How well is you're internet grammer: reasoning and discusion

[Fluffyumpkins]

hey people! check out this project we had to make for skool. how do u like it?? its a comercial for some pretty sweet paper towels... lol

but just to let u know, it will only work when my friend's computer is on for some reason... web connection or sumthin.

http://69.245.254.79/thumb_commercial.rm

Normally I keep quiet, but seriously spellcheck.

[roxygurl]

Normally I keep quiet, but seriously spellcheck.

The whole point to online typing of any sort is to spell in quickhand versions of things. its not sposta b propper. no one really cares if someone spells "anything" like "nething" or school like skool. ppl who chat online know these words. i respect your opinion tho. thank u for the comment.

[Original Sin]

The funny thing about internet speak, is that it seems to me that it's actually more complicated than just typing the word properly. I can type entire paragraphs in proper English, just as fast as I can think it up...The necessity or usefulness of internet short hand is more pop culture than necessity.

Heh, and a great deal of us do care, actually. Internet shorthand, aside from 'lol,' and 'brb,' just kind of irritate me. But then, blatent abuses of the English language in pop culture in general irritate me regardless...slang is one thing, but butchering your own language? Damn.

Voila! A post in proper English, complete with punctuation, in less than a minute.

[Mosh_Mosh_Revolution]

[Deleted. She's a really sweet girl, and she can do whatever she wants. I'm sorry, Chelsea.]

[sam]

the reason internet "speak" exists is well..look at the demographics of who's using it:
you have the kids in suburban schools aged between 10-14
people coming into the country and barely know the language

i'd say the reason it exists is because people have hard times spelling proper english so they make short hand words that "sound" like the word when said aloud but look like gibberish to us because well..um....yeah.

[Green Tea]

i'd say the reason it exists is because people have hard times spelling proper english so they make short hand words that "sound" like the word when said aloud but look like gibberish to us because well..um....yeah.

I think I have to agree with that in certain cases... it also has a subculture to it. But the thing is, it really doesn't take much effort to type an extra letter on anyways, actually typing anyways instead of neways is more efficient. I'd go more into it, but it is based on average finger strength. Shortcuts such as h/o nvm brb are another story, those are actually abbreviated words or phrases. You can clearly see the efficiency difference between never mind and nvm, or be right back/just a second and brb.

However abbreviations may be useful and intentional misspelling may be a subculture but I think that it is a reflection of the person, and really I wouldn't want myself to come off as illiterate, which is why if I use stuff like that it's meant to be taken as sarcasm or jest (ie. i r teh leet). The thing that is frightening is how some people actually don't know how to spell some simple words, and they never learn because they use the mangled form seen on the internet. I strongly disagree with that, and I am not saying that I have perfect spelling all the time, but I don't enforce bad habits.

[malictus]

My favorite is using 'k' instead of 'ok'. That one slays me

You have to remember also that internet shorthand isn't just to type faster; it also eventually developed into a coded language that outsiders won't understand, as a way to feel superior and part of an elite (or wait I mean 1337 ) subculture

EDIT: Oh GreenTea kinda just said the same thing right above me there. Oh well...

[SoDeepPolaris]

I view message board and forum posts more as a "letter" or even just a series of paragraphs, not chatting. It's not an instant conversation thing like AIM or Text Messaging. I always use correct grammar on forums unless I'm joking(1337 or LAWLZ, for example).

I even try to use it with IM's. The only thing I don't do grammatically correct in IM's is sometimes I neglect to capitalize my first word if it is a quick sentence. I will, however, if it is more than a couple words. Or I'll use slang/shortening of words that are actually used in real life conversation (like cause for because). I never misspell words unless it's an accident.
For example:

Screenname1: Are you going to the movies tonight?
Me: no I'm not.
SN1: Why not?
Me: cause I don't want to.
SN1: But it's a good movie!
Me: Well, I'm busy tonight. First I'm going to kick a baby. Afterwards, I was thinking about going to a political debate and releasing a cage of chinchillas. It seems like a busy night already so I have no time for a movie.

Most of the time on message boards, I resist being a grammar nazi, but some boards I just can't stand it because it is so bad.

[hascoolnickname]

I like to imagine people in other countries using misspellings all the time, especially in arabic and different countries that use the cyrillic alphabet.

[Ho]

I can understand it for text messaging where you're limited to 160 characters and have a phone keypad as an input device. But on a fullsize keyboard I prefer to just spell everything out. At 70-80 wpm, there's no real time savings for me in abbreviating, and I'd prefer to be clear than be cool.

[Fluffyumpkins]

You're both. <3

[Ho]

You're both. <3

Aww...you're too kind.

I feel the love.











(and it's kinda squishy)

[LikeableRodent]

Split topic from thumb commercial because it's been too long since I've exercised any mod powers here. That and it got completely off-topic quite fast.

[SoDeepPolaris]

Split topic from thumb commercial because it's been too long since I've exercised any mod powers here. That and it got completely off-topic quite fast.

Adam, I'm hoping you meant to make those mistakes in the title.

[Green Tea]

The whole point to online typing of any sort is to spell in quickhand versions of things.

Honestly I think that's a bad misconception. There is no reason to type like that online, I see it as a joke but when people do it seriously it can carry some very negative connotation with it. Well I guess not connotation, but it pulls a persona with it. The internet was around a while before you were born and people never talked like that. It is something that just propigated itself from online gaming. Mostly to bypass chat filters for bad words.

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about it:

A trajectory through social acceptance on the Internet could be seen as:

• The "newbie" stage, wherein a user is ignorant about languages and customs.

• A "Leet" stage, where a user may over-compensate in their actions, by using Leet excessively, so as to "fit in" with the "elite" social cadre. These users may also attempt to ostracize other users who have not progressed to such a stage.

• A more "orthodox" stage, in which attention is paid to grammar and spelling. Communities seeking credibility in the eyes of the rest of the Internet may seek to portray this level of maturity. It is at this stage when Leet is most used in a sarcastic tone.

I rest my case...

(This is not meant to be a flame or something as in insult, this is just explaing that the "point of chatting" online is not to shorten and butcher the english language)