Randle2I

I am not an excellent speller myself. If it wasn't for spell check, dictionary.com, and a few other key resources I'm loath to think just where in life I'd be. Generally speaking I'm also not a mean person. I can be a sarcastic asshole, but if/when I am it's usually to friends & family that understand my idiosyncrasies and know I'm not being mean or trying to be hurtful. Being that I'm in IT and spend a large amount of time online browsing different forums and communities I'm exposed to all sorts of spelling and grammar nazis as well as people who could genuinely benefit from said nazis constant bickering. I don't normally partake in correcting others writing though, as I said earlier I have very little room to criticize.

Today though I think I met my match. I'm going to call this gentleman "James Bond"

I must admit that after his first e-mail I was rather suspect, whenever somebody writes to me and says 'u' instead of 'you' I almost instantly dismiss them as GED member working at Burger King. I mean really, just how hard is it to type 3 letters instead of 1? It didn't help his case that this was the second time, the first being on February 5, he's e-mailed me asking me the same questions.

Unfortunately after exchanging 6 or 7 e-mails with James I lost it.
I know I was wrong for saying what I did, but at this point I just didn't care anymore. He had pestered me long enough and I despise dealing with low ballers and people that waste your time only to not buy your stuff.

Anywho's, to wrap up this terribly long rant is it just me or does it seem like spelling just isn't important anymore? I'm not talking about being perfect, but at least put forth the effort to make yourself sound intelligent. How do people make it in the professional world with spelling and grammar like this? Every e-mail client, every web browser, even many of the cell phones today have some sort of spell check built in. Why do people not use the resources given to them, are they really that lazy that typing 'u' increases their productivity? I guess I just had to vent a bit as this guy really got under my skin and the genuine disinterest in spelling correctly has me baffled.

SecretMethod70

It's funny...writing like that generally bugs me, even in casual conversation on the internet. On the other hand, I have a very intelligent friend who is currently in law school, and he writes like that all the time when we talk online.

That said, I guarantee he would never consider writing like that when doing anything in a professional capacity, online or otherwise.

__________________
Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

spindles

I'm definitely guilty of using shorthand (e.g. y for yes, u for you etc.) but I really only ever use it when instant messaging. I also *know* everybody who would get an IM from me, so they know what kind of person I am and I really don't need to prove that I can spell.

I also have worked in client support and therefore have run into a great deal of people that pissed me off for various reasons....but I don't ever see the reason to tell my clients that they are stupid/dumb or to fuck off. Maybe you have too many clients

Is this person not a native English speaker? That might explain the bad grammar...

__________________
who hid my keyboard's PANIC button?

jewels

Admittedly, you're not a great speller but use spellcheck.

He's either a horrific speller or is guilty of multiple typos and not using spellcheck. As mentioned, he may be foreign.

I'd call myself a good speller (don't ask about my 8th grade trophy ) but hit it wrong once in a blue, and am guilty of typos galore.

I'm not so sure it's appropriate to judge without knowing the circumstances, although I agree that many people simply don't care. I don't know how schools are elsewhere but, in Florida, our teachers are forced to spend so much time preparing to pass this FCAT that the kids are not taught some of the more crucial basics. Spelling is one of those. My kids turn in essays for English, yes I said English, where points are not deducted for misspellings. Blows my mind.

__________________
We are always more anxious to be distinguished for a talent which we do not possess, than to be praised for the fifteen which we do possess.
Mark Twain

snowy

I only have a handful of words I misspell on a regular basis. I know they're my weak spots spelling-wise, and keep an eye out for them. I stop myself and remind myself it isn't spelled the way I would like to misspell it. For example, I like to spell separate seperate. It is rare that I misspell something, and I would never, ever send out some kind of written correspondence without spellchecking it first. I even spell correctly in guild chat on World of Warcraft--though I may not use punctuation consistently.

That being the case, people who spell poorly drive me up the wall. I have been super anal about spelling since elementary school (I lost all of my trophies/certificates ) and this shift towards LOLspeak or whatever you would like to call it drives me crazy. What really bothers me is not the use of it in reasonably appropriate environments (like World of Warcraft), but rather that it is starting to creep into other places we write, and into more serious correspondence. That, to me, is shameful.

