I'm also in the under 30 group and "text speak" is a waste. There's just no reason not to type the extra few letters. Its laziness pure and simple. The well-known ones like LOL are different, but just misspelling words because its shorter seems pretty lazy to me. I can type upwards of 60 words a minute, like I really don't have time for those few extra letters? and I don't think being able to type that fast is anything special for my generation. (but then again there's me being lazy and starting a sentence with and...)
Why it is better to NOT use text/chat speak on a forum
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kyryah said:
I agree, but the point of this forum is to talk about tortoises, not teach or enforce proper english. So when someone comes on here using text language, yeah it might bother us and it would be OK to ask them not to, but we should be more focused on how we can help them with their tortoises instead of ignoring their post.
It's funny because I am 22 years old and when I text people I will say "are you..." instead of "R U" etc.
But when mothers I babysit for text me they always say things like "R U free 2 sit on Fri?" haha
But when mothers I babysit for text me they always say things like "R U free 2 sit on Fri?" haha
Neal Butler said:
I understand what you are saying, but if I can't understand the question, how can I answer properly? That is my point.
finleafeater said:
I was a big time presence on mIRC 15 years ago. I did not use the abbreviations then, I do not use them now.
I am not talking about a few abbreviations here and there. I am talking about entire posts that are so abbreviated that they are near unintelligible to me.
I NEVER stated that I ignore posts, I am not sure where that came from, it has been alluded to several times and is incorrect. Please re-read my initial posting.
I also am not going to justify starting this thread. It is my opinion, and it is in the appropriate section of the forum for off topic postings. You are more than welcome to disagree with me, but I think calling me ignorant is taking it a bit too far, and bordering on quite insulting.
kyryah said:
When I made reference to ignoring posts it was from the 11th post of this thread. Maggie said she doesn't read threads that have that language, which is ignoring. I'm not saying Maggie is wrong or don't mean to disrespect her in anyway. I was just trying to make the point that someone who posts a concern or question using text language could really benefit from someone like Maggie's input, so ignoring them because they use text language deprives them of the information they may need. If we don't understand what they are asking, we can ask them to not abbreviate or whatever.
I think it's fair to say that someone who posts in text talk generally doesn't mean to be insulting or lazy, that's just what they are used to doing.
finleafeater said:
I haven't been a mod long, but yes over the years I have seen a lot of posts that are heavily abbreviated. Now, when I posted this thread, I was not talking about just THIS particular forum, but rather just in general.
You said that you didn't ask me to justify this thread - but you said it was ignorant to have posted it in the first place.
As far as broken English (i.e. English as a second language, from one of our international members) if you look at my first post, that is the MAIN reason I said NOT to use chat speak!
kyryah said:
So why in the world would I have a problem with someone that isn't fluent? I don't. And yes I do feel it is different if it is not elective.
And at this point, with the turn this thread has taken, it is getting moved to the Off Topic Debates
Well, I'm sorry if I offend, but I DO ignore a post if it is written in a made up language that I can't understand. I try my darndest to help a non-english speaking person with their tortoise problem, but a person using text speak who's too lazy to type out the whole word to help me understand? No way. They will just have to go without my input.
(Thanks for moving this to the debate section, now I don't feel so guilty. Laugh Out Loud)
That's where the debate is. You're generalizing in saying that they are too lazy to type out the whole word. My view is that those who type in text (old or young) MAY just be accustomed to writing that way using technology and don't intend to be lazy or disrespectful. I have course have no info to back that up, the same as you don't saying they are too lazy.
I submit that a better alternative to ignoring is to ask them to spell out their[/u] words so they are understandable, if they refuse or continue writing in that style then ignoring them would be appropriate.
emysemys said:
That's where the debate is. You're generalizing in saying that they are too lazy to type out the whole word. My view is that those who type in text (old or young) MAY just be accustomed to writing that way using technology and don't intend to be lazy or disrespectful. I have course have no info to back that up, the same as you don't saying they are too lazy.
I submit that a better alternative to ignoring is to ask them to spell out their[/u] words so they are understandable, if they refuse or continue writing in that style then ignoring them would be appropriate.
emysemys said:
My feelings too. I am not a moderator so I can get away with freely admitting that when I see text type writing on a post I DO IGNORE IT. Yes, I can easily read it (if I felt compelled enough to bother) and no, I am not an old fart. But, why should I bother? This is a forum for sharing information and helping other keepers with their animals. We may use humor, story telling, experiences or other creative ways of getting our point across. But we should write in a coherent way.
It is important that what we write is easily read and understood by EVERYONE. Posting with abbreviated text just makes a person seem like they are too busy (or bored) to exert any real effort to get their thoughts across.
