It's about time
edit- Isn't it a little discouraging when you go to correct typos and they never seem to stop?
- Or how about when you find a certain misspelled word and it seems to re-occur in every article you find?
- Doesn't it seem like "the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit" should be spelled better than a third grade child?
I've thought of an idea that anyone can contribute to. A better way to work together and collectively eliminate more and more typos in the free encyclopedia.
What if we took the Wikipedia Common List of Misspelled Words, distributed a few words each amongst ourselves, and made checking Wikipedia for these words part of our daily operations?
I've already picked out a few of my own words. What I did was correct all the articles that had the typo. Then, when I logged into Wikipedia I would check those words and fix the one or two mistakes that someone had made overnight. As checking for these typos became increasingly easier, it came to me that if we all worked together we could remove many of the misspellings and typos that plague Wikipedia.
What can you do?
editStart off by:
- Going to my SignaturePage copy of the common list and sign your name by the typo(s) you wish to adopt.
- Rooting out the old typos for whatever typo you adopt. You can do this through various methods (AWB, etc.) but the most reliable is probably using Wikipedia search. To get a full list you can type this template into your URL after you replace the HERE with the name of your typo: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Search&ns0=1&redirs=0&search=HERE&limit=1500&offset=0
How many do I adopt?
editThere's no specified amount of typos you have to adopt. You have 4000+ commonly misspelled words to choose from. Feel free to adopt as many or as little as you like. What seems to work best is to start off with a few and adopt more as checking older typos gets easier and easier. Note: It does not matter which typos you choose. If, for example, you chose "addtion", it would be recommended to take "addtional" as well for the sake of organization. However it's not mandatory.
What should I do when I've finished?
editIf you're done rooting out the typos in old articles, make searching for those typos a part of your Wikipedia routine. Just scan over your typos to make sure no one has added or edited in your adopted typo. That's all you have to do.
It can work
editAll it's going to take is some cooperation and faithfulness to help make Wikipedia a better place. When one editor looks at the number of mistakes out there it can be very scary. However my hope is that if we all take some time to do this together we can make Wikipedia a better place.