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#90371 13/07/04 11:39 PM
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Jundas Offline OP
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For the love of whatever deities you worship please add a spellchecker into this program. Years of translating people's typos have reduced my ability to distinguish actual words from gibberish!


I’m going mad I beg of you please intricate this feature anyway you can!

#90372 14/07/04 12:18 AM
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I honestly hope this does not get implemented. I despise spell checkers. mIRC is an IRC client, not a word processor. On top of that, there are many spell checker scripts out there on the internet.

#90373 14/07/04 12:23 AM
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The only thing you have to fear from a spellchecker is the reduction of bash.org posts.

#90374 14/07/04 12:51 AM
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Unfortunately there are just too many reasons NOT to have this in mIRC - I highly recommend using the search feature at the top of the forum to find out just some of the points that have been mentioned before. Expand to 'Feature Suggestions' and 'All Posts'.

Some issues that have been raised in the past:
- Different languages - how should mIRC interpret them? Special characters?
- The time it would take to compile all of the world's dictionaries into mIRC.
- Abbreviations - distinguishing between 'lmao', 'rofl' and so on.
- It wouldn't increase people's ability to spell, it would just have a machine do it for them.
- Different types of English - UK/US have different spellings, some completely different words.
- Typos are an acceptable part of the IRC world and are just a part of what makes IRC....IRC smirk

At this time I find it unlikely mIRC will have a spell checker put in. There are addons out there which have a go at it - check some of then out here.

Regards,


Mentality/Chris
#90375 14/07/04 03:04 AM
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Quote:
mIRC is an IRC client, not a word processor


It's also not a gaming system, yet people make games for it. They also make 'notepads', and mp3 players, when its an IRC client. Should /splay be removed from mIRC too?

#90376 14/07/04 03:09 AM
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1f 7h15 15 1mpl1m3n73d 7h3n 1 c4n7 5p33k 1337!!!111!!!! what is wrong with you man!!! badd idea!!! :tongue:

or:

[11:11] <nick 1> what was that code again?
[11:13] <nick 2>
[11:11] * Spell checker found an error in your sentance. "if ($mode = no) { echo hah }" is not recognized by the mIRC internal Spell checking dictionary, therefore was not sent. Correct your error and try again.

Last edited by MTec89; 14/07/04 03:16 AM.

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irc.freenode.net #MTec89Net
#90377 14/07/04 03:36 AM
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Quote:

It's also not a gaming system, yet people make games for it. They also make 'notepads', and mp3 players, when its an IRC client. Should /splay be removed from mIRC too?


Exactly, they make those things. Just like they can make a spell checker... I mean, those things you named aren't built into mIRC, so why should a spell checker be built in? It can easily be scripted, or someone could just download a script...

If all those things were going to be built into mIRC, why not just make mIRC a full fledged operating system?

#90378 14/07/04 03:52 AM
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You, Mentality, obviously have no idea what you are talking about. All of the issues you mentioned, are not issues at all. There are many programs out there that have spellchecking capabilities. One of my favorites, is gaim, and instant messenging client that highlights incorrect words if aspell is installed. If aspell is not installed, then the spellchecker does not work. It's completely optional. Now of course, there's no way for mIRC to keep an internal dictionary of all the languages, so that is not an option at all. Aspell has dictionaries available in every language, and it is also open source/freeware. It is very easy for other programs to access its capabilities. First the user installs the program, then installs the dictionary of his/her language, and it's as easy as that. Let me go through your points one by one to correct your mistakes.

Quote:
- Different languages - how should mIRC interpret them? Special characters?


As stated before, aspell will highlight incorrect spelling according to the user's dictionary.

Quote:
- The time it would take to compile all of the world's dictionaries into mIRC.


I believe this statement has already been destupified.

Quote:
- Abbreviations - distinguishing between 'lmao', 'rofl' and so on.


As long as mIRC only highlights the word, this should not be a problem. Otherwise, words can be added to the dictionary very easily.

Quote:
- It wouldn't increase people's ability to spell, it would just have a machine do it for them.


This may not be true, when they see a mispelled word, chances are they'll try and correct it. And if it were to be done automatically, that's fine also. It at least would make it legible for other readers.

Quote:
- Different types of English - UK/US have different spellings, some completely different words.


This is easily fixed by the user downloading the correct dictionary for his language.

