Many monks are quite responsive and fix their typo, so far nobody reacted offended (or offensive).

If there's no reaction and it's a very active thread (or frontpaged) I somtimes consider the node and suggest "fix typo in title: s/Momory/Memory/".

Yes, please. Feel free to correct errors in titles when you reply. Especially adjust your title to make it more on-topic to your specific reply.

Just please leave the context apparent in the title. So don't mess with the "Re^2:" prefix at all and leave enough of the previous title somewhere in your new title such that a human is likely to notice the connection. There are too many places where the title is displayed out of context of the thread, so it is important to include some context in the title of a reply.

We shouldn't be afraid to point out even simple mistakes, especially when the correction isn't emphasized and it is accompanied by something genuinely useful (which one would hope the reply contains). Replying to say just "You misspelled 'scalar'" is completely inappropriate and quite a waste, IMO. I wouldn't even call out the mistake with "You misspelled 'scalar'" as part of a useful reply. I do find that just rude enough that I would avoid it. I think just demonstrating the correct spelling is usually sufficient (but feel free to point out a mistake in a private /msg).

But we shouldn't put on a charade, pretending that we didn't notice that some word was mispelt. I think more people would be offended by that than by one quietly restating things in a way that one finds more correct or precise.

There, see? I just read your reply twice because it showed up under a different title in Newest Nodes. It's not the first time I've done that either. I find changing titles disruptive to following the original post.

On the other hand I'd hate to miss an important snippet of information using Super Search, just because the OP mis-spelled some key word.

Yes, I intentionally (mildly, I hope) violated my own advice as demonstration. Just correcting a misspelling in a title (when replying) isn't going to cause that confusion.

The title of this reply is a more typical example of how I adjust titles to be more on-topic to my reply. For a more extreme shift in topic, a reply title like "Re^3: Irish space debris (correcting titles when I reply)" might make more sense (and the reply to that might best be just "Re^4: Irish space debris").

- tye        

We shouldn't be afraid to point out even simple mistakes, especially when the correction isn't emphasized

Yes, what I was having in mind is just silently fixing the error, without making a big fuss. It's just that I wouldn't want it to come across in a I-know-better-than-thou tone... That's why I asked if people would perceive it that way or take offense otherwise. If people don't have a problem with it, then that's fine with me, too :)

Especially adjust your title to make it more on-topic ... and leave enough of the previous title ...

I actually quite like the style often found with your replies, i.e. leaving the original title (mostly) as is, but adding a few words in parentheses at the end — in particular if the key message of the reply lends itself well to being summed up in 1-3 words.  In other words, I'd like to use the occasion to encourage people (myself included) to use that style more often — even though this is somewhat unrelated to the original topic of correcting errors.

Quite a few different angles here...

First, I'm sure you wouldn't bother with an Anonymous or 5-minute Initiate question that's obviously thrown out with little regard for punctuation, spelling, or grammar. Obviously they don't care, and it's best that you allow them to present their sloppy selves honestly.

For correcting typos vs. spelling errors, vs. wrong word choice, I suppose there's an increasing chance of offense (not correcting the UKers, I know it's 'offence' over there). On the other hand, I don't get it. Why would having an error pointed out to you be offensive? Personally, I might feel slightly embarrassed, but I'd rather get it corrected sooner rather than later. You can be sure for every one who corrects you, there are dozens of others that may consider you ignorant or stupid. Is it preferable to some people to wallow in their own ignorance rather than deal with a momentary pang of embarrassment?

That said, I almost never correct others' spelling, typos, or grammar. If the writer wants those things right, they can do their own checking.

p.s. I really don't like using 'they' instead of 'he' or 'she', but the present alternatives are worse.

... But if the poster intentionally typed "wierd" ...

Interesting aspect... but how would you tell?   (my crystal ball is out of service at the moment :)

I've often wondered how the op feels about seeing that error italicised at the begiining of my post. Does (s)he think I'm trying to belittle her/him ...

...exactly my thoughts.

Personally, if I made an error, be it a typo or a spelling mistake, I would appreciate a correction, otherwise I might be going on making that typo, or mistake.
For me it is similar to being corrected wrt some mistakes I made in a code I posted or a solution I suggested.

We are using languages as a tool, for explaining problems, for giving solutions, and for displaying the problem/solution. The language can be Perl, or it can be English, and mistakes in either can cause a problem, so corrections are welcomed. However, the way to correct mistakes isn't by a Janitor editing the mistake. If someone made a typo, /msging her should suffice. Correcting the mistake might even go unnoticed by the OP, resulting in no knowledge gained.

In this light, I don't see why monks who would be the first to point out a syntax error, or not using strict, or globally assigning a perlvar, would hesitate in correcting a mistake in a language either than Perl.
A badly phrased question, or a badly structured code, or bad grammar can all cause someone to misinterpret the question, or not try to give her thought to it.

I would even take that to the extreme case, since I consider English mistakes to be the same as Perl mistakes, in the context of asking a question/receiving an answer. In my opinion, titling a post with something like "need help" or "this doesn't work" or "Huh? why is that?" isn't different than an XY Problem or a typo. The OP should consider his title the way he considers his English or his code, and should, or shouldn't be corrected accordingly, only not by a Janitor, but by the OP itself.

Or am I just thinking too much? :)

Probably. If you see mis-spelings and typoes, fix them in your reply. We all rely on clear and clean language to transport ideas: personal fealings dont mater in that countext.

Furthermore, it is sane to mend things that hurt...

_($_=" "x(1<<5)."?\n".q·/)Oo.  G°\        /
                              /\_¯/(q    /
----------------------------  \__(m.====·.(_("always off the crowd"))."·
");sub _{s./.($e="'Itrs `mnsgdq Gdbj O`qkdq")=~y/"-y/#-z/;$e.e && print}

...personal feelings don't matter

Clear language etc. is one thing. Sticking to certain fundamental rules of politeness (aka trying to not unnecessarily trample on other people's feelings) is another. Certainly not the most important one in a place like this, but not totally irrelevant either... as it might help reduce the friction related to our feelings, egos, and all those psych things that even the most rational and technically minded of us are not entirely free from being influenced by.  At least, that's my take on the matter.

That said, I'd like to add that I personally do enjoy hanging out here. Not only because I can occasionally pick up useful technical info, but also, and more importantly, because the atmosphere happens to be in a largely healthy state, so it's plain fun to waste my time in this place and have y'all around. That's a big plus of the Perl community, which I'd like to maintain for everyone else who comes here with good intentions.

We all rely on clear and clean language to transport ideas

Which is why I get irrationally annoyed on those (rare) occassions when I read questions written partially in Instant Message spelling.

I usually email them the correction...

I sure agree that informing people privately is - in some cases - a good way to handle this. It's just that I feel that /msg-ing people for every minor glitch is just a tad too much fuss for my personal taste. This applies to both sides: it usually takes me more than a negligible amount of time to find a wording/tone that I'm happy with, and they in turn might feel obliged to send a thank you, etc.   YMMV, of course... maybe I'm just a bit lazy at times :)  On the other hand, simply fixing the error as I type my reply is a non-issue for me (effort-wise).

I agree. It depends on the document in question and the amount of time involved. I would do the same for something like code comments or code that is going to be obsolete anyway. I was thinking of tutorials that are going to be around for awhile, like at http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/ where there may be copyright or courtesy issues.

Well, I can freely edit the subject line of the node I'm about to post...

I think almut meant the title in a reply she writes herself, not fixing other monk's nodes.