Spell check function

[Khiinroye]

Would it be possible to add a spell check function to the forums? I know there are several members here that have absolutely atrocious spelling, and it causes many people to facedesk when reading their posts.

A spell check function would help to improve readability of posts, as well as reduce trolling and flaming due to poor spelling. Furthermore, it will help the people with poor spelling improve their communication skills, which is a benefit that extends beyond forum usage.

I know most browsers have built-in spell checkers (Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera) that will work while typing posts, but a few don't (IE, go figure). Since IE still had 45% market share, browser spell checkers are not a reliable solution.

[Arcon]

Pretty much impossible to implement feasibly, and wouldn't help anyway, especially not with trolling and flaming. No one cares for their spelling. And kinda funny how only "sophisticated" browsers feel the need for a spellchecker.

This seems like anti-IE propaganda.

[Yugl]

This seems like anti-IE propaganda.

You're only reaching that conclusion because you're a computer scientist. I don't think anyone else (And certainly not myself) reached that conclusion or even thought about IE in this discussion. Spellchecker would help because if a person doesn't know how to spell a word, they can rely on the program to help them say what they want to say. That way, people are criticizing ideas and not people.

[Reiterpallasch]

I agree 100% with the OP, this would be great to have implemented into the forums.

Inb4 a certain taru sees this and decides to abuse the report button even more than he already does simply because he thinks it's a personal attack on him.

[SNK]

I seriously agree with this. If I have to re-read people's posts not once but two to three times because of bad spelling then a spell checker would seriously relieve a lot of headache.

[RAIST]

There used to be a free plug-in that worked in IE called Fedspell. I used to use it on systems at work years ago. IDK if it is still out there or even if it's compatible with IE 8/9 now, but it worked well back in IE6.

Edit:
Found an old download of the BHO in an archive folder(2003 version) --just installed it and it still works in XP SP3 with IE8. Hit F7 (or right-click and run spell-check from context menu ) and it works kinda like Word's spell-check--misspelled words get the red squiggly line under them, and you get a pop-up to let you change words right then. If you get a false-positive on a word, you can add it to the dictionary, like the checkers in Outlook and such. It didn't used to do this last time I used it, but it is staying active as I type and keeps popping the squiggles up as I type. Kinda funky because the red lines keep blinking up until I type enough for it to recognize some words...hehe. Doesn't catch punctiuation errors though--like if I flub spelling on a hyphenated word it doesn't catch it, and it only catches common words (small, old library).

Unfortunately, the link in the read me file for the Empire Security site is no longer valid to get a more recent "free for home/personal use" version. So, I'm running with about an 8 year old dictionary on mine. PCWorld still lists it to buy the full version though ($14.95, Jan 2011 release), but the link to Empire didn't pull up a site. My alpha release was only about 8MB, the more recent one at PCWorld is about 14MB.

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,114769/description.html

cnet lists a similar one for free called iespell, but it looks to be only on-demand checking from the tools menu, but says it also gets added to the right-click context menu as well. Doesn't catch punctuation either, but it has some nice features (can update the dictionary, and adds a link to Merriam-Webster's dictionary. has a much smaller footprint too @ 2MB)

http://download.cnet.com/ieSpell/3000-12512_4-10208550.html

[wish12oz]

To bad we can't have a grammar checker to go with that spell checker!

[Novax]

That one taru does suck at spelling and grammar, his little sig has been wrong since the forums opened.