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Grammar and spelling rules for posts

Started by crimsoncanyon2 · · 👁 4 views · 18 replies

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Participants crimsoncanyon2Michelle EvansNicholas Kinganalogwalker5northernpilot2Jamie Davis9Sophia Thomas7Michelle Alvarez8northerncyclist2
crimsoncanyon2 crimsoncanyon2 Active MemberOP
123 messages
joined Jan 2014
#1 ·
Hey 🙂
I’m trying to figure out how someone—whether it's in my own posts or someone else's—could possibly be changing letters, messing with wording, or intentionally adding typos and grammar mistakes??

Look, I’m a total perfectionist about this stuff—it’s borderline obsessive. I’ll re-read and edit a post multiple times both before and after hitting send. So, it honestly blows my mind when a three-sentence paragraph that I just double-checked suddenly morphs from "I am going" to "I is going" or "voluntary" to "voluntarily"... just out of nowhere.
Who exactly could be doing this?
One woman told me that a moderator on certain forums can actually write posts *for* you, let alone just tweak a few letters, while another lady claimed someone is actually using remote desktop software to control my computer..

What’s the actual, most likely explanation here?
I’ve been noticing this for a long, long time—not just since yesterday—but I’m genuinely losing my mind wondering what's going on.
Thanks for any insight 🙂
Michelle Evans Michelle Evans Regular
320 messages
joined Jan 2013
#2 ·
crimsoncanyon2 said:A woman once told me that a forum moderator could actually write posts on my behalf...

That’s just not possible.
,let alone just fixing typos

They can edit a post, but there’s always a note at the bottom indicating it was edited and by whom. For instance, here.
Editing is usually avoided unless it's for housekeeping—like merging posts, adding quotes to keep threads organized, trimming down massive blocks of quoted text, or scrubbing private info...

Thread titles might get fixed if they have typos, missing punctuation, or weird capitalization issues to help with search engines, but there isn't a public log showing which specific moderator made those tweaks.
Nicholas King Nicholas King Regular
716 messages
joined Jan 2023
#3 ·
Michelle Evans said:Sure, they can technically edit, but then there's that little note at the bottom flagging the post as edited and identifying who did it.

The original question was actually "Who is the person capable of..."—it wasn't until later that moderators were even mentioned.

Are you seriously suggesting that no level of administration—regardless of whether they are editing their own content or someone else's—has the ability to make an edit without leaving a footprint at the bottom of the post?

Please, don't claim 😬that.
Michelle Evans Michelle Evans Regular
320 messages
joined Jan 2013
#4 ·
Nicholas King said:I wouldn't go that far 😬.

Where am I making that claim? 😁 🤷
The original question was "Who is the person capable of..." — the discussion about moderators only came up later.

My response is specifically addressing the assumptions made regarding moderator authority. I quoted those parts just to be clear about what I was responding to...
analogwalker5 analogwalker5 Member
11 messages
joined Jul 2012
#5 ·
If it’s super obvious that some foreigner wrote the post, are they actually going to go in and fix all those mistakes? Or does it honestly not even matter if the person behind the keyboard is an American or someone from abroad?
Nicholas King Nicholas King Regular
716 messages
joined Jan 2023
#6 ·
Michelle Evans said:Where exactly am I making a claim? 😁 🤷

Where exactly am I making an assertion? My sentence ends with a question mark—which means, quite simply, I’m asking a question... 😬
My response specifically addresses those assumptions regarding moderator authority—the ones laid out earlier. I’ve included direct quotes from those sections just so there’s no confusion about exactly which points I’m responding to.

And why exactly does your response completely bypass her initial question—you know, the one asking "which specific person could actually..."—which was the whole reason she even started this thread in the first place? I mean, it would probably be considered decent manners to actually address that part of the inquiry, wouldn't it?

As far as I can tell—and I could be wrong here, but I really don't think I am—the answer to that question is a pretty resounding yes. The administrators... honestly, I don't even know where to begin with them. It feels like we're constantly navigating a minefield of arbitrary rules and inconsistent enforcement—it’s exhausting, really. One minute everything is fine, and the next, someone is being reprimanded for something that wasn't even clearly against the guidelines. I guess it’s just the nature of digital spaces, but you'd think there would be more transparency in how decisions are made around here. Maybe I'm being too harsh, but when you see the way things are handled, it's hard not to feel a bit frustrated by the lack of a steady hand at the wheel. I guess I should mention—though I'm not entirely sure if this counts as a "feature" or just a loophole—that I actually have the ability to jump in and edit both my own posts and those written by others, all without leaving any of those annoying "edited" timestamps at the bottom. It’s a bit of a gray area, I suppose, but there won't be a trace left behind.