Quote:
- Typos are an acceptable part of the IRC world and are just a part of what makes IRC....IRC


IRC is not a place for lazy ignoramuses, IRC is a gateway to communicating with people from around the world. And spelling is a crucial part of written communication.

Good day.

edit: Aspell can be seen at http://aspell.sourceforge.net/

#90379 14/07/04 05:31 AM
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A full fledged...what are you talking about....

I’m not trying to get mIRC to run my email client and my MMO games I’m using it to chat.

Maybe you don’t understand what I’m saying here.

Spellchecker, as an option, that uses external dictionary files, which can point out typos in a non-intrusive manner (underline…highlight...change colour).

It wouldn’t make any large increase in files size. Dictionary files are available so all you have to do is use one from your native tongue. If you want a word in the dictionary file you just add it.

It wouldn’t interfere with any typos or l33t speak you intentionally provided because it wouldn’t change text unless told to…wouldn’t even beep or pause you with a message box.

You seem to be very heated over the addition of something that could only improve the chatting experience, mind if I ask why?


#90380 14/07/04 05:33 AM
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That sounds almost exactly what mIRC needs.

#90381 14/07/04 08:50 AM
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More than likely the only way mIRC would support spell checking would be to 'borrow' it using COM's from another application, i.e. MSWord, and for this to happen, as one might expect MSWord must be installed.

Failing MSWord being installed mIRC would then need to connect to some dictionary website of some sort to check the words which would be unreasonable to expect.

And, failing that mIRC would need to come packaged with a nice big dictionary which i'm guessing no-ones going to like.

Eamonn.

#90382 14/07/04 09:46 AM
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Hoopy frood
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The problem with using Word's dictionary is that alot of people don't change it to suit their own country's version of English. At any rate Micro$oft still get it wrong. I personally like the idea of a spellchecker that can actually spell, though at the other end of the spectrum it is pointless having one if either the dictionary is wrong or user settings are not accurate.

All up, mIRC really doesn't need one. It is easy to script a small one for commonly mispelled words like "teh" (the), etc. It'd be a good way of putting a 'talker' script to some good use.

#90383 14/07/04 11:18 AM
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I doubt it would use the method you've described. It would, as you said, require MS Word to be installed, it would also be very resource intensive (because MS Word is) and would be very slow having to load up at least a portion of MS Word in order to implement this, most likely the entire program - anyone using a system a couple of years old will know that MS Word is a slow starter. Instead it would make much more sense to use a purpose-built dictionary/spell-checker library, the obvious choice being Aspell as electrik said.


Spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and stupid comments are intentional.
#90384 14/07/04 11:51 AM
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A spell checker would be absolutely superb, but how it would be implemented for the end user is a difficult question.

When a user types a message, does it auto-check each word and alert of errors in real time, or does it display a dialog when Enter is pressed and displays all errors? Automation feature? As with the threat of killer automative robots, an automatic spell checker replacer could cause havoc (who's had fun with MSWord autocomplete?).

Don't get me wrong, it's a great idea, and put into mIRC wouldn't be that hard with electrik's suggestion of Aspell. I'm just worried about how it will be used in the end. Maybe we'll see it has a major feature with lots of options to satify the majority of users.


You won't like it when I get angry.
#90385 14/07/04 12:14 PM
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Hey there,

Firstly, please don't be rude to me, there is no need for it - insulting my intelligence was unnecessary, there are better ways to get your point across.

Secondly, the points I made in that post are a summary of issues that have been mentioned by other people in other spell checking threads, not ones that I have concocted. I did point this out in that post, you must have missed that particular sentence.

Good day.

Regards,


Mentality/Chris
#90386 14/07/04 12:26 PM
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I agree with you that MSword is a slow starter, but that doesnt stop it from being an alternative.

i.e.


alias speltright {
if (!$com(spellcheck)) { comopen spellcheck Word.Application }
if (!$comerr) {
var %b = $com(spellcheck,CheckSpelling,3,bstr,$1-)
var %c = $com(spellcheck).result
}
return $iif(%c,* Correct Spelling,* Incorrect Spelling)
}

alias closespell { .comclose spellcheck }


//echo - $speltright(Your Text)

Granted, yes, it keeps MSword open in the background for the duration but it works, and after the word is open, it works pretty much instantly and closespell could be called On Exit.

Adding a little, GetSpellingSuggestions call would also get you alternatives to your mistakes.

