Spell checkers, boon or bane?

[Artemis93]

I think they are good, because where they do miss mistakes, I usually catch them and where I make mistakes it catches them. So even though they do promote laziness the people who want to do well double check, usually.  

[pythonesque]

I think they're good beucase everyone makes some mistakes and won't catch them all. People still should poof read their work, though.  

[agny-pantsu]

Yami no Hitokiri

I'd like everyone's opinion on spell checkers, like the one built into MS Word and the Firefox extensions that can be downloaded. Are these a good thing because they catch spelling mistakes, or do they encourage laziness because people don't feel the need to proofread anymore?

I think they're alright, but should never be used as a substitute for proof reading. For one, they're not entirely accurate. "Ewe like two go too there house" wouldn't be flagged because all the words in the sentence are in the dictionary. When I first started using Word with its spell checker, I noticed that it lets some stuff get by, so now I do use it to run through what I write, but I also proof read.

Well, I hate it, especially when you have the auto fix thing on. I have to proofread either way, usually I do better when I keep the spell check off.
pirate

I thnk it's a form of cheating, when I see how the people in my classes spell on their notes during class and thne you see their papers it's completely different. And they end up being the ones getting good grades thanks to a computer?? crying  

[LadyRogue]

While it's nice for times when I'm typing too fast to catch glaringly obvious mistakes, for those who don't know how to spell already, I think it does promote laziness. Just today I was looking over a short fic an online friend had written. This friend has appallingly bad spelling and grammar and I pointed out that he had several mistakes in the fic. I then offered to beta read it, but he merely said he hadn't spell checked it yet.
The spell checked version was posted today. It caught two mistakes out of several. So not only did it not help his spelling, but it also didn't catch the other mistakes in the fic.  

[Shiranai Kishiru]

You have to know when it is right to use them. They are not completley trustworthy, but at the same time they are a precious tool.  

[Danapal]

They would likely correct common mistakes made by people. As you said, it isn't that good to rely on a spell checker, all it does is correct spelling. It doesn't correct grammar, and obviously doesn't correct the content itself.  

[Red-Chocolate]

It is useful, but will not catch a correct word in the wrong subtext. dramallama  

[Ramda]

Look, I am a major supporter of good grammer and knowledge on spelling but I can't help it if I make mistakes! The spell checkers point out things I may not have noticed while proof reading. Sometimes it isn't entirely my fault: I mistype things very often. I just corrected 3 errors while typing this small message alone. eek  

[[Riyuu]]

I miss having Microsoft Word for this feature.

However, it often gets very annoying... Becos' it underlines things that are correct. That was what always irritated me.

Though I do highly encourage the use of a dictionary, at the least, an online dictionary... For I've misplaced my material one.  

[Dead Twisted Romance]

Um, I think its great...You guild has taught me to fear what I write. Grammer Nazis are out there and always ready to correct your a**!  

[farfromsight06]

Spellcheck is good if you are in lower grade levels. It helps you to realize what your mistakes are and how not to repeat it. But once you get older it is just lazy to use them.  

[Missy Wyvern]

They're no good. They don't know what's right or wrong half of the time, especially if you're having a hard time spelling a particular word. That goes doubly for grammar checkers.  

[My Conscience]

Yami no Hitokiri

That's a good idea. The one really nice thing about a spell checker like the one in Word, is you can add custom words to it. My CUSTOM.DIC file is quite fat. Lately I've found Google to be a great spell checker too. If I find a word I'm not certain of, I just plug it into the Google Bar and use either Google or Dictionary.com to check it. I find that the best since those are up-to-date with all the newest words being added to our lexicon.

I do the same thing.

I actually have found that Microsoft spell check has improved my spelling. I have a photographic memory. By seeing it corrected by spell check, I am able to recall the word later with greater accuracy.  

[fyrebrite]

I think it's a little bit of both.

They are nice if you're not sure how to spell something, but there is the fact of grammer errors that are not always caught.

And some people do end up to lazy to proof read because they think spell check got it all.  

[Whoremone]

I agree that they're nice to have, but they're NOT a substitute. I always try to proofread what I write before I submit it because I hate sounding like an idiot. Spell checkers are only nice to clear up a word you were unsure of.