Right, first off, this isn't a dig.

But.....

I'm a bit anal about spelling and punctuation in my online ramblings, both here and elsewhere. But that's not the case across the net, especially amongst the more l33t among us.

My question is this - are we going to see a society in 100 years (or 200 or 300), where 'correct' language has been discarded in favour of l33t, AOLspk and downright chronic illiteracy? Or is it a better thing that everyone's not such a word whore as me?

Pursonaly, i frickin wel hope knot.

i dont like leet speak.. i prefer the use of real words... i would hate to live in a future that sounds like irc or a chat room or something...

bleah... i can see if its on the internet or something... but not in real life convorsations.

i dont think that it will ever come to that, but i can see it taking us down a slow spiral, but not too far.

funny u should mention that actually jon... sinse i started posting and chatting online ive been subject to an increasing desire to laugh with the words "ell oh ell" which kinda scared me. ive yet to do it thankfully, but it made me realise just how infectious it is. i take good care, now, when im writing with a pen or pencil, to spell everything the way i was taught and not take shortcuts. even my online stuff has begun to regress to normal writing in fear of losing my (religion) of writing skills. i take them very seriously and personally and it would be a great shame to lose them to something as petty as a keyboard.

grammar isn't the only thing in danger...hell I've completely forgot how to write in cursive! if that's even how you spell it..not to mention my handwriting is horrific...though that's always been the case hehe

When you're writing in chinese it looks really spiffy.

I personally don't like l337 speak either, but I know some of it just by being on the net too long. I have noticed that my spelling and grammar skills have gone down emminsly though. I was writing a paper for my English class a couple of semesters ago and found myself dropping all the g's off ing words. So say I was writing about Hamlet going to the place where he saw the ghost of his father.....it would say Hamlet was goin to the place where he saw the ghost of his father. After doin that I felt rather silly. Stupid spell check.

My pet pieves online though are your when it should be you're and there for their or they're.

I have to say that my generation have gone past that point of no good grammtical return. We're replacing "s" with "z" (e.g. LOLZZZZZ *shudder*) and typing "lmao" at everything.

Bobby: My grandma died today.
Mary: OMG LIk wtf??!
Bobby: The doctors say she drank 3 litres of turpentine.
Mary: LOLLZZZZ HAVE U SEEN AMERICAN WEDDING YET?!!! OMG~~~

Well, that would be an extreme case but you can tell what I mean...most time on messenger, I am the "Bobby" and the peer on the other side is "Mary". Not to say that I don't use some net slang myself, I do use "lol" and "brb" and more widely used net terms, but I never use it overzealously. Jonman, you must distance yourself from IRC chats and teens of my generation...your kind is becoming scarce!

i actually KNOW someone who says "lol" and "lmao" in REAL LIFE!!!

not that she gets out much...being glued to her computer and all.

no, it's not me! (you were thinking it, weren't you?!)

my spelling and grammar have also deteriorated after being online for about 7 years. i've just gotten too used to seeing people spell things incorrectly, i guess.

my biggest pet peeve about talking online is people who constantly talk "ghetto" when they are probably just cornfed boys from the midwest who live in a nice house and have their mommy and daddy pay for everything they want. that seriously annoys me. especially since online chatters generally use slang that is at least 5 years old. it's kind of funny, in a pathetic way, i guess.

I'm more than guilty of slacking on my grammar skills. I'll admit it, I was a slang whore for quite a while. Everything I typed was abbreviated, I was lazy when it came to typing the whole word (like Laura said.. dropping the 'g' off of 'ing' words and etc). I still don't always type with any capital letters whatsoever.. it's a habit. Oh, and the dot thing, yeah I still do that too.

I really had problems when I first went back to school, because I hated (still do somewhat) to physically write or take notes, and I had to really watch what I was typing when I was typing a report or paper. It gets to the point where you have to sit there and look at yourself, and look at how stupid or illiterate you look when you type like that. I don't see it getting any better though.. people will always have the slang and the "net speak".

