[Wikipedia-l] Spellchecking in SQL

[Poor, Edmund W]

There's no way we can use SQL to correct spelling errors automatically. 

Not even MS Word's spellchecker is so reliable that one can simply let it proceed on full automatic. All it can do is point out a word that isn't on its list. Then you have to decide (A) to ignore this instance; (B) to ignore all instances in this session; (C) to add this word to your custom dictionary; (D) to accept the offered "correction"; or (E) to change it manually. This process takes human brainpower.

The page which automatically looks up common misspellings is a great idea -- don't get me wrong. It has already made me 20-30% more efficient in rooting out misspellings. 

But even if I fooled around with a SQL query that changed, say, "althought" to "although" -- I wouldn't trust that task to a bot. I would insist on reading every change in context, using probably the article's History page for the link marked "(last) = difference with preceding version".

I think the mispeelings Maintenance Page is wonderful, and we should now rest on our laurels. That's enough automation for this year.

Ed Poor