One of the reasons why correct spelling and usage is decreasing is because children are reading less. Reading is crucial to learning to spell. Television is never, ever going to teach children to spell correctly, yet what do the majority of kids spend their time doing? Furthermore, with the emphasis on teaching to the test in elementary, middle, and high schools, there isn't much time left for literacy activities such as sustained silent reading.

__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Shauk

Yeah I was spelling words well ever since like 6th grade, it seems like such a given to me anymore just to spell stuff right

allaboutmusic

You need to put a colon at the end of this.

... or what?

There should be a comma after 'then'.



[/smart alec]

Randle2I

1) Stupid mistake on my part.
2) I had an "or" in the original writing, but then edited it & failed to take the either out.
3) Hey, I never said I was perfect .

It's very possible the man wasn't American, unfortunately it still had a negative impact on the sale. We both loose in the end, but since I'm not hurting for money & I'm thinking he at least has a computer to send e-mails on it isn't the end of the world for either of us.

I've never been a spelling bee champ or anything even close. Until college I was an even worse speller than I am now, but now that I've been working in a more professional environment for awhile I at least make an attempt to write correctly. Alas, as allaboutmusic pointed out I still have a ways to go before I win a Pulitzer (sp?).

Willravel

I'm James Bond, aren't I.

Honestly, I could care less about spelling. English is a huge mess, and not worthy of my defense.

Martian

The great thing about computers and online communication is that you don't have to be able to spell words like pusillanimous. So long as you have a basic grasp of grammar and can run a spell-check (many programs even do it automatically now, meaning it would take more effort not to), there's no reason you can't write properly.

And that's what gets me about this trend towards 'u' and '4' and a complete disregard for the English language; it strikes me as disrespectful. If you send me a message that uses the letter 'u' as a substitute for the word 'you,' that tells me that you don't respect me enough to take the extra second out of your day to add two keystrokes. That minuscule fraction of time is more valuable to you than sending me a legible message. That may just be the way I interpret it, being something of a grammar nazi myself, but when I communicate with others online I don't want to risk having them view my messages the same way.

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

silent_jay

Me loves my Canadian English Dictionary add-on to FF.

__________________
Absence makes the heart grow fonder

allaboutmusic

Using silly contractions like U instead of YOU conveys something about the kind of person you are. I can understand it when you're writing a text, and removing two characters saves you the cost of sending a second text (heck, I've done that myself). However, persistently or habitually doing so implies that you don't really care about doing things properly. Doing that in a job application or in reply to a dating ad does NOT help my image of you.

A friend of mine used to abbreviate cool as kl. He's a kl guy, but for goodness' sake...

Martian

Personally, I'd be more likely to parse kl as 'kill' rather than 'cool.' Which, admittedly, would probably make his messages more interesting...

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

uncle phil

dare i say, there is no excuse for using our language improperly...but then, what do i know, right?

__________________
"We were wrong, terribly wrong. (We) should not have tried to fight a guerrilla war with conventional military tactics against a foe willing to absorb enormous casualties...in a country lacking the fundamental political stability necessary to conduct effective military and pacification operations. It could not be done and it was not done."
- Robert S. McNamara
-----------------------------------------
"We will take our napalm and flame throwers out of the land that scarcely knows the use of matches...
We will leave you your small joys and smaller troubles."
- Eugene McCarthy in "Vietnam Message"
-----------------------------------------
never wrestle with a pig.
you both get dirty;
the pig likes it.

allaboutmusic

Ha. Let's see how that would work.

Him: so what time should we get there
Me: What time do you finish work?
Him: abt 5
Me: Ok, I'll meet you there about 6 then.
Him: KILL, cya l8r

Interesting...

m0rpheus

U R DUM! HOW CAN U SAY DAT DIS GUY IZ?

Sorry I can't keep that up. I'll use u in place of you or k instead of okay in text messaging just because I'm lazy, other than that I don't find that it is that hard to type out Y-O-U.

__________________
"it never got weird enough for me." - Hunter S. Thompson

Charlatan

Hey!

It's time for all the grammar and spelling Nazis to gather 'round the old TFP grammar and spelling campfire and tell tall tales of woe.

Pass the marshmallows, it's going to be a long night.

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

spindles

I really want to be a grammar nazi in this thread. must.....stop.....myself.