Jonman, I couldn't agree with you more. I will most likely put hefty limitations on my children's access to the computer and internet - prefering that they use actual BOOKS for entertainment and study. perhaps I'm a bit paranoid about the decline in free-thinking youths, but I will take proper precautions, regardless of what other people might say about me. *laughs* Another thing, just in case you didn't think I was wierd enough, I don't own a television. (I do enjoy bragging about that. People think I'm out of my mind when I tell them.)

espresso goodluck with your endeavour
honestly if I ever had kids i'd try to do the same thing, only add videogames, 80% of television, and some tight control over cable access..

thanks for the compliment mumsy
man and I wish I could just say 'lol' irl, sometimes I don't think my laugh is audible enough so people don't hear it and then they kinda backpeddle and get all uncomfortable or something

I don't know how to get the image to show up, because I'm computer illiterate, but here's a page you all should visit: http://graphics.theonion.com/pics_3301/cybercorner.jpg

It gives clear direction on how to communicate with people in the real world.



God bless The Onion.

espresso, youve saved my life!! thank you for that!!

Okay... I have to be one of the worst ppl I know with my grammar I use online (that sentence is proof too... hehe). But it was the same way back in middle school and high school when I would write notes to my friends. I would draw little pictures and use a lot of exclamation marks...

I am not very good at expressing myself anyways. And I am definitely not any good at finding the right words when I want to... But it is even more difficult to express your feelings and emotions online I think... because people can't hear your tone of voice or see your facial expressions, and things can be taken in different ways.

It hasn't ever bothered me when I try to write reports for school though. That's just completely different to me than writing a silly note or chatting online... and I'm in a different frame of mind when I sit down to write a paper.

"Note: Do not attempt to click on person's face. Do not try to insert disc into his or her mouth. Good luck!"

ah..........happiness envelopes me.

I'm a bit of a stickler for good grammar online too.

One thing that I have grown very accustomed to is reading through e-mails and posts where people never capitalise anything. 'i' instead of 'I' is something that many people do. I've always tried to encourage people to use correct grammar in their posts and was mortified when I discovered I'd missed out an apostrophe in 'it's' in one of my animations just before it was about to go on television; I insisted that they correct it despite this being a rather tricky process!

Back when I was starting this site I up would get whole emails, several pages long, without any punctuation or paragraphing. The people writing thought it made them look 'crazy' or perhaps even 'kooky' but instead it just made their e-mail nearly unreadable. I would AlSo GeT tHaT ReAlLy AnNoYiNg WaY Of typing for pages at a time, which again makes your brain hurt as you try to put emphasis on every capital when you read it in your head. Ouch.

I've got a block set up on this forum that means you CAN'T HAVE YOUR MESSAGE TITLE all in capitals or with more than one exclamation point after it!!!! This does mean that unfortunately 'US' gets turned into 'Us' but I think it's a price worth paying to stop people shouting their topic names at people.

I'm anal about grammar and spelling too - I wince every time I see "sight" mixed up with "site", or "there", "their", and "they're" interchanged randomly. Mainly this is because I'm English Boy, and partly due to the influence of my first message board - txtspk and abbreviations like that were strictly prohibited, and if you introduced yourself with "lol d00ds how r u" you would be flamed mercilessly by ABSOLUTELY EVERYBODY (and there were no restrictions on swearing). No-one would even read your posts if they were in txtspk, they would just insult you and move on.

thank christ, i thought i was the only one

i hardly ever.... use that one-three-three-seven stuff, but when i use word or scrawl something by hand which usually only occurs to fill out and application form or takes notes in a lecture (well....doodle mostly) i use correct grammer and capitalise my I's....then again my grammer always sucked, never was very good at english at school.....

i have *shame* i just cant help it, laughing seems wrong. saying lol in a laughing manner is jsut..... better.

Is grammar goin down the toilet? Only if grampy pushes her!!

Hmmmm... wonder if anyone's thought of me stickin me head in here anytime... I must admit, I really only do this sorta typey thing here, or when chattin wi you guys... As ya may have noticed, I've written properly on me websites. I figured at the time it would be a change from all the previous forums I've been on, where I keep the grammar an spellin to the best I can do. I thought the slightly different style would make me stick out a tad, without it bein too hard to read... dunno what anyone else thinks though...

*ahem*

But I am capable of spelling properly, and all the grammar stuff isn't strictly alien to me. Even whilst typing in my usual idiom, I still keep watch for typos, bad punctuation and such like. But I figure that writing like this now, after so long, would probably scare people!

That's enough o that! One thing that does bug me is inappropriate use of apostrophes; I mean, what the hell is potato's??? I see that stuff on boards outside shops, an even on signs over doors!!!! Good lor, is it too much to ask to ask someone if it's right? I see a shop wi bad grammar, an I jus walk on by - anyone who has such a poor grasp of the language dun deserve me custom...

