An Etiquette Question

If you’ve been read very much of what I write you’ve probably noticed I’m a fairly particular about certain things, especially when it comes to web design and how pages are displayed. I’ve mentioned before how agitated I get by following the standards set for web design only to have Microsoft’s Internet Explorer trash the design of a page, but that really doesn’t have much to do with this post.

I realize that everyone doesn’t have access to a geek or they may not have the time to learn basic html. I’ve made suggestions to a couple of people on things they could do, quick simple things like adding <br / > after a link in their side bar to start a new line for the next link. But I started to realize that unless you have a relationship with a blogger it may not be polite to suggest improvements.

Another thing is a grammatical or spelling issue that may have been overlooked by spell check, but may lead to ridicule. It personally doesn’t bother me when someone points out a spelling / grammar error in the comments section. I’ll typically correct it, thank the person and admit I’m a knuckle head. However with some people I’ve noticed they view comments pointing out their mistakes as a cardinal sin. How dare you go to their site and critique their writing in the comments (even though they make the change in their post).

I’m just not sure what the proper protocol is when it comes to this. What’s the proper protocol? Some of the bigger and busier blogs don’t check their "basic" e-mail very often, however they like most other bloggers get that warm fuzzy feeling when somebody leaves a comment and they read that e-mail often.

Should you e-mail someone tips / pointers on changes they could make for their blog to be more readable?
Is it acceptable to point out their error in a playful manner?
Should you simply e-mail them and hope they read it in a timely manner?

I have fairly thick skin, it doesn’t bother me if somebody points out my few faults, but what do other people deem acceptable?