__________________
who hid my keyboard's PANIC button?

uncle phil

here we go...




and the correct answer is...D

__________________
"We were wrong, terribly wrong. (We) should not have tried to fight a guerrilla war with conventional military tactics against a foe willing to absorb enormous casualties...in a country lacking the fundamental political stability necessary to conduct effective military and pacification operations. It could not be done and it was not done."
- Robert S. McNamara
-----------------------------------------
"We will take our napalm and flame throwers out of the land that scarcely knows the use of matches...
We will leave you your small joys and smaller troubles."
- Eugene McCarthy in "Vietnam Message"
-----------------------------------------
never wrestle with a pig.
you both get dirty;
the pig likes it.

levite

That is f**king brilliant!

But in any case, I heartily sympathize with the OP. I, myself, can be a terrible stickler for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Probably comes from having been a county spelling champion as a kid, and taken special honors in English in high school, then minoring in English Literature in college, followed by becoming a writer and teacher. Now, I freely admit that when I am instant-messaging my friends, the rules go out the window: I don't capitalize, I have terrible punctuation, atrocious grammar, and occasionally employ abbreviations. But that's only for the sake of keeping my IM conversations at a speed resembling spoken conversation. There is no excuse for such lapses in e-mails, or professional correspondence of any kind, or in professional reports or academic papers.

I laughed aloud to see that some of the posts here wondered if such spelling was the result of the individuals not being native speakers of English. If only it were so! But having been a high school teacher for several years, I can vouch for the fact that our children have absolutely abysmal spelling and grammar. I have taught Honors-level courses for 11th and 12th grade, at an expensive private school, where I received papers and assignments that appeared to have been written by 6th-graders. I finally had to make a rule for my classes that any paper containing more than three errors that a spell-check and grammar-check would catch, or four errors involving homophones, misplaced apostrophes, or other errors spelling- and grammar-checks often miss, would be returned with no grade, and would require correction and rewriting within 48 hours in order to resubmit for a grade. Resubmitted papers showing the same or similar errors are docked a full grade. It was remarkable to see how a precipitous drop in the class GPA resulted in improved spelling and grammar!

It is simply shameful, the level of ignorance we tolerate in this country.

__________________
Dull sublunary lovers love,
Whose soul is sense, cannot admit
Absence, because it doth remove
That thing which elemented it.

(From "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" by John Donne)

snowy

I like your policies.

__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Baraka_Guru

Why is this an issue?

Spoiler: No one reads books anymore, and writing at length is no longer a common mode of communication.


I'm the only one I know who uses semicolons in emails.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

inBOIL

I don't mind bad spelling as long as it's comprehensible. Bad grammar, on the other hand, pisses me off. If I have to re-read something several times to understand it, it should have been written more carefully. This is especially true when the writing is so vague that you can't decipher it at all.
I can't tell you the number of times I proofread a college classmate's paper that read like it was written by a 6th-grader. Once you're old enough to vote, you're old enough to know how to use an apostrophe correctly.

__________________
And you believe Bush and the liberals and divorced parents and gays and blacks and the Christian right and fossil fuels and Xbox are all to blame, meanwhile you yourselves create an ad where your kid hits you in the head with a baseball and you don't understand the message that the problem is you.

allaboutmusic

Spelling mistakes make baby Jesus cry.

dlish

wtf?

im usually a great speller at work due to contractual issues with clients etc, but online on forums or IM i dont really care to bother with caps and what not. im the spelling bee of the office and all contractual letters go by me before they go out. so im one of those spelling nazis... im loathed at work sometimes, but it keeps the office interesting thats for sure

i disagree with the fuck off statement at the end though.. did the guy end up buying the computer or not??

__________________
An injustice anywhere, is an injustice everywhere

I always sign my facebook comments with ()()===========(}. Does that make me gay?
- Filthy

Mephisto2

Spelling mistakes show a lack of respect; both self-respect and respect for one's correspondent or reader.

"u" is not "you" misspelled. It is a conscious decision to use 'Internet shorthand'.

Someone above says no one reads books anymore. Really? Tell that to JK Rowling's publisher.

Another poster also corrected the original poster on their grammar. I'm probably a bit pedantic about grammar, but the suggestions offered were not canonically correct. Alternative sentence and paragraph formation, yes... but "correct"? No, I'm afraid not.

