Attitudes to text lingo on forum

[ltd]

I hate text messaging abbreviations equally as much as I hate the slow and torturous murder of one of the most beautiful languages in the world.

What I find remarkable too are the people who identify themselves as being older than 40 having no real concept of the English language; its grammar or spelling. I find that more annoying than the younger generation as these people allegedly went to school before I did, and they try to speak from some moral high ground.

As such, normal words are often misused to the point of cringing at the thought of the perpetrators ever writing a professional letter to anybody. Some common mistakes are listed below.

Doesn’t becomes does'nt (the hyphen is used in place of the letter removed)
Etc becomes ect (etcetera, not ectetera)
To becomes too (no comment)
Their becoming there (their is speaking of a being; where "there" is descriptive of a place)
Where becomes were (where is like there, descriptive of a place; were means was)

And before I forget, the most basic rule taught in English classes around the nation is the rule of the 'i' before the 'e' except after 'c'. The amount of times I see decietful used as opposed to the correct spelling of deceitful is mesmerising. It can be said of reciept instead of correctly spelling receipt.

Whilst I appreciate technology can be to blame for the abbreviations of the younger generation, we should not allow standards to fall. Technology can be a useful tool in eliminating these problems as well. Try a spell check once in a while.

Genuine mistakes will always happen with hastily typed replies, but systematically forgetting to even read what is written is really poor form.

[Outbackjack]

Originally Posted by ltd

I hate text messaging abbreviations equally as much as I hate the slow and torturous murder of one of the most beautiful languages in the world.

What I find remarkable too are the people who identify themselves as being older than 40 having no real concept of the English language; its grammar or spelling. I find that more annoying than the younger generation as these people allegedly went to school before I did, and they try to speak from some moral high ground.

As such, normal words are often misused to the point of cringing at the thought of the perpetrators ever writing a professional letter to anybody. Some common mistakes are listed below.

Doesn’t becomes does'nt (the hyphen is used in place of the letter removed)
Etc becomes ect (etcetera, not ectetera)
To becomes too (no comment)
Their becoming there (their is speaking of a being; where "there" is descriptive of a place)
Where becomes were (where is like there, descriptive of a place; were means was)

And before I forget, the most basic rule taught in English classes around the nation is the rule of the 'i' before the 'e' except after 'c'. The amount of times I see decietful used as opposed to the correct spelling of deceitful is mesmerising. It can be said of reciept instead of correctly spelling receipt.

Whilst I appreciate technology can be to blame for the abbreviations of the younger generation, we should not allow standards to fall. Technology can be a useful tool in eliminating these problems as well. Try a spell check once in a while.

Genuine mistakes will always happen with hastily typed replies, but systematically forgetting to even read what is written is really poor form.

The most disturbing thing about this post is...... I agree with you. :

[Spak]

It's true though. There just doesn't seem to be any kind emphasis on basic grammar and spelling these days. I'm not gonna start being some kind of 'grammar Nazi' here, but if adding a few more letters to make the ACTUAL word is too much trouble....well, you can see where I'm going with this :sm_headba

I don't ever use spell check. I'm by no means perfect, but the occasional mistake I can live with.

[GCFordChic]

My goodness!

I feel now as if I will need to spell check and proof read all the posts I submit in the future, otherwise I fear that people will not read what I post. I usually come on here as a break from Uni. (maybe I should have put University there...)

I am asking for forgiveness in advance for the times that I may write LOL or ppl or something that is actually shorter to write, for I did not realise the expectations of the (seemingly) majority.

I now realise that it is such a sin to be so mentally exhausted from reading numerous law and management journals and writing essay after essay where I definitely have to pay attention to my grammar, that I seem a little more laid back in submitting posts in this forum.

I am currently doing a double degree, Law and Business, majoring in Management, 5 subject a semester, at Uni 2 and a half days a week, not to mention the amount of time I spend studying. I work 25 hours a week at Kmart, I clean my house, do the washing, cook for a fiancee with stomach that is seemingly a bottomless pit.

How many other people are not stressed out to read a post that shortens a word or two? How many other people are tired and just want to read some interesting points of view and then submit there own, without fear of retribution for not spelling correctly or wrting a post that is a piece of mastery?

I am amused to see that some people who are so up-in-arms about grammatical correctness fail to press 'shift' and make their 'i' mid-sentence a capital.