Hey, I'm with you on this one bud - we've got 2 TV's in the house - but I disconnected the cable - they're just used for videogames. If we want to watch TV, we rent or buy DVDs.

TV is a load of gash, mostly, dumbed down arsedribblings for the lowest common denominator. There's a few gems on there, though. We're working our way through all the series' of the Sopranos at the moment - great stuff.

Ah - your style of bad spelling is a slightly different sort though Leo. Rather than using lazy abbreviations - I can actually hear that you're a dirty unwashed northerner by the accent in your posts.

Yeah... if it was up ta me, I'd pull the satellite connection out of mine too, payin a blimmin fortune an fer what? I barely watch it meself, apart from the odd DVD... in fact, the only reason the telly is so big is fer that...

The missus gets more out of it than I do, an it keeps her out of me way while I'm doin this stuff instead, so there ya go...

I do, on occasion, visit a movie theater - and once in a blue moon will watch "The Simpsons" at a friend's house. Obviously, since I'm on here so often, I am not purely anti-media. I just think that there are better things to do in people's "spare" time (assuming people actually have spare time nowadays). Be creative folks - paint something, read something (in a book), go for a walk, meet someone new. That is precisely what i am bound for today. *gets ready for a day downtown with her lovely ladies*

hmmm i am definitely guilty of not capitalizing things properly (errr, obviously).

and i do type "lol" and "lmao" excessively. i was once told in a chat room that i "laugh too much"....oh well. i guess it's just my way of letting people know when i'm just joking and when i'm serious...since they can't hear my tone of voice.

oh...and i'm obviously addicted to ellipses. dot dot dot... i don't know WHY exactly (oh yeah and i capitalize things when i'm emphasizing them...though i've been trying to break that habit and just use bold letters instead)...i guess it's an old habit from my VP days.

the capitalizing thing gives me problems sometimes. because, i've typed this way for a long time...so i guess people are used to seeing me type like this.

However, I am perfectly capable of capitalizing proper nouns and refraining from using excessive ellipses. It's not even difficult for me to do. This is probably because this is how I type when writing things for school. I also type like this while riding the Troutmobile.

i've been thinking seriously about starting to capitalize things on here and elsewhere, because 1. it is proper and 2. i have problems with certain words. like, for instance, InKy's name. everyone capitalizes it like that, so i feel odd if i type in "inky"......but then if i also put other peoples' names in my post, i feel i have to capitalize them as well! i can't just say "InKy and missy," that would make her look less important, which obviously isn't true.

maybe i'm just really anal about this. That's it, problem solved. I'm just going to capitalize everything properly from now on. It looks better that way, anyhow. It tends to make people look more intelligent.

Well, now that I've been mentioned in a post, I'll have to give my ever-worthless two cents.

I am what is commonly known as "a language Nazi" among my friends. For a long time, I wouldn't even use the abbreviations "lol" or "brb" because I was so incredibly opposed to such laziness. My habits have grown considerably more careless, though, as my time spent in this online world of disregarded grammar has increased. Anyone who's been to the IRC chat knows of my obsessive use of "rotfl". Despite the invasion of a few cheap expressions of laughter, I still have nearly all of my linguistic pride. My sentences are complete, my punctuation remains firmly intact, and my spelling is as impeccable as ever.

Perhaps I'll sound a bit pretentious here, but I have to admit that I have an incredibly difficult time taking those without high internet grammar standards seriously. The abbreviations and relentless errors constantly make whomever I'm speaking with seem unintelligent. I tend not to waste much time talking to people whose statements are not clear, and by clear, I do inclusively mean proper spelling and grammar.

Please don't misunderstand me. I make mistakes just like everyone else. Frankly, it would not surprise me if someone was to find errors in this very post. It is the constant disregard for correct language skills that annoys me, not the accidental misspelling of a word or an comma placement gone awry.

Now that I've made you all think I'm a snob, there's one more complaint I have that will cement that belief in your minds - I cannot stand the horrendously poor vocabularies people have nowadays. I find that I am constantly translating what I've said into simpler and less accurate terms so whomever I'm conversing with can understand me! I'm uncertain why this is, exactly. I'm tempted to blame my generation's painful dependence on television, which, as we all know, is not exactly a champion of enlightenment, but I really can't be sure if that's the reason. All I know is that this epidemic of sorts has no basis in intelligence level. My sister is as bright as I am, yet she has never had a creative command of the English language. Further proof of this has been found at my Academy. The place is populated by absolutely brilliant people, yet less than a fourth of them have above-average vocabularies.

