thanks for the link and the spell checker free download! I really appreciate it!

Thanks for understanding the problem. Many of the members of The Magic Café do not have English as their first language. Spelling mistakes make their language dictionaries not work. Then communications get pretty hard to follow. Your efforts are vital to our success here. With over 1.6 million posts on The Café keeping up with our small all volunteer staff is impossible without member help.

Thanks again.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Is there any way to get an over looked misspelled word changed after the edit time has expired?

Does anyone not see the red underline of the words in the message box when it is misspelled? I guess... now that I've checked... that's a Firefox feature. In my opinion, Firefox is a better browser than IE anyway. Make the switch: http://www.browsehappy.com

The problem is when spellchech does not catch the word. In a post I made I wrote here in stead of her, there was not a red line under the word. I did not catch the typo till the next day.

You can report your own posts to the mods. It's at the top of each post, they can help.

Thanks!

Tom,

GREAT Question!

Misspelled words will get by and we still want to fix them. Please PM me or any of the Grammar Hosts you know to point out a needed correction. Finding them is step one in correcting them. We appreciate the head start!

Thank you for the good question.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Bob Sanders, you guys and gals here at the Café , that make up the staff, are one of the big reasons, we hobbyist and pros alike come to talk, discus and share our interest in magic. You all just don’t hear it enough. Thank you so much for doing a great job!

Tom

P.S. Thanks for correcting my goofs!

Tom,

Thank you! Your encouraging message is also posted in the staff kitchen. (Bet you didn't know that we had a refrigerator door!)

Here on The Magic Café I get to work and communicate with a lot of wonderful people both staff and membership.

It is an all volunteer staff and we are working on the largest and most comprehensive data base of magic history and thought in the history of the world. It's available to magicians FREE.

The Café is a joint effort. Currently there are over 28,500 members and about 30 staff. The numbers tell the story. It is a true membership organization.

The revenues that run The Café come from sponsors who buy banners. Café members' support of the advertisers matters.

Our village of sharing magicians is truly amazing. We're glad you're here.

Enjoy!

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Hi all.

If you want to check your spelling and grammar and want to know what you have written there are programs that can help.

I should say at this point that I am dyslexic and I have nearly finished my diploma in Dyslexia and literacy – and whilst I am trying to get a “contract” as a selling agent for this program they are not taking on anyone at the moment so there is currently no “benefit” to me.

Ok so the problem as already identified is that you can spell check but it doesn’t pick up words that are spelt right but are the wrong word. The program is called Text help, basically it reads what you have typed (as well as spell checking) to you. This can be done, rather annoyingly, after each word or after a sentence or even after the end of the paragraph.

It’s a very useful program and I use it a lot (especially when I am writing up assignments etc). I also use a program called Inspiration – which if you have to produce any assignments and or essays etc is really useful (you can get a download trial version at http://www.inspiration.com) it wont help you with spelling and grammar though!

Hope you find text help useful and if I find a free version I will let you know.

Dave

I work for Bob Sanders in the Café grammar department. I'm not the best speller, but people PM me all the time to help them, especially foreigners, who have problems constructing a sentence in English.
Al Angello

As a writer, I fully endorse this effort towards a board free from spelling and grammatical errors.

You get a "Gold Star" on your very first post!

Thank you for your support.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

I am hardly a grammar expert. I do think that grammatical knowledge can help your performance of magic. Grammatical mistakes during performance can break the spell. There are exceptions that show that grammatical errors can contribute to the performance, if they are incorporated into the performance persona and consistent. Slydini comes to mind. Everyone understood that this man was a foreigner, and his misuse of the language did not cause anyone to think him less sophisticated, and did not detract from his charm or magic - only heightened it!

But as a generalization, grammar helps a performance. After all, magicians possess a special knowledge, unavailable to the general public. Magicians should have insight into science, math, history, philosophy, etc. Shouldn't they have a basic grasp of grammar?

For a sophisticated audience, a grammatical error will avert the focus from the effect to your grammar.

I am making a generalization, but do others agree in concept with what I am saying?

Steve,

I'm not sure how many applicants for employment are actually rejected solely on the basis of their letter with the application. But it is a common practice. It is one of those impressions that the best of recommendations will not overcome. Verbal communications can have the same damaging results.

Employers and audiences have choices and make decisions. They also make the rules. Being well-spoken is often the basic requirement to building a future with either. It is a measure of credibility.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Being in a Hurry can make mistakes on writing ,or not proof reading as most of us do in a chat site & forums.
Mainly we do get the idea across, non verbal comunication isn't easy sometime.
you read articles in magazines & books & some are easy to understand and some not
having illustrations with the text is most helpful I have seen especially when your showing how something works.

I'd like to add that people tend to pass judgement on a person's intelligence based on his grammar and vocabulary (as well as spelling in written communication). If during a performance (be it a sales presentation or a magic act) the audience is distracted by the performer's poor communication skills, the impact of the performance is greatly diminished or even lost completely.

Another point more directly relevant to this forum is that it is part of most magician's act to develop a kind of mystique. On some level, the audience has to believe that the magician is in some way superior to them. One way to preserve this illusion (IMHO) is to use better than average vocabulary and grammar. While perhaps more important on stage than in a chat forum, practice makes perfect.

It's a breath of fresh air that a chat forum makes an effort to be a stickler about correct language usage. Thank you.

Does anyone have a particular pet hate spelling mistake?Mine is (rEdiculous) it is rife all over the net.

Most can realize what your saying when you write even with a few mistakes,being in a hurry is when I make mistakes ,and not proof reading it well before sending it off to the thread/e-mail
Chuck