If I take the time to express myself I want everyone to understand what I'm saying. What a waste of my time it would be if I wrote in a shorthand manner and then a large percentage of readers responded by saying to themselves, "Huh?" or "What the...?" and then just moved on.
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I agree!!! It is getting ridiculous!! Here is one that people use that is stupid: BISFLATM which means Boy, I sure feel like a turquoise monkey! ?????? Crazy huh! Also instead of people writing unbelievable they write UNBLEFBLE! It is so stupid! I am guilty of using LOL, IDK, OMG, LMAO. But those ones aren't as bad as some other ones.
I completely agree with practically everything that everyone has said. I do have to say that it has been insinuated by the media that texting is the downfall of the English language. I tend to be a pretty bookworm-ish individual so I did a little bit of research. I stumbled upon a podcast of a radio show produced by NPR in which they discussed “text speakâ€Â. The guest compared the development of the language used in texting to the same development of language used for the telegraph (circa 1844). I have listed a few of the abbreviations that I was able to find below.
Telegraph Abbreviations
Ac- And company
Atrv- Attractive
Aqu- Acute
Az- Applause
Bri- Brilliant
Ccu-Conclude
Cy- Copy
Oac- On account of
These abbreviations were sent in Morse Code and had to be translated into the American alphabet and then translated yet again from the abbreviation to the word (or words) that they represented.
During this time Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) was raised and authored one of his most noted novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn considered to be “the Great American Novelâ€Â. Clemens was also heralded by William Faulkner as “the father of American literatureâ€Â.
So if the telegraph couldn’t stop people like Clemens and Faulkner from being major contributors to American literature, how is “text speak†going to be the decline of the English language?
It was also discussed in the podcast that the average child-to-teen in the 21st century reads 100-150% more per day than what an average child-to-teen in the 19th century read per year. That is unbelievable!
Telegraph Abbreviations
Ac- And company
Atrv- Attractive
Aqu- Acute
Az- Applause
Bri- Brilliant
Ccu-Conclude
Cy- Copy
Oac- On account of
These abbreviations were sent in Morse Code and had to be translated into the American alphabet and then translated yet again from the abbreviation to the word (or words) that they represented.
During this time Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) was raised and authored one of his most noted novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn considered to be “the Great American Novelâ€Â. Clemens was also heralded by William Faulkner as “the father of American literatureâ€Â.
So if the telegraph couldn’t stop people like Clemens and Faulkner from being major contributors to American literature, how is “text speak†going to be the decline of the English language?
It was also discussed in the podcast that the average child-to-teen in the 21st century reads 100-150% more per day than what an average child-to-teen in the 19th century read per year. That is unbelievable!
It was also discussed in the podcast that the average child-to-teen in the 21st century reads 100-150% more per day than what an average child-to-teen in the 19th century read per year. That is unbelievable!--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow, that is unbelievable! I would never have guessed that.
Wow, that is unbelievable! I would never have guessed that.
People are bringing up a lot of things- Morse, Leet, etc. and there are some things to remember about some of these.
Some abbreviated languages are based on the fact that there is a cost of some sort to that form of communication. Morse takes a long time- abbreviations make it cheaper/faster. Leet started when the cost of computing and slow modems made it smart to use abbreviations. Texting costs in time and effort, etc.
Some abbreviations come from shared background and, lets face it, a bit of laziness. We use RT, CHE, OP, etc. and not all of us automatically can figure it out.
The thing is, it seems only polite and logical that if one is introducing oneself to an existing group, or asking for some sort advice, that one would WANT to put one's best foot forward and communicate in a way that is generally considered effective.
Some abbreviated languages are based on the fact that there is a cost of some sort to that form of communication. Morse takes a long time- abbreviations make it cheaper/faster. Leet started when the cost of computing and slow modems made it smart to use abbreviations. Texting costs in time and effort, etc.
Some abbreviations come from shared background and, lets face it, a bit of laziness. We use RT, CHE, OP, etc. and not all of us automatically can figure it out.
The thing is, it seems only polite and logical that if one is introducing oneself to an existing group, or asking for some sort advice, that one would WANT to put one's best foot forward and communicate in a way that is generally considered effective.
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I see Abbreviations as part of the unique culture that is being represented here and actually enjoy learning new ones not that I would use them all the time. English is my second language so it's even more fascinating to me. If someone from a non-English speaking country is coming on board, I think it's one of the benefits to get in touch w/a live language vs. text book English. They're like puzzles and fun to figure out IMHO! It also sort of fosters shared culture when you get to use them for example, CDT, which was easily understood from the context of what was written and I felt like I was part of the secret society when I first got to say "my CDT."
That is a funny one lolllMarty333 said:
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