LanguageTool - a *foss Grammarly alternative (potentially not foss)

3 years ago by jackpot to c/technology

LanguageTool is a free grammar checker and paraphraser for English, Spanish, and 20 other languages. Instantly check your text for grammar and style mistakes.

*hearing in comments certains parts aren't foss

EarthlingHazard 82 points 3 years ago

I think it's better to link to their github since the website has references to a premium sister project that isn't FOSS: https://github.com/languagetool-org/languagetool

I haven't used this myself but I'm curious if anyone likes it

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exu 23 points 3 years ago

I like it very much and thanks to the various extensions it's also trivial to use in Firefox and Libreoffice.

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moitoi 7 points 3 years ago

It works on Firefox/Fennec/other forks on Android.

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mac 7 points 3 years ago

I self host a server. It works on my laptop and android. I like it, but some of the suggestions are bad.

Haven't used grammarly in years, so I can't compare.

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Skimmer 57 points 3 years ago

Their extension isn't open source anymore, see here, so I don't recommend it personally, especially with how sensitive the data it collects is, its basically a keylogger, so trust is super important imo.

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mojo 12 points 3 years ago

If they don't trust you with the source, you can trust them with your data.

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BaconIsAVeg 4 points 3 years ago

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alfisya 8 points 3 years ago

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snek_boi 1 point 3 years ago

Except a restaurant is not asking to log every word of yours in exchange for pizza.

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wAkawAka 9 points 3 years ago

Thanks for pointing out! This tool seems to look and work awesome, but non-foss browser extension is an instant 'NO'...

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donut4ever 4 points 3 years ago

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BruceLee 2 points 3 years ago

By extension do you mean the browser extensions only or also the add-on for word processor ?

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zoe 1 point 3 years ago

tell me anything that isn't

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ddnomad 17 points 3 years ago

Texts are securely stored

Right, must be military grade encryption

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smpl 12 points 3 years ago

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Sivilian 7 points 3 years ago

Just wish there was a language tool keyboard for android

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moitoi 2 points 3 years ago

You can use it in Firefox/Fennec/other forks on Android. It's better than nothing.

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Sivilian 1 point 3 years ago

I am but it would be nice to have it in other apps on my phone

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ReallyKinda 5 points 3 years ago

Opinions vs deepl?

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gelberhut 18 points 3 years ago

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WhiteHotaru 8 points 3 years ago

I think this is only the case with the free version. Source: I worked with some big German companies which wanted to have an autotranslate function for their software. DeepL was the top choice, because the quality is very good and the data protection agreements for the paid service left no questions.

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gelberhut 4 points 3 years ago

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ReallyKinda 2 points 3 years ago

Interesting thought about the visibility

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gelberhut 1 point 3 years ago

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moitoi 2 points 3 years ago

EULA they collect all what you type there and use it for training their algorithm

This isn't the case for some specific corporate contract for the pro version. But, it's not publicly available.

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WhiteHotaru 5 points 3 years ago

They have total different use cases. DeepL is a translator, language tool checks for style and grammar.

I use both frequently and both do a very good job. I have a prime membership of language tool and I like it. Both are German companies and operate under GDPR.

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ReallyKinda 4 points 3 years ago

Deepl’s “write” tool (the one I linked) gives style suggestions

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WhiteHotaru 2 points 3 years ago

I didn’t know that.

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moitoi 3 points 3 years ago

It's not bad at all, and multilingual. I like it as I can write in multiple language making less mistakes.

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beta_tester 1 point 3 years ago

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zoe 0 points 3 years ago

off topic: is deepl down or something ? thing doesn't respond :/

edit: now works

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Navarian 4 points 3 years ago

I use this often when I'm writing articles, it's incredibly easy to use and I've yet to have any issues with it.

I use it on Waterfox, for what it's worth. Absolutely recommend.

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Jumper775 2 points 3 years ago

Why do you use waterfox?

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Navarian 2 points 3 years ago

When I switched from FF to WF it was lighter on system resources, faster and cut out a lot of the telemetry included in FF.

I've not used Firefox for well over a year now, so I can't speak to that still being the case, but those were the main draws for me.

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mac 1 point 3 years ago

I switched off of waterfox and back to firefox with arkenfox user.js when I noticed they were behind on a security update.

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Chewy7324 3 points 3 years ago

Interestingly I knew about Languagetool long before I got to constantly see Grammarly ads. With the right tools it's useful for checking latex etc.

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WndyLady 1 point 3 years ago

Syntax?

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TwoGems 2 points 3 years ago

I wonder how grammarly desktop is for privacy

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cRazi_man 7 points 3 years ago

Their whole service is built to collect everything you type.

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BaconIsAVeg 5 points 3 years ago

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TalesFromTheKitchen 2 points 3 years ago

It's working pretty well for me with integration into Firefox, (libre)office and you can decide if you want to run your own server locally, or rely on their server as a premium subscription.

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mojo -8 points 3 years ago

My foss alternative was an English class

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gelberhut 10 points 3 years ago

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mojo -5 points 3 years ago

Not really. There's even English classes in remote Africa. It's FOSS because textbooks and dictionaries exist.

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Laticauda 3 points 3 years ago

Dunno where you live where textbooks are free and not proprietary.

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mojo -2 points 3 years ago

They're not free, they're accessable.

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jackpot 2 points 3 years ago

you got free schooling? lucky bastard

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mojo 2 points 3 years ago

First time I've heard someone say they're jealous of an America's free schooling system lol. Even in deep Africa villages they have free schooling systems, so idk where you are where that doesn't exist.

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jackpot 1 point 3 years ago

how good do you think the free schooling in africa is rofl

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mojo 1 point 3 years ago

That's a completely different topic

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nyakojiru 1 point 3 years ago

With happy ending?

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technology

@lemmy.ml

This is the official technology community of Lemmy.ml for all news related to creation and use of technology, and to facilitate civil, meaningful discussion around it.

Ask in DM before posting product reviews or ads. All such posts otherwise are subject to removal.

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