Why it is better to NOT use text/chat speak on a forum

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Kristina

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I don't see this very often, but there are a couple of reasons that I think it is better not to use chat or text type language here on the forum.

First, we have members here from all over the globe. For many of them English is a second language. When you start heavily abbreviating and misspelling words, it makes it very hard for some members to understand, even those that do speak English fluently.

Another reason is credibility. If you are trying to be taken seriously, or give advice, saying, "I think this is what you should do" is going to be much better received than, "I thnk dis is wut u shuld do."

Typos and spelling mistakes happen. We are all human. But doing it deliberately is really something that should be avoided, in my honest opinion.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?
 

Tom

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You are so nit-picky. What are you, OCD?

... I whole-heartedly agree with you! :)
 

Kristina

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HA!!

Yes, I am a bit OCD. There are certain things that I am very funny about, this happens to be one of them.

(I have a serious issue where my food cannot touch. I have to put one thing on my plate, eat it, and rinse it before I get something else. So yes, I will 100% admit to being OCD!)
 

Seiryu

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kyryah said:
(I have a serious issue where my food cannot touch. I have to put one thing on my plate, eat it, and rinse it before I get something else. So yes, I will 100% admit to being OCD!)

Wow that is bad haha!

I agree with the abbreviates and what not. I usually just skip posts that try to abbreviate every single word possible. I won't lie, I probably can read it just as easily as normal typing. But like you said, the credibility to me goes out the window when I see those posts.
 

Yvonne G

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It IS one of my pet peeves. Text/chat speak was invented because of the small key pads on telephones. Since your computer has a full keyboard, there's no reason to not use it. I also feel the way Kristina does. When a person is using text/chat speak, they are totally discounted by me, and I don't finish reading the post.
 

Kalina

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kyryah said:
I don't see this very often, but there are a couple of reasons that I think it is better not to use chat or text type language here on the forum.

First, we have members here from all over the globe. For many of them English is a second language. When you start heavily abbreviating and misspelling words, it makes it very hard for some members to understand, even those that do speak English fluently.

Another reason is credibility. If you are trying to be taken seriously, or give advice, saying, "I think this is what you should do" is going to be much better received than, "I thnk dis is wut u shuld do."

Typos and spelling mistakes happen. We are all human. But doing it deliberately is really something that should be avoided, in my honest opinion.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

WOW!! I was just talking about this the other day, I was trying so hard to comprehend someone's facebook status and I just couldn't do it, I kept going back and re-reading it in the hope I would finally understand what they were trying to say. I'm guilty of doing the (LOL) but I think most people understand what that means.
I read an article in a newspaper from the UK a couple of years ago, where schools were complaining as they received assignments and students are now using text language in the school work.
It seems it's getting worse too, I see people write things and there's new abbreviations all the time... I give up!! ;)
 

cdmay

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Ahaaaa! Thiissss bbbuuugggsss meeeeee ttttooooooo!!!!!!!! I hhhaaaaatttte itttt whennn peeeeeople ddddooon't ussssse enougghhh lettttterrrrsss!

Exxxcccccccellllllenttttttt pooosssssttttt!
 

Isa

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cdmay said:
Ahaaaa! Thiissss bbbuuugggsss meeeeee ttttooooooo!!!!!!!! I hhhaaaaatttte itttt whennn peeeeeople ddddooon't ussssse enougghhh lettttterrrrsss!

Exxxcccccccellllllenttttttt pooosssssttttt!

LOL :D
 
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Maggie Cummings

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I totally agree. If they use chat speak I don't read the post. I think it's lazy and disrespectful...
 

DeanS

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Tom said:
You are so nit-picky. What are you, OCD?

... I whole-heartedly agree with you! :)

LMAO!

...and I, too, concur!
 

