Would it be rude....

Why does it bother you? You can easily tell the difference between the words by the context they are used in. No one has ever confused the gland in your butt with bowing or laying down.

...and I suppose if you are going to have a disease, you should know the name of it.

I'm also a Virgo, and that might have something to do with my persnicketiness.

Persnickety (def) - having the characteristics of a snob.

Bugs me too and I’m a Capricorn lol

Funny stuff 81GyGuy! The first article you posted they spell it right in the title, but proceed to misspell it every time thereafter. Actually, from what I know about SEO (search engine optimization) they might have done this on purpose to get traffic from people searching with the incorrect spelling.

GeetarMan -

You could be right! I hadn't thought of that!

Aries here...and it bugs me too. But I let it go. Like Pratoman I don't want to make anyone feel bad.

Best quote from 81GyGuy's Hospitalist link:

While prostate cancer has many therapy options, there is no cure for prostrate cancer.

There is a time and place for everything.

Example 1: Someone of unknown educational level posts here, laying bare personal information, probably quite troubled, asking for help. Unless additional clarity of communication is really needed to help them, I think overlooking typos, grammar, etc. is the kind thing to do.

Example 2: I read the NYT daily -- the "replica" edition -- (just the actual paper, please, no added banners, web ads or other crap, thank you). Am amazed when I see typos, grammar issues or obvious editorial failures. For gosh sakes, they get paid to produce this, and they surely have advanced spell checkers, etc. Have emailed "catches" to their editorial staff and received thanks in return. They are pretty good about printing corrections within a few days, I'll admit. It's just that I see a lot more than you would think. It *is* the "Gray Lady", > 1 million digital subscribers, and so forth...

Example 3: True story. You may like this. Years ago, working for USAF, a top general was speaking to an auditorium of us minions. It was obvious his fly was open. Nobody was brave enough to speak up. "There's a time and place for everything!" Afterwards, we occasionally referred to him (but quietly) as "chief fly-boy".

Robert

While I am not the sharpest tool in the shed, I believe that grammar, spelling, and punctuation are important. Having said that I have seen many posts that I have written that contain all of the above, and, I have read many with the same. I believe this has to do more with the speed at which we are trying to deliver information and consequently we put aside proofreading in exchange for a quick post. It bugs me when I see it, and it bugs me when I do it. This is a health board where many come here because they are scared and need information and reassurance and I think that is what should be given. Not an English lesson.

Having said that, feel free to call me out any time. I never miss an opportunity to learn something.

The first time I remember noticing a wrong-word error was on a poster I saw as a kid. I was boarding a bus and there was a tripod set up by the door with a poster showing a bus driver tipping his hat by the door while a nicely-dressed young girl boarded a bus. The text read "It's always Thank You and Your Welcome at Greyhound."*

Substituting "Your" for "You're" could have been deliberate, a slight pun, but I think it was simply a mistake.

As a moderator I expend quite a bit of effort stoically ignoring prostate/prostrate as well as their/there/they're, site/sight/cite, etc.. I often try to use the misspelled or misapplied word correctly in my response, hoping the poster will notice, but I deny myself the pedantic pleasure of pointing it out.

I do tend to hiss the S'es in "espresso" when ordering at Starbucks because, really, a barista should know that there is no X in the word.

*It could have been Trailways instead of Greyhound. I used to ride both. For a guess, it must have been 1965-ish.

HitchHiker said...
I've also noticed that spellcheck engines and autocorrect can sometimes change prostate to prostrate, so the devices we use to write posts can actually produce this problem without us noticing.

Excellent point.

I scanned over the responses here and am surprised that nobody pointed this out (unless I missed it in my scan)...

I believe that whether or not you making mention to someone of their error is taken as rude or not is overwhelmingly driven by how you say it. With a little extra effort, not rude at all; but some you might just choose to skip by thinking to yourself "not worth the additional effort."