CALM DOWN EVERYONE!!!!! IT IS OKAY TO NOT BE PERFECT ALL THE TIME!!!!

(Please feel free to check my post for mistakes and then point them out to make yourself feel better : )

[Woz]

Originally Posted by GCFordChic

My goodness!

I feel now as if I will need to spell check and proof read all the posts I submit in the future, otherwise I fear that people will not read what I post. I usually come on here as a break from Uni. (maybe I should have put University there...)

I am asking for forgiveness in advance for the times that I may write LOL or ppl or something that is actually shorter to write, for I did not realise the expectations of the (seemingly) majority.

I now realise that it is such a sin to be so mentally exhausted from reading numerous law and management journals and writing essay after essay where I definitely have to pay attention to my grammar, that I seem a little more laid back in submitting posts in this forum.

I am currently doing a double degree, Law and Business, majoring in Management, 5 subject a semester, at Uni 2 and a half days a week, not to mention the amount of time I spend studying. I work 25 hours a week at Kmart, I clean my house, do the washing, cook for a fiancee with stomach that is seemingly a bottomless pit.

How many other people are not stressed out to read a post that shortens a word or two? How many other people are tired and just want to read some interesting points of view and then submit there own, without fear of retribution for not spelling correctly or wrting a post that is a piece of mastery?

I am amused to see that some people who are so up-in-arms about grammatical correctness fail to press 'shift' and make their 'i' mid-sentence a capital.

CALM DOWN EVERYONE!!!!! IT IS OKAY TO NOT BE PERFECT ALL THE TIME!!!!

(Please feel free to check my post for mistakes and then point them out to make yourself feel better : )

It's not so much a "now and then" thing that seems to give people the irrits, it's more directed at those who do it all the time and right through their posts. At no point did anyone say that every post on the forums must be perfect.

[GCFordChic]

Well I definitely get the feeling that people hate it no matter the frequency with which one uses it.

Judgement and casting opinion over one's character and IQ merely because of the way they write is rude and insulting.

If a member continually submits posts that are hard to understand because of the level of 'SMS speak' they use, why not just PM them and say that you were interested in what they had to say, but couldn't understand it because of the abbreviations.

[Woz]

Originally Posted by GCFordChic

If a member continually submits posts that are hard to understand because of the level of 'SMS speak' they use, why not just PM them and say that you were interested in what they had to say, but couldn't understand it because of the abbreviations.

Because, often, I'm not. :Reverend:

[GCFordChic]

So why would someone who doesn't give a rats about what a person has to say care if a person chose to write that way? (not only directed at you Woz : hehehe)

Grammatical correctness GONE MAD! What is next? Ban Smilies because they are not an original part of the english language? :

:monkes: : : : :

I mean what is this :thebirds: you can't write it, it will come up like this NNNN You

Lets chill.... and address it with individuals if you care enough to tell them personally what you think.

[Laminge]

Originally Posted by GCFordChic

Lets chill.... and address it with individuals if you care enough to tell them personally what you think.

Lets see, I will sit down today and send out 10,000 individual PMs, I should be finished by the end of the year........

That's the same chance as me loosing weight. :alien2:

The worst offenders will get a PM.

[ON_DUBS]

Originally Posted by GreenEL

I don't have too much of a problem with the SMS style abbreviation, unless they have done it so much that you can't understand what it is that they are trying to say. Spelling and grammar (or lack thereof) is what really gets up my nose.

nail on the head buddy

[1TUFFUTE]

Ive had more warnings then i care to count about bad spellind,gramhar _2: and the use of so called sms text. I think its a generation gap and u need to catch up with the times time is money(in a way)
And the next time i see someone use LOL...oh my god ITS ON out: :hih
Dont get me wrong i dont do it on purpose but sometimes thats just howit works out!

[Laminge]

LOL

Care to take me on sunshine?

Here is a great link, I use spell check in every post because I know my spelling is shocking and I am 38.

http://www.google.com/tools/firefox/toolbar/index.html

[opium]

All I can say that has not been said already, is that it is plain lazy.

[1TUFFUTE]

Originally Posted by Laminge

LOL

Care to take me on sunshine?

Here is a great link, I use spell check in every post because I know my spelling is shocking and I am 38.

http://www.google.com/tools/firefox/toolbar/index.html

thats pretty funny if u used a spellcheck on that it would ask u what (LOL) was. Sms writting is a way a life.The same reason u use lol to prevent u writting laugh out loud all the time, people use common an easy words like instead of because, or u instead of you.