I’ve seen posts like that before—and honestly, I'm seeing them even in discussions that deal with matters far more consequential than some supposed intentional grammatical errors. 😁.
Michelle Evans Michelle Evans Regular
320 messages
joined Jan 2013
#7 ·
analogwalker5 said:If it’s obvious a foreigner wrote the post, will their mistakes be corrected? Or does it not matter if the author is an American or a foreigner?

They won't.
Grammar and spelling slips happen all the time, even with native Americans. As long as the point gets across, it doesn't really matter for the discussion...

Nicholas King said:Where am I claiming that you're claiming something? My sentence ends in a question mark—I'm asking... 😬

Neither did the one I quoted. You asked if I was making a claim, then told me not to make one. To me, that felt like an insinuation, so I'll just leave it at my own interpretation...

Why does your response skip her first question ("who could possibly..."), which is why she even started this thread? It would be polite to address that too.

If being polite means answering that, wouldn't my selective response be impolite? 😕
I don't quite see why there's such curiosity about my reasoning, but I'll explain. Since I deal with moderator duties every day, I know what those powers entail. Regarding the specific permissions admins have, I know they exist because I've been told, but I don't know every technical detail, and I wouldn't want to spread half-truths. That's why I chose to focus only on the parts I handle daily and actually understand...
northernpilot2 northernpilot2 Active Member
201 messages
joined Oct 2013
#8 ·
If a mod or a supermod touches a post, you’ll definitely see it because there's always a trail left behind. But, like Michelle Evans mentioned earlier, the mods aren't going to be jumping in to fix your typos or grammar mishaps. They might step in to edit if an image is way too huge and they have to turn it into a link, or maybe when they're merging posts and a trace gets left, I guess.
If any moderator starts editing posts just to clean up someone's spelling or whatever, that user should probably report them to a supermod or an admin, since that kind of thing isn't really allowed according to the rules.
Nicholas King Nicholas King Regular
716 messages
joined Jan 2023
#9 ·
Michelle Evans said:You asked me if I was making an assertion, and then you immediately told me to stop asserting things. Honestly, maybe the reason this feels like an insinuation to me—that I'm somehow pushing some kind of agenda—is because that’s exactly how you phrased it. If that's how you want to see it, then fine; let's just leave it at that. It can all stay right there within the realm of my own "projections," if that's what you're calling it.

I’m not making any insinuations here—honestly—but trying to explain this would be nothing more than a tedious dive into linguistic semantics, so I think it’s best if we just skip it entirely. 🙂.
If I had been polite enough to actually give him a response, would my decision to be so selective with my reply then be considered impolite? 😕

Actually, yeah. I mean, would you even consider it decent behavior from a cosmetics company if they sent you a response confirming that their shampoo won't cause any damage to your hair—while conveniently staying silent about the fact that it’s going to make you grow a full beard? 🙂

I feel like I need to throw in a disclaimer right off the bat here—just so there’s absolutely no implication that you did any of this on purpose. 🙂 Look, if I actually take the time to sit down and provide a thorough, comprehensive answer to some of these questions—and I mean *really* dive into the weeds here—then, well... I guess we’ll see where that gets us. I suppose you’re asking if I can handle the translation—though, to be clear, I don't just "translate." I reconstruct. If you're looking for someone to simply swap words from one language to another like a machine, you've come to the wrong place. I take the core essence, the actual soul of the message, and rebuild it from the ground up so it sounds like it was written by a native speaker living right here in the States. No clunky phrasing, no awkward literalisms—just pure, authentic American prose that feels real. So, yes—I can certainly do that for you. The reason I opened this thread is because—well, frankly, it’s not exactly a joy to have to address this—but we need to talk about the way things are being handled here. Looking at that last post, it seems like your colleague is falling into the same trap again: he’ll dutifully explain exactly what the moderators and super-moderators are authorized to do, and then... nothing. He just stops right there. Technically speaking, I suppose he hasn't said anything factually incorrect—he's sticking to the rulebook—but by staying silent on the actual substance of the issue, he's essentially withholding the very thing needed to provide a complete answer. It's a bit frustrating, if I'm being honest.
I know this specific functionality exists for the admins—they’ve told me themselves—but I don't actually have all the technical specifics regarding how it works under the hood. It would be incredibly irresponsible of me to start throwing around half-baked information or speculating without being certain. So, I've decided to just stick to the part I interact with on a daily basis—the side of things that I actually know inside and out.

What kind of specifics do you actually need if you already know the option exists? I mean, why bother asking for more detail just to conclude—"the option exists"? It’s pretty straightforward, really. An administrator can go in and edit their own posts or someone else's without leaving behind any kind of digital footprint whatsoever. It's as simple as that.