With all that said, let me say that I do not think myself better than anyone simply because their ways of communication do not match mine. I understand that people will converse however they please, and that their lack of language skills does not necessarily reflect unintelligent thoughts. I do, however, find it incredibly difficult to communicate with people not speaking on my level, though, and it is a source of infinite frustration for me. Lowering my standard of language so that I can exchange ideas with more people is a displeasing skill to be forced to learn...

I apologise in advance if I've offended anyone.

my worst offence is making random noises - i do this in real life but i suppose typing things is supposed to cut out all the crap (hence abbreviations) rather than spend more time typing things like "gah" "erk" and the rare but expressive "eurghul"

also im now addicted to elipses but i havent used them in this post thus far! go me!

now i have to go before i start over zealously stabbing the period button

eh? You're addicted to ovalular shapes?

I'm confumbled.

well ... thats another story ... probably destined for the daft thread ... i meant the dot dot dots ... see ... look ... youre making me do it again ... damn you...!

el·lip·sis
n. pl. el·lip·ses

1.
a. The omission of a word or phrase necessary for a complete syntactical construction but not necessary for understanding.
b. An example of such omission.

2. A mark or series of marks (... or * * *, for example) used in writing or printing to indicate an omission, especially of letters or words.

I do tend to forget my grammar sometimes on the internet, but I usually am a stickler for good language. I can't take anyone who tries to be clever seriously if they can't even spell, use capital letters or punctuate.

CoRrEcT uSe Of CaPiTaL lEtTeRs Is NoT a HaRd ThInG tO mAsTeR!

unfortunately... I also am now addicted to putting lots of dots...it's a really bad habit...I need to stop...ah well...

When I use my own personal e-isms (sort of like euphamisms I guess) such as "Iffin." I pray its just my own accent coming through.

I use correct spelling and grammar... moast uv da taim.

I just wanted to add that I think that when it comes to being a stickler about spelling and grammar in general I get most annoyed about it in text messages, I always use proper spelling and grammar.. but most people just rip it up in the intrests of speed, don't those people realise that it feels better when you take time over it? ((hee hee hee))

I myself use internet slang when I am chatting but I try to use proper gammer when I am writing on here or writing in real life though I have slipped up a few times.

I think the reason why these slang words have become so populer is because more people find it easyer to say lol then laugh out loud. Abrivations are a scape goat to proper grammer. I think part of this improper grammer problems kids have today is do to the teachers, some of them in my opinion really should not be teaching. I myself did not get many good teacher until highschool.

I'm a great one for the use of the dreaded dots... It amuses me because I use them as a pause at the end of a sentence. In a text only situation it can be handy to have some way of expressing timing, much like Terry Pratchett with his footnotes.

If you want to know what will make my blood boil, look no further than 'textspeak' with its hideous manglings of the language. In a one sentence message is it really necessary to say u rather than you? You get 160 characters to play with in a standard text message, and you can actually fit a fair amount of real information in there. So do it!

me quivers for a bit before beating people senseless with their own telephones.

It literally drives me round the bend when people type/text in stupid abbreviations that sound LAME

an example: Iz u comin to da gig l8er on mate?
OMFG speak frigging ENGLISH!!!

I don't mind words such as 'dunno'and summat' as they sound cute. People who can't hadle the word 'the' and has to replace it with 'da' is either foreign or didn't attend any form of education

Sorry, end rant. Its just something that bugs me

I do that all the time and I should imagine its annoying. Its just a nice way of pausing within a sentance...

...
...
...

ok, I'm done.

does any one else feel the overwhelming urge to hold their breath until the dots end? like its gona be something really exciting ... no ... just me then ...?

oh well ...

Chat room short hand came about in the interest of speed, makes sense, and in text messaging devices in the interest of space...makes sense also...

It's a new way of communication , like an inside code or joke.

So, in a sense yes, it went down the water closet because of the need to "chat" faster in confined spaces, but that makes it good.

Oh by the way , Spanish and French chat rooms are also using "chat shorthand" in their respective languages. It's quite interesting, and entertaining to me

oh and I use the "dots" in chat rooms... and e-mails... ::grins::