English professors have, for the past few years, ranted about the deplorable rise in bad spelling, the result, they say, of texting and all the atrocious shortcuts that pass for intelligent communication.
They aren't the only ones. A pair of software developers in Albuquerque are working on a "stupid filter" that screens stupid online comments the way your spam filter detects unwanted email. 27 year-old Gabriel Ortiz, a systems administrator, and his team of techies hope to release by December a free, open-source version that they hope to make available as a standard plug-in on Firefox by early next year.
Writes Fortune's Josh Quittner, “If the filter were installed on a site's servers, it would intercept the comment just before it was published and flash a little alert at the author that reads: 'This comment is more or less unintelligible. Please try to restate it.'â€
Ortiz â€" who studied linguistics as an undergrad â€" admits that while defining stupid is subjective, his software will use standard English markers and context to judge a piece of writing. Users unable to get past the filter will then likely find somewhere else more tolerant of their LOLs and OMGs, and their tendency to repeat consonants. But isn't filtering stupidity, well, elistist? In an FAQ on his site, Ortiz replies, "Yes, it is. But that's sorta the whole point."
Open Source Stupid Filter
Detects Dumb Comments, Paves Way for Intelligent Web
Trend Themes
1. Anti-stupidity Filter - The rise in bad spelling and atrocious shortcuts has created a market for an anti-stupidity filter that could be used as a standard plug-in on Firefox, which can potentially be used on various media platforms.
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Industry Implications
1. Online Content Moderation Industry - The development of an anti-stupidity filter could potentially disrupt the online content moderation industry by providing an efficient and automated way to filter content that is substandard or unintelligible.
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3. Language Analysis Industry - The anti-stupidity filter can potentially disrupt the language analysis industry by providing a standard and objective approach to identifying quality writing, which can be applied across various industries such as journalism, copywriting, and technical writing.