This all goes to show that one's personal standards are what really matters. The Internet, email and online fora are all imperfect communication media. We evolved to communicate face to face. It's not that hard to spell correctly. It's not that hard to create grammatically correct sentences; notwithstanding that "standard usage" itself is evolving.

So, what's my point? I agree with the sentiments of the original poster. I doubt I would send abusive emails to (what appears on face value) to be a prospective customer, but I can understand the frustration.


Mr Mephisto

abaya

It takes an effort for me to use shorthand, even when sending text messages. I have to be in a serious rush to use "u" instead of you... and I cringe when I send those messages. Then again, I majored in English and also taught English, so I reserve the right to maintain very high standards.

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

roachboy

you know, i don't particularly care about this one.

the index of some greater cultural malaise centered on ignance isn't spelling or sentence structure: it's content---actually now that i think about this for a minute (my 3rd cup of joe seems to push me further) the real malaise is passivity: passivity with respect to content, passivity with respect to form.
i'm not sure that you want me to get started on this.

anyway vacant content written in a grammatically correct manner is still vacant content.

another way:
it is simply not the case that fashioning perfect little sentences that say nothing is better than fashioning imperfect little sentences that say nothing.

or:
if you have nothing to say, attention to spelling and grammar won't save you.


in 3-d, i've taught writing for a long time.
i know lots of folk who believe that grammar is fundamental and that one's ability to think clearly starts (and too frequently stops) with grammar.
these people in general make me laugh--well that and they make me think it is indeed a good thing that i am not a student who could have the misfortune of landing in one of their classes.

this is not to say that i operate from the reverse position: things are not so simple. sentence structure is important--but i approach teaching it as a device for breaking up and ordering content, taking control of information.

so first you have to be trying to say something.
you know, have a fucking idea.
then what matters is logic--how you sequence the idea.
grammar comes at the level of getting that sequence to work in the most effective way--and you can't judge effect unless you are working with something.
spelling is a reflection of attention paid to the writing, the care put into it.
i generally pitch attention to this as a way for students to sell their work: the consequences of not paying attention to it are often entirely out of line with the significance of the errors--but if you know this is a possibility, then you have to control for it.
i don't see anything involved at the level of principle.

__________________
a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear

it make you sick.

-kamau brathwaite

Mephisto2

Hmmmm...

I think grammar and spelling are fundamental. Does that mean I make you laugh? Or is it those who goes to the nth degree and believe that, as you say, one's ability to think starts and stops with grammar?

There are no excuses for poor grammar, other than simple mistakes. Laziness, ennui or "geek"-chauvinism do not count in my book.

What is wrong with learning to spell? What is wrong, indeed, with simply heeding the spell-checker? What is wrong with learning to structure a sentence correctly, or at least cogently? And, perhaps most importantly, why is this the source of mirth for some?

Maybe I'm an old fuddy duddy before my time.


Mr Mephisto

roachboy

hail mr. mephisto:

nice to see you.

====
i outlined my argument in the post--it's not so simple as you make it out to be.
the core of my position is that what matter is content.
grammar/spelling are technical concerns--they have their place and are in their ways basic--but attention to technical questions is nothing more than that.

i'd rather folk be able and willing to think and thereby have something to say than they be able to say nothing in a formally correct manner.


i got to this position through teaching...so i guess i'd say that i don't particularly care about the general commitments folk have to grammar as such or spelling as such.
these are aesthetic questions.
some people like skippy, some people like jiff.
some people like hip hop, some like metal.
who cares?

====
there's another level at which this game of spelling/grammar/propriety could be addressed, which has to do with one's relation to them as a function of one's more general willingness to experiment with basic forms.
generally, i find a correlation between commitment to "the proper" as if it was in itself valuable and other types of aesthetic conservatism.
of course, the devil is in the intermediate steps...if the debate heads this way, maybe i'll fill em in.

__________________
a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear

it make you sick.

-kamau brathwaite

Mephisto2

Nice to be remembered. :-)

Pithy, yet profound.

Point taken.



