Count me amongst the anal retentives
I'm big on spelling, largely because it plays such a role in communication for the work I do. It is also a tool I use to judge a person's competency. I try not to do it on the internet, but every summer I am responsible for hiring student employees and the schlock that comes in passing as a resume is abhorrent. You may not like that is a judgemental thing, but in the absence of anything else it is indeed what is used. I wouldn't exclude anyone from an interview, but I damn well would ask why their resume is littered with spelling errors. It tends to reflect laziness (as it pertains to your resume - if you want a job, make an effort).
That said, the 'net is a bit of a different beast. I will use 'cuz' instead of 'because' and other slang of that sort. I will cringe but I've stopped bothering to make comments as I typically get the
it's not a frigging english {sic} classrom comment back. And to those that would make that comment, they are correct. But people judge all the time. I use it as a tool. If you can't be bothered to try and make an effort to spell something correctly will you make the effort to pack the figures I'm buying/trading with you properly? Where does your level of effort start and end and how can I be sure. The point of English class is to teach you something to use in life and get further ahead. There are no grades once school is done, but there are perks if you do things well. Spelling is just one.
That said, I'm not about to crap on anyone, it's not worth the effort. I'm trying to be a reformed spelling Nazi