So, was it really impossible to go with the "let me look into it before I give an answer" approach—or even just a simple, "the admins have the authority to do that, but I don't have the specifics on hand"? I mean, come on.

What should one even make of a response like, "Look, we know our shampoo causes women to grow beards because that's what customers have been telling us—but honestly, we don't actually grasp the mechanics behind it, and we felt it would be incredibly unprofessional to start pushing half-baked theories or misinformation"? 😬
crimsoncanyon2 crimsoncanyon2 Active MemberOP
123 messages
joined Jan 2014
#10 ·
Okay, so it’s possible then... that’s exactly what I needed to clear up 😁

One more thing though... if I can go back and edit my own posts countless times over an hour and a half—basically as long as the edit button stays active—why wouldn't someone else be able to do the same?
And if I can tweak my PDFs a few times without a strike-through, an "edited" tag, or having to explain myself, why shouldn't a moderator be able to work the same way?
I mean, it doesn't trigger an edit notice or a request for clarification every single time I make a change; it only kicks in if I try to edit the exact same post for the fifth time in a row..
The only thing I've noticed is that on LJES, you don't really get the chance to fix things more than once or maybe twice before the post shows a permanent record of being edited.

Oh, and just now, this Facebook-style "Like" button popped up next to the posts on the left side, right by the "Quote" option. I'm dying to know—is anyone else seeing this? 😁
northernpilot2 northernpilot2 Active Member
201 messages
joined Oct 2013
#11 ·
crimsoncanyon2 said:So, I guess it's possible then... which was basically the whole point of me asking in the first place, I suppose. 😁

On the technical side of things, a sub-forum moderator can jump in and edit your post whenever they feel like it. But, look, editing posts just to fix some typos isn't really allowed, and the mods know that.
If you catch a mod doing that, honestly, you should probably report them to a supermod or one of the admins.

Only an admin has the power to edit without leaving any kind of edit trail behind, but I doubt that’d ever actually happen—it's such a slim chance, because why would an admin even bother doing that? There's just no reason for it.

One more thing... if I can go back and edit my own post a million times within an hour and a half—basically until the edit window shuts—why wouldn't someone else be able to do the same?

Well, you can edit your own stuff as much as you want as long as that timer is still running. It's set to 90 minutes after you hit post. Once that window closes, you're locked out, and from there on, only the admin crew can touch it if there's a real necessity.

And if I can edit a few times on certain boards without a line appearing to show an edit or an explanation, why couldn't a moderator use that same logic?

The only way an edit doesn't leave a footprint is if you edit the post almost immediately after posting it—like, within a minute or two, maybe even less.

I don't know, what part of this is confusing?
Mods have the ability to edit posts in their specific sections at any time, but yeah, there’s always going to be a trace left behind. And they aren't supposed to be messing with posts unless there's a legit reason, like an image being way too huge or needing to merge posts together, and in those cases, the edit tag stays.

Oh, hey, I'm seeing this Facebook-style "Like" button popping up next to the "Quote" option on the left side of posts now. Is anyone else seeing this, or is it just me? 😁

That feature is only live on forum Help; they were testing something out, but it's not really being used or anything. Actually, maybe try clicking "Like" and let us know if it even works. 😁
Jamie Davis9 Jamie Davis9 Active Member
120 messages
joined Jan 2012
#12 ·
northernpilot2 said:An edit tag shouldn't stick around unless someone goes back and tweaks their post immediately after hitting send—we're talking maybe a minute or two at most.

To be more exact, if they're editing within four minutes of posting, fine, but once you hit that five-minute mark, you're just playing fast and loose with the rules.
Sophia Thomas7 Sophia Thomas7 Active Member
183 messages
joined Aug 2015
#13 ·
northernpilot2 said:On the technical side of things, a PDF moderator can technically edit your post whenever they feel like it. That said, editing posts just to fix minor typos isn't allowed, and the moderators are well aware of that.
If a moderator is actually doing that, you should report them to a supermod or an admin.

Seriously though, are we really going to waste energy arguing because someone claims a mod went in and changed a lowercase 'c' to a 'k'? 😬
Michelle Alvarez8 Michelle Alvarez8 Regular
299 messages
joined Nov 2015
#14 ·
analogwalker5 said:If it's obvious a foreigner wrote the post, will they actually fix the mistakes? Or does it really not matter if the author is an American or someone from abroad?