Neal

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I agree with the op. I managed a restaurant for 6 years and I would get applications and resumes with some text type writing. It would make me laugh, but that's because of the generation gap and I don't really understand it. Younger people do understand it, that's just the way they are these days. I hope some of these younger people have an interest in tortoises and make their way to this website. I don't think it would be a good idea to ignore them or get after them for typing that way. I do get that we should all be somewhat professional on here if we want to be taken seriously, so maybe if it is a problem to ask them to not type that way, or ask them to clarify what they are saying instead of ignoring what could potentially be a genuine concern.
 

Yourlocalpoet

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I think it's fascinating the way the English language evolves with every generation and especially now in the 21st century when we have technological gadgets that encourage 'txt talk'. You see phone companies and computer manufacturers everywhere who exploit this kind of language and promote it's use, it has become so widespread it is a whole new branch of linguistics. Having said that I don't use it myself simply because I think it can be dangerous, especially for learners of literacy. The amount of work I read and mark everyday which contain the words, 'wot' and 'u' '4got' is ridiculous. I teach literacy a couple of days a week and the presence of 'txt talk' makes it difficult for learners to understand grammar and spelling. It is I suppose a kind of techno jargon which is fine if you can alternate between it and standard English but unfortunately it appears to be stripping away standard English, almost disintegrating it into nothing. Who says there are rules to language, it changes all the time of course but if you want to be able to apply for a job, write a letter or write a CV then you do have to conform to the rules of standard English, otherwise what you want to say just gets lost in translation.
 

Madkins007

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As Neal touched on, some of this is generational. Most of us 'over 30's' group did not grow up with text-talk, and it is not natural for us. Sure, we can handle things like LOL, but a lot of the rest is just not natural. Proper use of the language was also drilled into us in school and by the culture around us- people are judging you by how you speak, spell, write, etc.

I suspect that the younger generation will increasingly use abbreviated, simplified writing. This is just another skill that is changing thanks to technology and cultural change, along with other dying skills like writing in cursive, knowing how to dial a phone, knowing DOS, tying shoes, using a library card catalog, and so forth.

Having said this, I think we need to be polite to the young punks that come here and throw around all that gibberish, or the guys who GO TO ALL CAPS FOR EVERYTHING, etc. as we teach them the errors of their ways.
 

cdmay

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"or the guys who GO TO ALL CAPS FOR EVERYTHING, etc."
Yep, I agree with Madkins007 on this point too.


The idea of using an abbreviated writing style while texting on your tiny little telephone is actually pretty ingenious. But when people start using that same abbreviated text for all writing needs is when it becomes a bad idea. It makes you come off as rude or worse, as trying to be hip or cool.
In addition, Madkins007's above comment about all caps brings to mind another highly annoying writing style that is sometimes seen...the over use of exclamation points (!!!), question marks (???) and quotation marks (" "). In some cases these things help the reader understand the thoughts and feelings of the writer. But when used all the time as in, "OMG!!! Bobby 'likes' Heather!!! Whats up with that??? I going to 'kill' myself!!!", it sort of makes the writer seem dumb.
Or not deserving of Bobby to begin with.
 
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Maggie Cummings

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ugh oh...I am so guilty of that!!! seriously, I hang my head in shame...
 

dmmj

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I imagine one day conversations will go like this " A U I G H T R N H G F B N H G T R D" notice all in caps cause caps are cool, they will of course understand every word, but us cavemen and women will be like what? I try and keep my abbreviations down to a minimum, I use LOL and ROFLMAO and ones like that but I can't grasp txt talk, and anyone using it for a resume should not expect a call back. Of course I will say this U guys R 2 Cool
 

Kristina

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Just to point out, I am not over 30. I do text a lot, and I do not use text speak except very occasionally. I do use LOL and OMG and ROFL and a few of the more well known ones, but not when I am trying to make a serious point.

I also occasionally use caps or punctuation (as well as smiley's) to indicate the tone of my post.

My husband and I only have one cell phone, and our friends always know immediately who is texting them, him or I - he text speaks and I do not.

I will concede that some is generational, but I don't think that makes it excusable. If we keep letting kids cop out on doing things the proper way, just because "Oh, that is what kids these days do," that makes us the most to blame for the education crisis, and there very much IS one!
 
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