It's just that when I see a very basic word not spelled correctly I feel it's better to let the other person know.
Sorry but on an international forum like this, where for many English is not their first or even second language, it is seen as incredibly presumptuous of you to correct others. Almost every one lets misspellings and incorrect usage slide. No one wants to be remonstrated by others, particularly people they don't know. Save your criticism and your attitude for some other venue.
Ruth
In your first reply to Keti, you corrected him/her using the words It's 'definitely', and 'nostrification' isn't a word. As has already been discussed, the second part of that was utterly wrong, so I'll limit myself to the first part.
While in speech the impact of that phrase may be softened by tone of voice, in writing it looks very direct, arrogant and unfriendly. Besides that, since Keti had only written one reply until then, his/her writing "definitelly" could be just a typo.
IMHO if you really can't stop yourself from correcting others, it would be much more appropriate if you would first confirm that this was a structural misspelling rather than a typo, and then sent him/her a PM along the lines of "I hope you don't mind me pointing this out to you, but reading your posts I noticed that..."
C'est le ton qui fait la musique.
Aribo - I can see your point, but I used my intuition re: definitely more than anything. I can't tell you how I knew it wasn't a typo, I just did. Anyway, I will do my best to stop correcting people unless they tell me it's what they want beforehand.
Good, then after 63 posts we can finally move on. I think, however, that you'll get more feedback if you let this discussion fade into oblivion and start a new thread.
then sent him/her a PM
That should be "senD" of course. Too much proofreading I guess...
but I used my intuition re: definitely more than anything. I can't tell you how I knew it wasn't a typo, I just did.
I am curious as to how you could possibly know that this error was a typo or a misspelling. Again, to me your statement here only goes to hint at a sense of superiority that is plainly not appropriate on an international forum.
But more importantly as Aribo suggests, why bother pointing it out publicly?
Ruth
What exactly do you expect from a new thread that isn't covered here already? Just because you decided to get polite and made up with the people whom you offended doesn't mean you'll get answers to your original query that is any more to your liking. Your comment from post #35, "I guess my mum and I will have to be all the more determined if we want to move to Western Europe. I do think that where there's a will, there's a way," tells me, in this context, that you are the type to ignore advice that you don't like and rather shoot the messenger.
To summarize; your mother has dim prospects of a job in the stated desired countries. There is extensive discussion of that issue here already and I don't believe another thread is necessary.
Ruth - I just have a good sense for how people use language. Maybe I'm psychic in that way.
Point out what? The mistake, or how I detected it?
Alex - I don't know what I'm expecting... and that's the point. Someone might be able to offer me useful information that I hadn't anticipated. What my statement says to me, is that my mother is determined to move and will do her best to do so. Dim prospects are better than none.
It doesn't matter whether you are psychic or not, you can't possibly know for certain whether it was a typo or grammatical error. Pointing out that someone made a simple error, whether or not a typo or grammar on an international forum is considered by most to be rude. Making a point of it publicly is completely unnecessary.
I am surprised by failure of your "intuition" to recognize the inappropriateness of many of your public comments and the arrogance that they suggest.
What my statement says to me, is that my mother is determined to move and will do her best to do so.
I hear you. I understand that hope springs eternal. I think your mother's prospects are dim at best, and I suggest your mother should focus her efforts first on finding a job, rather than picking a city in which to look for a job.
This is one of those situations in which 'beggars can't be choosers.' Since the job is likely to be the most limiting factor, start with that. If a job is located, then you can look at the visa issues for yourself and decide if all the other factors you mention are really that important.
I find in my work that people often eliminate perfectly reasonable options by being close-minded. It is almost always an option to stay where you are and there may be good reasons you haven't considered to choose to do so.
Ruth
