Language, grammar and form

[IDMeansNothing]

Maybe this should be under 'Anything Else', but...

<%soapox on
I am really tired of trying to read posts that use too many abbreviations, instant messaging shorthand, pisss poor grammar and lack of punctuation.

What I'm not talking about:
1) Posts whose poster does not have English as a first language. It is completely understandable if you are not from the US/UK/Australia etc. Misspellings and grammatical errors are to be expected (just learn when someone tells you how to properly spell "definately"!)

2) Verbose posts - we can all get on a roll sometimes

3) DJ accronyms like HB, LTR, FB etc. We all know what they mean - if not, there is a link somewhere to a definition site (maybe someone could post it)

4) Probably some other noteable exceptions

What I AM talking about...
1) "posts that are all lower case with no punctuation they have random thoughts ideas flow from one topic to the next without a period comma or paragraph break in sight they are really a struggle i will more often than not skip them they usually have no merit anyway she said call me when tuesday at my work well i'm a dj an no that i should wait how long tho maybe ill call her friday what do you think peace"

(Sorry about that)

2) Lack of punctuation (pulled from #1 above)


3) IM shorthand. You are involved in a thought process that requires you and others to engage their brain in order to ask a question or make a point. Many times it is hard enough to follow what is going on, but trying to decipher childish IMspeak is just plain aggravating. "It all depends whether U 2 R whatever..."

4) Gansta and leet speak. Sheesh! It's fine to toss in a word or two, but try reading an entire recounting of last night's dialog posted by some wannabe gansta. Isn't it a chore to write like that???

soapbox off%>

It's not really that bad here, but I just read a thread that was full of all the above and it really got me going....

 

[BobbDobbs]

For deciphering that gangsta stuff, try the Urban Dictionary http://www.urbandictionary.com/

 

[sux2bu]

I know several people that are in college, and they still don't know the difference between: *your, you're, you are, there, their, they're.

 

[GropeDope]

IDMeansNothing: I don't like DJ acronyms at all and I prefer it when expletives like **** **** and ******* aren't censored out, that way you can read the frustration/emotion people have when they post, but I have to live with it.

 

[LowPlainsDrifter]

What you have identified is symptomatic of laziness. However, I also think the speed of thought is accelerating in our culture. Writing is just plain too damn slow.
Creating verbal shorthand and taking shortcuts, although they coarsen discourse, are an attempt at alleviating a bottleneck.

 

[IDMeansNothing]

Originally posted by sux2bu
I know several people that are in college, and they still don't know the difference between: *your, you're, you are, there, their, they're.

Yeah, no kidding. I'm a prof about 100 miles down I-77 from you.

 

[DankNuggs]

'your' is the shortest keystroke, thats why people do it. You can figure it out, why do you care so much....

half the people here are from different countries around the world, with english as their second language...Have some tolerance and respect.

Beyond that, your (enjoy) acting like this site is a holy shrine that must be represented with the proper behavior and ettiquette...Here's a newflash, people don't have time to waste all day editing their things. As long as its legible and I can understand it, I have no issue...If I can;t read it, well I dismiss it. No reason to get bent out of shape.

I get more bent out of shape with threads like this, people have the right to choose how they want to be heard and understood.

 

[squirrels]

Originally posted by DankNuggs
'your' is the shortest keystroke, thats why people do it. You can figure it out, why do you care so much....

Because it can be disrupted to reading stuff.

I know sometimes it causes me to take a little reading "hiccup" when I see two/too/to and your/you're mixed up.

I mean, seriously, HOW MUCH MORE EFFORT does it take to type two extra keys? It's not like it's an exertion...your fingers are already there. An educated person will take the effort to type words correctly and even backspace to correct errors to make sure he comes across properly. In this paragraph alone I have backspaced at least 10 times. Why? Because I respect myself too much to appear uneducated just because I'm too lazy to commit to a few extra keystrokes. KEYSTROKES! Your finger moves less than a half-inch! Unless you have carpal tunnel or something, there's no reason for you to abridge words and distort the meaning of a sentence to conserve that energy.

Type however you want. Just don't be surprised when people judge you as lazy or dumb when you start using words that just aren't correct...mistakes any 3rd grader will call you on.

I'm not saying you have to be gramatically perfect, avoid slang, or follow syntax to the letter. No one's gonna crucify you for that. Just make sure your words flow coherently, so people can read them without a great deal of effort.

It's worse on other forums than here...I don't have too much trouble with it here usually.

 

[sux2bu]

I'm not trying to be the forum "grammatical-spelling-nazi."

 

[Oscar Wilde]

Agreed with what's said. It's not about not using these shortcuts at all, it's about using them in moderation.

Blame Canada.

 

[Player_Supreme]

Your a proffessor...you abrev. prof to mean proffessor, uhh yeah misspelling intentional. Your post explains alot. Unfortunaltely not everyone is priviledge to your level of education.

Some people on here are even from a Ghetto environment...ohhh noooooo!

It is kinda (sorry) funny to see English speakers write worse than non English speakers, but you get use to it. In the area of punctuation...(yeah)...forget it.

Maybe you should open up a section on this board to help us lowerly educated ones learn proper grammer...now that's an idea.

 

[BobbDobbs]

Originally posted by sux2bu
I know several people that are in college, and they still don't know the difference between: *your, you're, you are, there, their, they're.

I know the difference, but still sometimes they slip out. That's because I'm pretty sure I think phonetically. My writing is routed through my speaking mind. I can hear what I am writing in my head before it comes out of my fingers. Since those are all homonyms there is no distinction to the speaking mind. Context alone is sufficient. But it matters in the written realm.

You can usually see the mistakes on re-reading, especially if it is a bit after you've written it and the memory of the sound patterns of the sentence have faded. Then, because you are reading it and not hearing it, you process it through a different mental path and see the spelling errors.