Mr Mephisto

roachboy

uh...i wondered if the point that would be taken was bigger or other than the one i meant as i was scrounging up some more coffee...

on the op question: a messageboard is a curious place in genre-terms.
conventions for usage are genre-specific--so (digress right away...yay) in experimental poetry one set of rules applies, while in historical fiction another set applies.
these boards are probably somewhere between email/im and older print forms, and most of the conventions that folk use follow from that--so the writing is often somewhere between formal written and spoken versions of (in this case) english. it is pretty obvious that spoken and written language are not the same, that the former is much more bendable than the latter. so you could look at the way folk write in these places as translation exercises.

try transcribing exactly how you speak--you know, include your accent, your contractions, your slang, and you'll see just how much a translation exercise it is--if you dont already know.

__________________
a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear

it make you sick.

-kamau brathwaite

jewels

I wasn't sure I understood your position until you put it this way.

As one who used to be so sure of her words, especially in writing, I have great difficulty creating coherent thoughts. Brain needs a hard disk restore, too many illicit drugs when I was younger, but I struggle these days to understand myself and/or make myself understood. Spelling and grammar isn't much help in conveying thoughts and ideas, so I have to agree with you 100%.

__________________
We are always more anxious to be distinguished for a talent which we do not possess, than to be praised for the fifteen which we do possess.
Mark Twain

MSD

As I read this discussion of writing style and business correspondence, I thought of th eTurkish Astronomer parable from The Little Prince
I've been thinking this way for quite a while, but I've come to realize that language evolves; if people are able to understand it, is it necessarily wrong or is it just evolution of the language? I certainly don't think it's acceptable to use shorthand and colloquialisms in formal writing, but if it becomes part of conversational language and people use it there, maybe it isn't so bad.
I've been told that I'm probably the only person alive who uses them in text messages and instant messages.

If other English-speaking countries weren't so busy adding superfluous letters to words like "honor" and "color," not to mention an entire syllable to "aluminum," you guys might be superpowers in the global political system these days.

Hain

Language is designed to communicate ideas efficiently. If a language evolves in a specific region, it most certainly means that it has become more efficient without taking away from the scope of the idea. I do not mind it when people start off using their AIMspeak, or LOLspeak, or l33t, or Newspeak, whatever it is, to me, I ask them to not use it with me because I don't like to/can't read it. If they continue to use it: one, I rarely keep up with all these damned abbreviations and acronyms because there are a whole world of people to talk to so I don't know what they are saying, and two, it will piss me off and I will makeup an entirely new set of shorthand not common to anyone.

Once a language has become technical enough to communicate any idea, then the object is to make it efficient for the people without taking away the levels of technicality or specificity. We don't need to move towards Newspeak just quite yet. That would be double plus not good.

__________________

////\\// IRONSKY.NET \\//\\\\

blahblah454

That looks like every single email I ever receive from people I deal with on eBay. It makes me sick.

And Baraka_Guru tons of people still read books. Sure the written letter has kind of died off but emails are very prevalent and they could be considered "written", could they not?

flstf

I sometimes have trouble spelling, especially some of the different British, Canadian and American versions.

