Here’s how. Go to any forum where someone posts an article. Inevitably, there will be that group of people who will correct other people’s spelling. Not grammar. Not punctuation. Not even capitalization, mind you. Just spelling. A sampling includes the following:
Anal Idiot #1: [paraphrase]You spelled “there” instead of “their”.
Anal Idiot #2: [actual]populous –> populace
Anal Idiot #3: [paraphrase]“it’s”. not “its”.
Look. An internet forum can generally be considered free form. It’s not a master’s thesis or even a doctoral’s dissertation, and you are not their advisors. It’s sort of like a conversation. How often can anyone claim in conversation that their diction or grammar is perfect when it’s not been rehearsed? Not too often I would think. Now imagine some fool in a group discussion about some matter interrupting to point out every grammatical error in your sentences. How annoying would that be? Quite annoying, I would imagine [note]. Now in face-to-face conversations, you would pretty much start to avoid inviting this person to any discussions. On an open system like the internet that’s not possible.
This little rant of mine boils down to something even more basic than idiots nitpicking other people’s spelling. It’s the fact that these individuals have nothing significant to add in any sort of discourse, yet they feel the need to add something even if it’s pointless. These people are equivalent to the bureaucrats everyone seems to dislike when important things need to be done and done quickly. They derive their sense of importance from the fact that they’ve added their “2 cents” or stamped their name on something hoping that it’ll survive in perpetuity. I offer a little bit of advice to you out there who think this adds “value” to a discussion. IT DOESN’T. All it does is make you look like a child attempting draw attention to himself/herself in a discussion amongst adults.
NOTE: I know I’m switching from spelling to grammar, but I think the analogy holds. One is written form and the other is spoken form of communication.