I'd say first that you'd have to define poor spelling, and take into account the situation. Are we assuming that the situation is a single mistake made on this forum? If so are we making an attempt to raise (or at least establish) the level of expectations for everyone on this site?

As for poor spelling being a sign of low intelligence; I'd say that it is definitely not. Intelligence is too broad a subject for any one thing to be seen as an indicator of a person's I.Q.

I'd give the hypothetical example of an extremely intelligent person who suffers from dyslexia. Would we be correct in underestimating that person's intelligence merely based on habitual poor spelling?

I know my spelling is horrid. I personally am not here to impress anyone with my grammar because I know it isn’t going to happen. I feel personally, if I get my idea across in a reasonable fashion then I have accomplished what I set out to do.

**note the punctuation error** I did in fact use a semi-colon where a comma would have been correct. :-)

I find that my spelling has become poorer as every work document or email I send is automatically spellchecked (often by an annoyingly Americanised dictionary), so I don't have to pay attention to my typing. Of course, when I then switch to a forum or messaging environment, I become less 'correct', as my errors aren't caught.

Although, I use Safari at home (like now), which has a handy underline of spelling errors (even if they aren't, like the English -ised extension, which it wants me to replace with -ized...)

LOL, as long as this came up, is 'responcibility' an English (UK) spelling? I've seen several people use that on the abortion thread and I've wondered that. I tried googling it, but it appears to be a misspelling, not a local spelling.

LOL @ DJ, wow, someone FINALLY said it! :p

Yes, poor spelling matters, but I'm an old fart (40). I suspect that younger folks will care less and less about spelling, and we'll all soon spk lk dis n every1 will b :)

@DJ - Of course, 'responsibility' is correct.

And, back on topic, I cope with typos, but basic errors like that do annoy me...

aul dem peeples dat kant speel r dum

@Pete U - -ize is 'correct' English according to the Oxford English Dictionary, '-ise' is also a recognized variant. Many people think that 'ize' is American, but in fact historically UK and USA used -ize' for all words of Greek origin (most of them) and '-ise' for words of Latin origin. However, one would imagine that because so many people think '-ise' is the correct English spelling, that it will sooner or later become the 'correct' English spelling. Another example of how spelling changes over time.

hell no. let the language evolve but i pray we wont all be talking like inner city gangsters

"hell no. let the language evolve but i pray we wont all be talking like inner city gangsters"

Yeah, then you might need to get a new webdiplomacy name you nazi

Forget spelling... How about proper capitalization? It's 'I' not 'i' and sentences start with a capital letter in English.

Are you picky about how territories are referred to?

Such as Belgium, belgium, BEL, Bel, bel?

I'm Portuguese, so spelling in english sometimes can be hard for me...
Should that be a problem?

sorry this is not official writing or school papers or something, it's more conversational, so it's reasonable that people choose to not use normal capitalization, which is how i prefer to write on the internet. since i make my living by writing, i certainly know the rules and then some, but sometimes it's nice to have a break from the rules, as llong as everyone still understands what i am communicating. some spelling errors can cause real problems with understanding/communicating, as can some errors in grammar, or some lack of proper punctuation. but i would say that variation in capitalization is not likely to cause misunderstandings.

No, if English isn't your first language nobody will fault you for messing some words up, just like I would hope that I wouldn't be shot the minute I opened my mouth and attempted to speak Spanish or German:]

*as long as...

I don't think so, Troodonte. I also don't have a problem with punctualization or capitalization when English isn't your first language. I think most here are complaining about the lazy Txt and L33t speak that the younger generation seems to adore.

and for the record, i enjoy talking like "inner city gangstas" (which would be the proper spelling =P )

Some of the younger generation, not all of us are mindless txting drones:p

Wouldn't it be "innah city gangstas"?

Agreed VR. Sorry if I insulted you. My statement was too broad and all-inclusive.

depends on which inner city you are in, i suppose. and which ganstas you are conversing with. of course, mr nazi is using that phrase in place of the phrase "poor black and brown people" and they, in fact, have a wide variety of ways of speaking. but i don't talk politics on this site, so i'm done now.

I would agree with you that more often than not, my generation can't communicate on the same level that your generation can.
But clearly there are exceptions to both cases, as age doesn't guarantee communication skills, or vice versa.

Yes.

One thing is for sure. The proper spelling of the word "caricature" is indelibly etched upon my psyche.

Everything matters.