Spell checking in web browsers

Published on 8 April 2008 in , ,

One of the vaguely interesting things about blog comments is seeing where they come in, and I’m sure I’m not the only blog owner out there to see a long tail effect for some of my blog posts. Usually not a very interesting one either.

However it has meant that occasionally I’ve dug up some old post from three or four years ago and re-read it. And noticed something slightly depressing – how awful my spelling is.

It’s noticeable now thanks to recent versions of Firefox introducing a wonderful feature – in-line spell checking in text boxes – just like you’d get in a word processor.

Those little red lines that appear under misspelt words are a godsend to someone like me who has always struggled to remember how to correctly spell occasion, or necessary. So these days, if I’m writing at home at least, blog post spelling tends to be pretty reasonable (he hopes!)

But reviewing some of those old posts, it’s just a flurry of red dots over dodgy spelling and frankly embarrassing typos.

Yes it’s great that this functionality improves the quality of what I’m writing, but sometimes technology comes back to haunt your own failings…

6 Comments

  • Bob Downing says:

    Ah! That’s what the Firefox add-on dictionaries are for, then. Slightly mysterious as there was no explanation of their purpose I could find. So thank you.
    Seems ironic that “Firefox” is now underlined in little red dots …

  • Andrew Bowden says:

    Now if the BBC would just upgrade my work copy of Firefox (which is resolutely stuck at 1.5.0.3 – and is apparantly prohibited software!) I’d be a happy, spellchecked kinda guy!

  • jim says:

    Never
    Eat
    Crisps,
    Eat
    Salad
    Sandwiches
    And
    Remain
    Young

  • Andrew Bowden says:

    When I do try to remember how to spell it, I always go for “one collar, two sleeves” as taught by Mrs Whateverhernameis at secondary school!
    Trouble is, I just go on autopilot and type! Which when coupled with being oblivious to spelling mistakes when I read back, doesn’t always give good results…

  • Dimitri Vasselmeyer says:

    It is NECESSARY to have one (C)ollar and two (S)leeves.

  • Andrew Bowden says:

    See! I can’t even remember a mnemonic properly. What hope is there for my spelling!