Geeky Terminology & Acronyms, Poor Grammar & Punctuation

[BigWillyStyle]

Firstly, why can't this site do away with all this geeky terminology. It's not only that it's geeky, but it also makes it difficult for this site's newcomers (and even some site stalewarts) to understand what the **** is being written. "Sarging" and "oneitis" are examples of geeky terminology that are also hard to understand (at least for newcomers). Far more articulate, ordinary and non-geeky would be "looking to meet girls" and "obsessed", respectively. As for acronyms, they too should be replaced, not just for the sake of non-geekiness, but also for the sake of clarity (again, at least for the newcomers [although even some "veterans" find this site's acronyms too obscure. I mean, what the f**k does "AMOG" and "LMR" even stand for?]). Again, too geeky, too confusing, so let's also f**k off these acronyms.

Another problem with some guys' posts are that they do not bother with grammar or punctuation. (I'm not just being pedantic, either; these things do have a purpose.) At the very least, one should use paragraphing. Nobody wants to, or will, read a 100-line post without one paragraph in it. It's too hard. As for punctuation, it seems to be a lost skill with many on this site. Punctuation isn't just some esoteric writing principle; it's very use is intended to aid clarity. It s**ts me when some guy's trying to get help for a problem, yet his prose is written entirely in lower case, without paragraphing and punctuation... and it's f**kin' longer than the Book of Genesis. Who the f**K is going to read it?

Also, some guys on here are lazy as sin. Some guys on here can't be f**cked writing words in full. It doesn't take much longer to write "because" over "bcz". Therefore, do it! Again, it's not pedantry; it's simply for the sake of clarity.

If you want people to help you, to get more responses to your posts, and to be taken seriously, then do the above-mentioned!

It's not like you need to write a grammatically flawless post, watching out for split infinitives and run-on sentences, but you should at least make SOME EFFORT when writing your posts.

Sorry for the rant, but these shoddy posts are annoying.

 

[WaterTiger]

First of all, this is an international site. Guys from all over the world are posting here. As English is their second language, cut them some slack for not spelling everything correctly and forgive their twisted grammar.

Secondly, I AGREE with the hugle blocks of text that is SOOOO hard to read. Paragraphs, gentlemen! Paragraphs!

As for the slang and "talking in alphabets" that is popular here...I could take it or leave it. But then, I know what it all means and it doesn't bother me nearly as much.

 

[Rollo Tomassi]

I'd agree with your assessment on the tech-speak, grammar, punctuation issues. Nothing bespeaks a lazy, juvenile, effortless post than having to sift through IM shorthand bcuz ppl r 2 lazy stoopid perma-noobs.

However I will take issue with community specific terms and acronyms. Terms like ONEitis and AFC are necessary elements for lack of better terms. We need these to reference novel ideas or to simplify having to rewrite them constantly. If you're familiar with the condition of ONEitis then what would you suggest the new term for it be? I think it pretty much covers the abstract idea/condition. Same with the 'Just Be Yourself' (JBY) fallacy. They may seem silly and juvenile, but they're used to express fairly complicated abstracts.

LMR - Last minute resistance (function)
LDR - Long distance relationship (descriptor / condition)
LTR - Long term relationship (descriptor)
STR - Short term relationship (descriptor)
JBY - Just be yourself (abstract condition)
LJBF - Lets just be friends (abstract rejection)
AMOG - Alpha Male of group (condition, sometimes a verb)
Sarge - Act of approaching and running game on women (action)

There's a lot more, but you get the idea; it's necessary terminology to express novel abstract concepts.

 

[ENIGMA16]

I don't think it would be a big deal as long as we have some kind of "dictionary" stickied so people can reference it if they have no idea what something means. I mean I picked up on oneitis, AFC, sarging, and a few others when I first started posting here, but I had trouble with the acronyms because you have no idea what the hell they mean until you see them used extensively in different contexts.

As for certain people's writing styles, that's their own problem.

Secondly, I AGREE with the hugle blocks of text that is SOOOO hard to read. Paragraphs, gentlemen! Paragraphs!

When asked where to split a block of text into paragraphs, a smart person once said "Wherever you want." That is probably the best writing advice I have ever heard.

 

[romangod]

The horrible spelling mistakes drive me batty at times. I make allowance for members with English as their second language. However, it tortures me to read posts form English countries with atrocious spelling and the use of the wrong words. Examples:

"your" in place of "you're"

"loose in place of "lose"

"then" in place of "than"

"to" in place of "too".


And so on..................


Cheers!

 

[Atom Smasher]

Hey BigWilly,

I agree with what you say, but we inevitably screw ourselves over when we point out issues of spelling, puctuation and grammar.

Look at your sentence:
"Punctuation isn't just some esoteric writing principle; it's very use is intended to aid clarity."

The word, "it's" should be "its", without the apostrophe. Your contraction means "it is", while the word, "its" implies the possesive.

Again, your points are all well taken but it is rare that a person complains about grammar without making the very same mistake.

 

[Don Israel]

If you wanna call it 'Geeky Terminology' is up to you of course.

There is nothing weird in using those terms. Every language has their slang. PUAian is the dialect of this site, which is included in "international english" ; How's that for 'geeky terminology'!

For all the posters : as long as you guys don't overdo using the terms and use like 5 terms in every sentence you write, we will all be happy.

 

[Nexus Polaris]

Actually, I have to say this. This site has taught me a lesson in humility about punctuation and grammar. I used to be the world's worst grammar Nazi. I just assumed that anyone that didn't use proper spelling and punctuation must be an idiot and have nothing useful to contribute. (typical AFC tendency to need to appear right at all times, I suppose)

Then I came to realize that most of the posts with the really good advice in them had lots of misspelled words and poor punctuation. Hell, half of Pook's stuff is misspelled. And that stuff helped me more than anything.

So, while it can be nice to have all the basic proper English crap covered, I really don't think it's that big of a deal here anymore to be honest. It's rare that I read anything on here that I can't decipher so clarity isn't really a problem for me.

I halfway agree about the acronyms but not entirely. They can be irritating if you don't know what they mean, but after you've been here awhile, it's time saving. How annoying is it to have to type out "alpha male of group / alpha male other guy" when you can just type AMOG and have most people know what you mean.

 

[Atom Smasher]

Yes, like anything else, we have to let imperfections slide. You can tell when a poster is just being completely lazy and couldn't give a sh!t about his grammar and spelling.

Part of being a man who commands respect is the ability to express himself well in his native language.

 

[MikeBrown30]

"loose in place of "lose"

I've lost count of how many times I see this one. I see it here, boxing forums, NFL forums etc.