acknowledgement, acknowledgment
ageing, aging
aeroplane, airplane
aesthetics, esthetics
aluminium, aluminum
among, amongst
amortise, amortize
anaemia, anemia
anaesthesia, anesthesia
analogue, analog
analyse, analyze
annex, annexe
apnoea, apnea
apologise, apologize
archaeology, archeology
armour, armor
artefact, artifact
authorise, authorize
axe' ax
balk, baulk
banister, bannister
behaviour, behavior
behove, behoove
blonde (for female), blond
B.Sc., B.S.
burette, buret
burnt, burned
bussed, bussing, bused, busing
Caesarean, Cesarean
calibre,caliber
cancelled, canceled
candour, candor
capitalise, capitalize
carburettor, carburetor
catalogue, catalog
catalyse, catalyze
centre, center
cheque (noun, money), check
chequered, checkered
chilli, chili
cigarette, cigaret
clamour, clamor
collectable, collectible
colour, color
connection, connexion
cosy, cozy
counsellor, counselor
criticise, criticize
demeanour, demeanor
defence, defense
dialogue, dialog
diarrhoea, diarrhea
dietician*, dietitian dietitian*, dietician dietician, dietitian
dispatch*, despatch dispatch dispatch
doughnut, donut
Dr, Dr.
draught (current of air), draft
dreamt, dreamed
emphasise, emphasize
encyclopedia, encyclopædia
endeavour,endeavor
enquiry, inquiry
enrol, enroll
favour, favor
fibre, fiber
flautist, flutist
flavour, flavor
focused, focusing, focussed, focussing
foetus, fetus
forever, for ever
fuelling,fueling
fulfil, fulfill
gauge, gage
generalise, generalize
glamour, glamor
gonorrhoea,gonorrhea
grey, gray
gynaecology, gynecology
haemorrhage, hemorrhage
harbour, harbor
harmonise, harmonize
haulier, hauler
homeopathy, homoeopathy
honour, honor
humour,humor
initialise, initialize
instalment, installment
jewellery, jewelry
judgment, judgement
kerb (noun), curb
kilometre, kilometer
label, labelled, labelling, label, labeled, labeling
labour, labor
lasagne, lasagna
leant, leaned
learnt, learned
licence (noun), license
license (verb), licence
litre, liter
manoeuvre, maneuver
marvellous,marvelous
maximise, maximize
meagre, meager
metre (unit of length), meter
modelled, modeled
modelling, modeling
mould, mold
moustache, mustache
mum, mom
neighbour, neighbor
net, nett (amount of money)
oedema, edema
oesophagus, esophagus
oestrogen, estrogen
offence, offense
omelette, omelet
organisation, organization
organise, organize
optimise, optimize
orientate, orient
orientated, oriented
orthopaedic, orthopedic
pædiatrics, pediatrics
paedophile, pedophile
paralyse, paralyze
parlour, parlor
parallelling, parallelled, paralleling, paralleled
peddler, pedlar
pleaded, pled
plough, plow
practise (verb), practice
pretence, pretense
programme (TV), program (computer)
pyjamas, pajamas
rancour, rancor
realise, realize
recognise, recognize
rigour,rigor
saleable, salable
saviour, savior
savour, savor
sceptical
sceptical, skeptical
signalling, signaling
skilful, skillful
slipped disc, slipped disk
smelt, smelled
speciality, specialty
sulphur, sulfur
theatre, theater
theatregoer, theatergoer
titbit, tidbit
towards, toward
travelling, traveling
tumour, tumor
tyre, tire
valour, valor
vapour, vapor
vice (the device), vise
vigour, vigor
visualise, visualize
wagon, waggon
woollen, woolen

spiderman

What seems to be lacking in a lot of cases is the ability to proofread our own writing. Or, perhaps, what is lacking is the desire to proof before sending. Depending on the setting, sometimes I am more likely to take a second or third look than other times. I naturally read very carefully, which slows me down a lot, but renders text that looks at least fairly intelligent.

Spell check is a tragedy, in my eyes, in that it has made the resulting text much harder to scan for errors. If your text contains 'has' when you meant 'had' (a simple typo), spell check will not catch it. And because you feel safe having run a spell check, you probably won't catch it before sending your message.

__________________
Sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here.

Randle2I

I agree with you 50% if it's written, 100% if it's spoken.

Imagine for a moment that instead of giving speeches MLK Jr. sent out mass e-mail to people. His thought process was spot on, but his spelling was a mess. People wouldn't take him seriously no matter how important his message. I understand your perspective, but as with all communication the initial structure is only part of the whole.

Of course if you're speaking then people can't complain about your spelling anyway .

*edit* Spiderman, I really, really, really like your avatar. I think I'm going to go rent one of her movies tonight .

777

It's just the online form of slang.

That's all it is.

All that mister "James Bond" is guilty of is using it during a business transaction. I'm sure he knows the difference between "u" and "you" and maybe his shift key got stuck when he typed "wAS", but it's just slang. Like SecretMethod's lawyer friend here, he was in school learning the difference between "u" and "you", so that when he's talking about his defendent, he'll use the word "you", and refer to his online buddies as "u". There's a time and place for everything, you wear a tie to the courtroom and a hawaiian shirt to the luau. There's a time for articulent language and a time to say, "Hey man, waz'up?"

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"I don't know that I ever wanted greatness, on its own. It seems rather like wanting to be an engineer, rather than wanting to design something - or wanting to be a writer, rather than wanting to write. It should be a by-product, not a thing in itself. Otherwise, it's just an ego trip."

Roger Zelazny