> The page does not read like a joke. "We can all spell. Try learning - > it's a useful life skill. Really." Doesn't sound like a joke to me.
It's not a joke. That bit is deadly serious. Fifty years ago people could spell, because they couldn't offload the work on machines. Learning to spell means all your handwritten (yes, some people still do that) communications will also be understandable. Correct spelling has a purpose - a language agrees on standard spellings in its alphabet of the words for particular things or concepts in order to promote clear communication between individuals. Better spelling leads to better communication. > It's > really not a joke when it is attached to bugs in bugzilla. It gives the > message "go ahead and report your problems, we don't care!" On every other topic, we care deeply. > The fact that many people are asking about it and requesting it > indicates that is important functionality. Ignoring large numbers of > requests from the user community is NOT what makes an open source > project work. I hate to sound like a broken record, but if users want a spell-checker, they should be asking for it from their Mozilla distributor. That's how RFEs should be fed back to the Mozilla development community. And then those distributors can allocate resources as they see fit. Open Source projects do _not_ work by people turning up and saying "I want a spell-checker! Write me one!" and the developers saying "Yes, master. We will do your bidding even though there are other thing we'd rather be doing." > This one "FAQ" will do far more to harm the Mozilla community and > Mozilla development then all of the requests and questions about the > Spell Checker combined. Who wants to be part of a community that doesn't > care? "If you do have resources, and say so up front, you are assured of a polite and civil welcome." Gerv