Eamonn.

#90387 14/07/04 02:40 PM
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I wasn't being rude to you, I was just correcting you.

And in response to my good friend zack, the way gaim does it (which is the best way in my opinion), is that while you're typing, when you hit the spacebar, thus signifying the beginning of a new word, it checks to previous word, and if it is mispelled, it turns the mispelled word red and underlined. It doesn't prompt you to fix it, or do anything else obstrusive.

And with the addition of the 'multi-byte editbox' in one of the recent versions, I do not believe it would be too difficult to turn mispelled words red and underlined.

#90388 14/07/04 03:27 PM
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After the world has appeared as incorrect, then perhaps a system similar to the CTRL+K dialog can be done (with a option to enable/disable it of course). That could work quite well.


You won't like it when I get angry.
#90389 14/07/04 05:02 PM
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I'll try to limit myself to actual arguments instead of ad hominem remarks.

-> Different languages: Maybe for english speakers it's difficult to grasp, but there are really many different languages. In Belgium there are 3 official languages, and if you have something remotely to do with Internet you also use English. So which language would you set in mIRC?

-> Dialects: On IRC, dialects, regional or spoken language are used a lot. In Dutch there is a difference between written language and IRC language. Yes it's not correct, but it is widely accepted. There are still errors (typo's and incorrect grammar for some things), but some errors are intentional for a more fluent or natural message.
I have never seen a spell checker that works perfectly with this language, I might even look at it for 2 seconds...

-> "This may not be true, when they see a mispelled word, chances are they'll try and correct it"
No, chances are they'll get annoyed by that wavy red line stuff and get a client that doesn't act like a school teacher.

-> Spell checkers suck: they often give wrong output, both overlooking errors and marking errors where there are none. Same for proper names, nick names and stuff like that. I'm not going to add hundred different nicknames to have a rather clean looking mIRC.

-> mIRC is a chat program; not a spelling teacher. (If you want it to be both, go to next point)

And now the important stuff:
-> You can script it. Use com objects or code a dll and have it check the text with on INPUT events, or make your own dialogs or whatever. You apparently already have all the dictionaries you need... You can even write on @*:TEXT*:#:if ($dll(check.dll,check,$1-)) kick # $nick My eyes hurt because of you. Do note that I won't be rejoining your channel.

#90390 14/07/04 06:41 PM
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I personally don't see what the big deal is. I'm a GAIM user too and I think its spell-checker feature is handy - it's not intrusive and it's not annoying. If you still don't like it, simply disable the ability to use it in the preferences! Sheesh.

Anyways, now to address some of the arguements...

Quote:
-> Different languages: Maybe for english speakers it's difficult to grasp, but there are really many different languages. In Belgium there are 3 official languages, and if you have something remotely to do with Internet you also use English. So which language would you set in mIRC?


Ok, multi-lingual users could be a problem. I think perhaps having the ability to specify the language of the particular channel/private chat would be handy. Perhaps some kind of drop-down menu somewhere. Or, in the mIRC preferences, a list box which allows you to select multiple languages, based on the dictionaries that are already installed or, if none are installed, mIRC could download the dictionaries which are needed from the aspell/ispell/gtkspell websites.

Quote:
-> Dialects: On IRC, dialects, regional or spoken language are used a lot. In Dutch there is a difference between written language and IRC language. Yes it's not correct, but it is widely accepted. There are still errors (typo's and incorrect grammar for some things), but some errors are intentional for a more fluent or natural message.
I have never seen a spell checker that works perfectly with this language, I might even look at it for 2 seconds...


Fo this one, I think the only viable solution is to either add the custom words to the dictionary or just plain ignore them.

Quote:
-> "This may not be true, when they see a mispelled word, chances are they'll try and correct it"
No, chances are they'll get annoyed by that wavy red line stuff and get a client that doesn't act like a school teacher.


Then disable the feature.

Quote:
-> Spell checkers suck: they often give wrong output, both overlooking errors and marking errors where there are none. Same for proper names, nick names and stuff like that. I'm not going to add hundred different nicknames to have a rather clean looking mIRC.


I personally have NEVER had a spell checker suggest the wrong word to me or an incorrect spelling. Grammar checkers, on the other hand, are a different story. As for nicknames, perhaps mIRC can be set so that any words in the nicklist are not checked.

Sure, the feature can be scripted but then so can most features...

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