant threads may have been added, or problematic threads deleted.  

Elisabetta


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