Honestly, I just care that it isn't written in some random language using a different alphabet. ☕
crimsoncanyon2 crimsoncanyon2 Active MemberOP
123 messages
joined Jan 2014
#15 ·
northernpilot2 said:That feature is only live over on forum Help—it was part of some testing phase, but it isn't actually being used or active right now. Honestly, give it a shot and try to hit the like button, then let us know if it actually works. 😁

Haha, yeah, right. So what, I should just use my email and Facebook password to redirect straight to my personal profile? 😁 ...Not a chance in hell. 🤣
northernpilot2 said:The moderators have the ability to edit posts within their specific sections at any time, though there’s always an edit trail left behind. That said, they aren't supposed to touch them unless there's a legitimate reason—like fixing a massive image or merging duplicate posts—so the edit log stays transparent.

It's comforting to know that wherever there's authority, there's always the potential for abuse. 🙂
For me, knowing it's possible is enough—if someone decides to mess with my text, they can answer to themselves.
northernpilot2 northernpilot2 Active Member
201 messages
joined Oct 2013
#16 ·
Matthew Anderson said:Are you freaking kidding me right now? Is this actually happening? We’re really going to burn through precious energy and waste everyone's time just because some person thinks a moderator jumped into a thread specifically to nitpick someone's spelling or mess with their punctuation? I mean, seriously, what kind of power trip is that? It feels like such a massive waste of resources, honestly. Maybe I'm overthinking it, or maybe I'm just being blunt, but it seems totally ridiculous to get all worked up over something so trivial. I guess we'll see, but man, what a joke. 😬

Look, it’s just a massive waste of energy, honestly. I mean, moderators shouldn't even be touching that stuff, and frankly, they aren't supposed to, either. If someone can't string a sentence together properly, well, that’s just a reflection of their own literacy, I guess. There really isn't any need for mods to go crawling into posts just to fix some minor grammar slips or typos—it's just not worth the effort, maybe.

crimsoncanyon2 said:It just hits me sometimes, you know? Like, it’s this nagging realization that anywhere you find people in positions of power—anywhere there's an actual authority figure calling the shots—there's going to be that inherent, inevitable potential for them to abuse it. It’s almost like a law of nature or something, I guess. Wherever there's a hierarchy, there's someone eventually going to take advantage of the situation, maybe even subconsciously, but it's always lurking there in the background. 🙂
Look, honestly, I don't really care about the specifics; just knowing that it’s actually possible is enough for me. As for whoever thinks they have the right to go around messing with my text? Well, if they want to play editor, they can go take it up with Tom, I guess.

Look, let's just stop beating around the bush and quit wasting everyone's time with this whole thing. I mean, what if? Just... what if everything actually went down the way we think it might? It’s one of those things that just sits in the back of your head, I guess, like you're constantly staring at the ceiling at 3 AM wondering about all the "what ifs" that could totally flip the script on us. It's kind of a heavy thought, maybe, but I can't help but dwell on it, honestly.Since you’re the one who kicked this whole thread off, would you mind doing me a favor and dropping some links to the specific posts where this stuff actually happened? I mean, if it even happened at all, I guess. If there are any actual examples out there, please just post them so we can see what we're dealing with.

Don't even sweat it, honestly—even if you're talking about the site admin, there’s a backend log on this forum that tracks every single edit made, regardless of whether any visible trace was left on the actual post or not. I mean, nothing really happens on this board without leaving some kind of digital footprint behind, I guess. It's basically impossible to do anything here without it being caught eventually.

I mean, if you aren't going to drop actual links to the specific posts you're talking about, then I honestly don't see the point of this whole thread, because just throwing around accusations and making stuff up out of thin air doesn't really amount to much, does it?
crimsoncanyon2 crimsoncanyon2 Active MemberOP
123 messages
joined Jan 2014
#17 ·
northernpilot2 said:If you aren't providing links to specific posts, then I don't see the point of this whole thread—making these random guesses and accusations out of thin air just doesn't make sense.

Look, I wasn't "accusing" anyone; I was being curious. It’s pretty obvious from the very first sentence right after the intro, and honestly, if you or anyone else feels targeted by that, 🙂I'm not going to get into why that might be
. I'm just stating what I observed. I really don't have the time to go digging through old threads and checking off boxes just to start some petty little forum drama🙄
. Like I said, whoever is actually doing all that—bless their heart... because I've already made it clear that there's also the remote control option
.
northerncyclist2 northerncyclist2 Active Member
89 messages
joined Jan 2016
#18 ·
Are you maybe being a little bit paranoid, just in a healthy sort of way? 😬
northernpilot2 northernpilot2 Active Member
201 messages
joined Oct 2013
#19 ·
crimsoncanyon2 said:As if I actually have nothing better to do than go digging through old threads just to go in and check off little boxes like some kind of digital chore list for a forum greenhouse 🙄

So, let me get this straight, you basically started this whole thread just because you were bored and wanted to stir the pot a little?
Since there isn't really any actual point to this topic other than just being an aimless troll, we might as well just lock this thing up and move on.

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