There will be no spellchecker. I asked and they answered. This was WordPress’s response:
A. Jay (Automattic)
Jun 22, 07:25 UTC
Hi there,
Thank you for contacting us.
The spellchecker was a part of the publication process. I don’t like Grammarly and it interferes with other apps — and Google’s isn’t very good. What was the problem with including it? Was it in someone’s way? Was it harming someone? I do not understand.
Spell checkers are a specialty product, and it’s not something we specialize in. The WordPress.com spell checker was developed years ago when there didn’t exist any alternatives yet. Since then things have changed and a lot of other companies have started specializing in this, which led to the decision on our end to step back from the field and focus instead on the things we do specialize in.
Modern browsers now provide built-in spell-checking tools, so we have removed this feature from our product to avoid maintaining unnecessary dependencies. I read that you do not like Grammarly or Google’s spell checker, however, following are our recommendations as an alternative option:
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- the spell-checking built into most browsers
- a browser extension that offers additional grammar checks
- a third-party service that offers additional grammar checks
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You can read more about some of these options here – https://en.support.wordpress.com/proofreading/
Please let us know if you have any questions or if we can help with anything else.
Best,
A. Jay | Happiness Engineer
WordPress.com | Automattic Inc.
I’d be interested to find out in exactly what WordPress does specialize. Certainly not in helping bloggers do whatever bloggers do … or creating functional software for bloggers to use. They have been forging ahead with their preconceived notion of what we are supposed to want for years.
None of us were ever consulted. No user surveys were ever taken among users. So with each “update,” they make the software harder to use. More awkward, slower. Essentially, dumber.
This shouldn’t surprise anyone. It certainly didn’t surprise me.
Categories: #Blogging, #Writing, Editing, Software, Technology, WordPress
It’s crazy to me that WordPress won’t use a spellchecker anymore. That’s such a simple add-on to include and it’s such a massive step back to no longer offer it. It’s almost like they’re trying to get people to stop using their site.
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I think it’s stupid and ass-backward too. They don’t really have a grip on writers and what they need. The only reason they are in business is that the other choice is Blogger (Google) and that isn’t better. Someone will come and be the next big thing. I hope it is soon.
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A blogging site that doesn’t think that helping writers is necessary. Those guys really need to stop calling themselves Happiness Engineers because they are not making anyone happy.
I use Grammarly but I don’t care for it that much because I don’t like being bugged to get the paid version all the time and although I have tried to personalise it I still have arguments with it over Brit vs US English at times.
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I’m surprised they don’t have two versions. Most spelling and grammar checkers do have both Brit and American versions. Also, Grammarly has ALWAYS been all about the money. I was a tester for them and they wanted $12/month at that time. I told them they were nuts. No one — certainly not me or anyone I knew — was going to pay that kind of money for a grammar/spelling checker, especially since their grammatical changes were often completely out of line with my style of writing. But really, it’s WP we need to hold accountable. They SHOULD be providing a spell/grammar checker. If they aren’t capable of building one, they can buy one and attach it to the software. It’s easy enough to do and any developer can manage it, even a kid.
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Of course they can do it. They just don’t want to. I would have thought it would come under the heading of “seamless” operation. Sometimes I think that younger people don’t worry as much about correct spelling and grammar as we did.
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Have you read Trump’s tweets?
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I try not to.
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I use Grammarly, it is always trying to make me say “you’re” when it should be your or yours. Not exactly fond of it but it kinda works.
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It’s better than nothing, but WP should be dealing with this. But they have no interest in helping their customers. They haven’t for years.
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In other words… back then they had real developers, and now they have younger ones with only specialized skills.
I use Grammarly too now but it’s horrible.
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It has issues with other applications. I don’t hate it, but I don’t like it either. It’s better than nothing.
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Here’s the skinny Marilyn. There’s these WP people sitting in cubicles (somewhere). They haven’t done anything in 3 months and they fear the bosses will catch on. SO … they change stuff. It doesn’t need to be changed and nobody asked them. But their jobs are secure for another 3 months. Enjoy.
MS has warehouses FULL of these people. ‘Updaters’ I call ’em. They too never ask us anything. They just change shit and screw up our computers. But I’m sure they are well trained and well paid.
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They could create a decent piece of software — or buy one and add to the existing software. They just don’t think they are answerable to us.
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They might want to invest in a grammar checker though. Seriously, this? ‘…when there didn’t exist any alternatives yet…’
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I know. What a load of bullshit.
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“Happiness Engineer”???
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And they aren’t embarrassed by that title? How humiliating.
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They are” know it alls”. 😡🤬
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And eventually, they will run themselves into the ground. They would not be the first or even the dozenth.
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Exactly!
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Well said Marilyn ….I’m chuckling away.
Leslie
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They are not interested in their customers. I’m not sure exactly WHAT it is they think is important.
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to further monetize…
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It’s more about what THEY want than what WE want.
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That’s the way it has been for some years now and I don’t see it getting any better.
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Thanks for looking into this and reporting back, Marilyn! I had also wondered about this and just thought maybe I was doing something wrong or not seeing something. Guess that I’ll have to go back to writing my posts in Word, first, and then pasting into WorPress. And I had just gotten good at writing my posts right on the site. Maybe if enough people complain…
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Tons of people have complained. They do not care. It’s as simple as that.
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I suppose I use Safari because all of my blogs, with a few exceptions, are written on my Mac which automatically has Safari. It corrects my words and I have no great problem. My problem is whether to write in the American style of spelling or the UK system, so I have a mixed salad. I don’t think there is any spell checker that would work for a Brit that lived most of its life speaking german all day in Switzerland and writing on an American based blogging site.
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I just liked having one that ran right before publishing. Pick up those final typos. I always have a ptoblem between British and American spelling too since so many people I know live outside the U.S. Usually, I stay with American because I have to pick something, but often the Brit spelling makes more sense to me. We tend to shorten words and I like the real word!
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This is funny. I try to ALWAYS use UK English. That’s what I learned first and what I like best. I also have a spellchecker for American and another for UK English. But only the UK English is activated! When I lived in Canada for a short while, I was made fun of (kindly!) and they’d call me The Oxford Queen – I didn’t even understand the joke until they explained that my E was way better than theirs, speaking in University terms, pronounciation, vocabular….. I didn’t learn E at University! I read a LOT. I have no fear of being ridiculed for speaking badly and I ask for correction. I also hate spellchecker; when I didn’t pay attention as to which language on my keyboard is activated, it sends out stuff in truly babylonian fashion!
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