Forgive me, Father, for I am about to rant about something totally stupid and pointless that won't change just because I have a problem with it. But I'll do it anyway, because I'm bored. What can I say? I'm a writer, not a Saint.

Those of you who have followed my blog and forum posts over the past year know that I frown upon spelling and grammar errors. They bother me like nothing else. Like anything, there's a reason for that.

See, I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I was diagnosed when I was 7, and I'm still taking medication for it to this day. I've learned to use it to my advantage, and I don't view it as a disability but rather an opportunity. Still, it can cause the stupidest of things to bug me.

Orthography (correct spelling and grammar) is one example of this, and the one I wish to discuss today. Whenever I come across a passage with frequent spelling and/or grammar errors, I literally cannot concentrate unless I block those errors out somehow. One little typo I can excuse, but not when the passage is riddled with them. At that point I just stop reading.

What bother me the most are not the errors themselves, but rather the people who don't seem to care enough to fix them when I point them out. The ones that really get to me are the people who act like I've made a personal attack against them even though I was considerate enough to PM them about it rather than calling them out on the forums.

While various rulers over the years have implemented various forms of government, the one group that has always existed despite the efforts of countless teachers and education systems is the Idiocracy. Those people who refuse to learn the basic skills needed to function as intelligent members of society. They are not necessarily stupid, just ignorant. Though in many cases the latter can lead to instances of the former.

I've always found it highly ironic that the people who need to be reading these things are always the ones who don't. That's why my throwing a fit over human stupidity won't make people any smarter. But it will make me feel better, if only for a few moments.

To close, I'd like to address several common errors that I come across practically every day, as well as some fun facts that not many people know. With any luck, this will be an educational experience to a few of you. I encourage you to spread these wherever you go online.

1. "Loose" versus "Lose." This is an example of a typo so common that it's practically replaced the correct spelling of the word. They are both words, but the former is used in place of the latter so often I want to pull my hair out when I see it. The key to telling the difference between them is the sound of the "s" in each. "Loose" has a traditional "s" sound, while the one in "lose" sounds more like a "z."

I think the confusion may stem from the similarity of the two words to "choose" and "chose." The endings are practically the same, but they follow different rules. "Choose" and "chose" are the present and past tense versions of the same verb, whereas "loose" and "lose" have two completely different meanings.

2. "Definitely" versus "Definately." Another example of an all-too-common typo that's slowly overtaking the correct word. The confusion is probably the result of people pronouncing it "def-i-nuht-lee" instead of "def-i-nit-lee," and mistaking the "uh" sound for an "a," rather than an "i."

3. "Compliment" versus "Complement." The former means words of encouragement, while the latter refers to two things that go well together. I see the first one used in place of the second way too often.

4. "Okay" versus "OK" versus "ok." One of these is incorrect. Can you tell me which one? If you said anything but, "The last one," you're wrong. It's okay to shorten OK to two letters as long as you capitalize both of them.

5. "Blond" versus "Blonde." Both of these are correct. However, the former is used in reference to males, while the latter refers to females. To use two characters from the show Kim Possible as an example, Ron is blond and Tara is blonde. This is one of those lesser known quirks of the English language, and something that bothers me every time I see it used incorrectly.

6. "Whoa" versus "Woah." While the first term is the correct one, the second is the one I see most often, even in professional works. It's also one of the most annoying.

7. "Insure" versus "Ensure." The former means to cover one's losses, while the latter means to make sure of something. Not very many people know the second one exists.

And finally, a fun little tidbit that has practically nothing to do with what I talked about today:

8. Contrary to popular belief, the plural of "moose" actually is "meese." If you look it up, though, about eighty percent of the places you go to will tell you that the plural of "moose" is still "moose." This is because it's another case of where the error is so common that it's almost completely replaced the correct word.

I hope you all learned something today.

beeftony