Proper spelling is...

I think it's pretty important.

I put the second one, but I wish the thrid were true ('cause I can't spell for jack).

I think it's bery inportan

...very important if you want to make a good impression. It's so easy to check the words that you're not sure about. ("about which you're not sure" would be awkward and ugly, and the only reason for the ridiculous [and now officially outdated, thank Oxford!] terminal preposition rule was that you couldn't properly do it in Latin.) Elijahblue: Read "The Language Instinct" by Steven Pinker for a great discussion of the number issue in that particular construction, in which he basically gives us permission to use the indefinite "they" and write it off as idiomatic.

I didn't believe it was all that important until I started reading resumes. Boy, is it a turn off to see poor spelling on someone's resume!

The thing that a good portion of folks miss is that some people just can't spell. Dyslexia and some other learning disablities make it really difficult. Some people can't sound out words, and, as a result, can't hear which letter is likely to go next. Words that seem clear aren't if you can't sound it out. words like "presentation" are chunked as a whole, and can't be sounded out as pre-sen-ta-tion. words arn't a sum of their parts, and as a result, spelling is an arbitrary combination of shapes, and not an ordered combination of sounds. It's a common learning disability that doesn't represent lack of reading, stupidity, or indifference to the communication, it's purely an inability to spell. Stomping on somone for their spelling in an informal setting such as this (where we don't have spell checkers, and nobody is going to give you a grade that will go on your PERMANENT RECORD) is akin to telling someone that they're short at dinner parties. They know they're short, and they're not trying to play basketball or get on the carnival rides for the big kids. Imagine if someone kept reminding you that you have a birthmark on your face or that you have a facial tic, or that you stutter, and they somehow believed that you didn't give a crap about the conversation or didn't talk much or were stupid as a result. Sure, it's distracting, but it's irrelivant information that is belittling. We're not trying to win a Pulitzer prize here. *addition* Perhaps you don't see spelling comments as "belittling" etc., but when the only comment you can come up with is correcting his/her spelling, it does indicate that you think the most important thing about someone's comment is his/her ability to spell. Perhaps the advice our parent's told us is good, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." I agree, though that it's a little bogus to have to say "his" and "him" and "he" if there is anyone in group who is male, or if you don't know. "They" sounds silly, but we don't have a gender-nutral pronoun that is apropriate for people (It's doesn't work).

It's essential that you not look like a fool. Still, when I'm flying along, I often forget to check... *** Hey, I just added a spell-checker to the survey creation pages. I may add it to comment-entry as well...

well it's not vital obviously, but it helps if people try to conform.

get a grip

Cheked the second option, but for the reason explained in the third. *** Note for english speakers : Change to Spanish, it is very clear about spelling, bcos it's spelled as it's wrote, with very very few exceptions of non-pronounced characters, as "H" or "U" after "Q".

Proper spelling is essential unless it clouds the meaning or intent of the written communication.

I think for official documents it draws questions to proffesionalism when things are mispelled, but for casual letters it is really of no consequence as long as the people can still unserstand what you mean.

Not essential, perhaps, but I do tend to make assumptions about a person's intelligence and education based on their spelling, even though I know that's wrong. (Thanks for the spell-checker, Bill - I was terrified I'd spell something wrong on this one!)

oh yes, and I'm glad there is spellcheck here, because I'm not a native speaker! Without it one looks silly and not intelligent.

I hate English spelling. It has a million rules and a million exceptions for each rule.
I agree jen, it does add personality, 'eh'?
'specially in th' way you talk.

...and anyone who says otherwise is probably just rationalizing because they can't spell! :)

Spelling is not *as* important in casual communications, but it is still important. The occasional typo is ok. If someone makes many typos I think that person is careless or not interested in communicating, which in turn makes me less interested in being communicated with (Steve: I love my terminal prepositions too!). Constant *misconceptions* about how words are spelled, on the other hand, suggest to me that the person either has done very little reading, or is not bright enough to notice and remember how words are spelled. The "essential meaning" of a written message lies partly in its presentation; just like facial expressions and gestures are part of the meaning of a spoken message. Milktree: point well taken, I realize that some people have true learning disabilities. If I knew that about someone, I would probably reserve judgement more. My initial impression is always going to be what I wrote above, and usually, I believe that's a correct picture. I am always going to be mildly annoyed when I see common words misspelled, and my natural inclination will always be to correct these errors, because as Jen said, my work life is largely spent doing editorial work. I don't think occasionally correcting someone's spelling is quite akin to telling someone that they have a facial tic, because there's probably nothing someone like that can do about their problem. People can improve their spelling, by using a dictionary (as Steve mentioned) for example. It's obvious from your comments that you're not stupid and that you care about communicating. But improving your spelling would still be a good idea; I don't see my saying so as "stomping," "belittling" or "irrelevant." If I made a mistake in something I said (and I have), I would expect people to correct me (and they have). Everyone could benefit from improved writing skills. Personally, I am still struggling with the issue of number. For example, "to tell someone that they have a facial tic" is grammatically incorrect, but "to tell someone that he has a facial tic" is sexist... ***Well, Milktree, I rarely write comments on spelling and I often write comments on other things. This discussion is becoming tiring. I spent several minutes trying to write a reasonable response to you, and YOU are the one who continues doging. Poor spelling will be a disadvantage to you in life (just look at the results of your survey, and please read weth's comments!), but maybe there's nothing anyone can say to convince you of this. P.S. his/her sounds ridiculous as well, I wish someone would come up with a better alternative!

Hooked on phonics wurked for me! Spelling is not that hard to do. It's not essential for casual stuff, but misspellings tend to make you look like a moron.

not ever necessary but definitely advantageous to use. i've always had good spelling. i was school district spelling champion in 6th grade. ***Bill, you are a CGI ANIMAL!

Essential in official documents and important in casual communication. I'm not great at spelling, but if I see a misspelled word, it really bothers me.

Spelling is not essential, but misspellings leave me with the impression that the misspeller did not put much thought and care into his writing. (As do typos, to a lesser degree)

Wut yu dont lik my speling?

other than the fact that you are gonna get razzed about it.. it isn't important in minor things.. in an official document, it is essential. **I also have a large number of typos, simply because some of my fingers fly faster than the others. I don't always go back and fix them, it is usually a swapping of a couple of letters. I realize it is careless, but what the heck...