Its my OPINION that used within reason its ok.

[Laminge]

Yes true

But, in my opinion, my opinion holds more weight, that just the way it is, being an administrator and part owner.

So, take the time to communicate effectively with the rest of the forums, as that is the minimum standard I would expect to remain as a member of these forums.

[Woz]

Originally Posted by 1TUFFUTE

thats pretty funny if u used a spellcheck on that it would ask u what (LOL) was. Sms writting is a way a life.The same reason u use lol to prevent u writting laugh out loud all the time, people use common an easy words like instead of because, or u instead of you.

Its my OPINION that used within reason its ok.

Now this, I actually struggle to understand.

people use common an easy words like instead of because,

People use common and easy words like what instead of because? I think you've completely missed a word there, which is what makes posts so annoying.

thats pretty funny if u used a spellcheck on that it would ask u what (LOL) was.

Is that supposed to be one sentance? Comments like that make posts hard to decipher because you don't state where one sentance ends and another begins, making it difficult to understand.

And SMS writing is not a way of life. I don't use it, ever. Not even when typing out SMS messages in my phone. This, from someone who sends ridiculous amounts of text messages.

[1TUFFUTE]

Originally Posted by 1TUFFUTE

thats pretty funny if u used a spellcheck on that it would ask u what (LOL) was. Sms writting is a way a life.The same reason u use lol to prevent u writting laugh out loud all the time, people use common an easy words like instead of because, or u instead of you.

Its my OPINION that used within reason its ok.

sorry, that is bad timming. I tried to edit it but it wouldnt load and said there was something wrong with the database. It even posted my post 4 times.
The word 4 because was c.u.s

[Sourbastard]

Originally Posted by 1TUFFUTE

Sms writting is a way a life.

And that would be the life of a 12 year old girl desperately trying to get her SMS voting done before another contestant is voted out of Big Brother.

Ive spoken to Bikies who have said that being a Bikie is a way of life. Im not sure how your conversation with them would go if you presented "SMS Writing" as your all consuming passion and standard to which you live.

How we communicate is just as important as what we communicate. The simple proof of this is, that nothing that is important, is written in SMS Style.

I havent yet read a Thesis in SMS style, I havent yet seen Legislation that reads "All Da Men R cre8td ="

If you make no effort in how you communicate, then its likely you have made no effort in thinking through what you have communicated.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by Laminge

Yes true

But, in my opinion, my opinion holds more weight, that just the way it is, being an administrator and part owner.

So, take the time to communicate effectively with the rest of the forums, as that is the minimum standard I would expect to remain as a member of these forums.

I have to agree with you on that, although i must admit English is a Bast.ard language.
It was even taught in the UK during the 60's to spell the words as they sound and not necessarily as they really are.
My pommy born sister is testament to that and has extreme difficulty riting(as she was taught and believes it to be spelt) legible text.
As far as i'm concerned if somone's time is so precious that they dont feel we are worthy of a well worded post, then perhaps they should find a more appropriate time to pass comment.
Either that or dont take part at all.
At the end of the day it's Laminge's bat and ball and if some people dont want to play by the rules then perhaps they will have to spend some time on the bench!
Metaphorically speaking of course.

[1TUFFUTE]

Originally Posted by sourbastard

And that would be the life of a 12 year old girl desperately trying to get her SMS voting done before another contestant is voted out of Big Brother.

Ive spoken to Bikies who have said that being a Bikie is a way of life. Im not sure how your conversation with them would go if you presented "SMS Writing" as your all consuming passion and standard to which you live.

How we communicate is just as important as what we communicate. The simple proof of this is, that nothing that is important, is written in SMS Style.

I havent yet read a Thesis in SMS style, I havent yet seen Legislation that reads "All Da Men R cre8td ="

If you make no effort in how you communicate, then its likely you have made no effort in thinking through what you have communicated.

Theres no need to be so harsh my friend,its just my opinion.
Millions of people are adapting because mobiles are so important these days.
I run my buisiness this way and never have any problems.
I only use words that even morons could decipher but maybe ill make an effort just for u guys :voldar02:

[XR666T]

I rarely, if ever use SMS talk even when I'm sending an SMS! Call me anal but I just don't see how much more effort it takes to construct a normal sentence when you have a keyboard in front of you!

