[Wikipedia-l] Mispeelings

[tarquin]

Toby Bartels wrote:

>>>>If we change all "it's" to either "its" or the more formal "it is", then
>>>>that list will gradually diminish.
>>>>        
>>>>
>
>  
>
>>>So we're at the point now where it's been suggested
>>>to remove a word ("it's") entirely from Wikipedia
>>>because it's difficult to tell when it's misspelled?
>>>This is far more zealous than we need to be.
>>>Correct them when you find them, but don't go overboard --
>>>they're just mispeelings!
>>>      
>>>
Sheesh. Yet another minor issue that blows out of all proportion -- can 
we drop it now?
If I were going on a hunt for incorrect uses of "it's", correcting most 
to "its" or "it is" has the advantage of shortening the next list of 
search results.
I certainly wasn't suggesting changing "it's a long way to tipperary".
I can't speak for AmEnglish, but in BrEnglish, a contraction such as 
"it's" is considered a little too informal for a work such as an 
encyclopedia or a dictionary.

Perhaps it was UK-centric of me to assume that that holds in AmEng too, 
in which case I apologize (but note that many US wikipedians could do 
with a healthy dose of culture shock to shake a few us-centric attitudes.)