I know not everyone's English is perfect, but I'm sure my teacher would like to know her time wasn't a complete waste. :

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by Redline

I rarely, if ever use SMS talk even when I'm sending an SMS! Call me anal but I just don't see how much more effort it takes to construct a normal sentence when you have a keyboard in front of you!

I know not everyone's English is perfect, but I'm sure my teacher would like to know her time wasn't a complete waste. :

Yes good call mate!
When i first got the internet my mate said "try icq" so i did!
That was the scariest five minutes of my learning life!
Needless to say i have never been back and was overjoyed to discover this forum with a strong leaning towards English as the superior form of interaction.
Now for all of you with me on your ignore list there is a lesson to be learnt in that.
AHHH now i'm cnofsued myself! : :on second thoughts i might just have a top up :

[MO]

Originally Posted by 1TUFFUTE

Theres no need to be so harsh my friend,its just my opinion.
Millions of people are adapting because mobiles are so important these days.
I run my buisiness this way and never have any problems.
I only use words that even morons could decipher but maybe ill make an effort just for u guys :voldar02:

Mobile phones 'so important these days'.....CRAP they're the bane of human social interaction...if I had my way they would be all destroyed in one fell swoop.

Just as an aside I think your spelling needs some work and what would your business be disseminating sms and bad spelling?

[Falcon Coupe]

Originally Posted by John McMaster

Mobile phones 'so important these days'.....CRAP they're the bane of human social interaction...if I had my way they would be all destroyed in one fell swoop.

Just as an aside I think your spelling needs some work and what would your business be disseminating sms and bad spelling?

Ain't that the truth, my apprentice asked me how i ever used to "tune up" girls without mobile phones and texting, i said " well what we used to do was talk to them in person, we also used to ring their home and say hello the their parents then ask to speak to them", he was shocked apparentely all his mates mates start relationships by text to avoid face to face embarrassment.
I said you fellas are weak as...................

[1TUFFUTE]

thers not a tradie on the plannet thats any good that doesnt use one everyday

[Woz]

Originally Posted by 1TUFFUTE

thers not a tradie on the plannet thats any good that doesnt use one everyday

Actually, I know of three. Not only do they not use one everyday, they don't own one. All in the same town, too. Country town, mind you, but they're still three of the hardest working men in the area. Word of mouth, the way things used to be. Works fine for them.

[1TUFFUTE]

Originally Posted by Woz

Actually, I know of three. Not only do they not use one everyday, they don't own one. All in the same town, too. Country town, mind you, but they're still three of the hardest working men in the area. Word of mouth, the way things used to be. Works fine for them.

mate in this day an age (no disrespect to ur mates) but without a phone how can u order things,fix problems,ring the missus,ring the boys to go to the pub,find out why things are late and basicaly run a jobsite effieciently and make maoney in acompetative environment...common

[MO]

Originally Posted by 1TUFFUTE

mate in this day an age (no disrespect to ur mates) but without a phone how can u order things,fix problems,ring the missus,ring the boys to go to the pub,find out why things are late and basicaly run a jobsite effieciently and make maoney in acompetative environment...common

YOU have a lot to learn!!!!!!!!!

[Woz]

Originally Posted by 1TUFFUTE

mate in this day an age (no disrespect to ur mates) but without a phone how can u order things,fix problems,ring the missus,ring the boys to go to the pub,find out why things are late and basicaly run a jobsite effieciently and make maoney in acompetative environment...common

Some blokes know what they need before attempting the job, so they don't have to stop halfway through and order something.

Fix problems? What problems? They fix problems with their hands. And why would they need to ring the missus, or the boys?

If people need work from these blokes, people wait until they can get ahold of them. Quality of the work. They're not the 'mainstream' tradies such as plumbers or sparkies, so they aren't in a line of work were people require an emergency solved. You call them at home at the end of the day or, being a small town, you see if they're parked outside the pub on your way home.

These blokes say they haven't seen the need for mobile phones because they've never been stuck for work. Those who aren't patient enough to wait until the end of the day (as I said, not the line of work that requires 'emergency callouts'), they'd rather not have to put up with anyway.

[MO]

Woz,I'm with you it worked that way before moblie phones and it will still work when the're dead and gone. I hope.