Okay, I *know* none of you would do this...

[conuly]

But just in case, this is my normal rant about l337 and chtspk.

Please remember that some people use textreaders. Some textreaders are very old and can't even translate ALL CAPS. I don't think any can correctly translate l337. Since you're online, you have no way of knowing which of your friends are blind, or dyslexic, or think that the technology is just oh so cool.

Please remember that other people aren't native speakers of English or have other problems reading nonstandard spelling.

Please remember that l337 and chtspk make you look really, really stupid and/or ignorant.

Please remember that it is fucking rude to type lIk Dys. Don't. Ever.

Thank you.

Comments

[codeman38.livejournal.com]

An example of just how bad netspeak can be...

http://www.livejournal.com/community/grammarpolice/1891802.html

...Can anybody actually read that?! It might as well be in a foreign language-- I'd probably find it equally comprehensible, if not more!

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

It says:

"If you love this guy and dont want to lose him, read this by advicegiva:
If you love this guy a lot, but, for example, he's a goth and you're a prep, dont be goth/punk for him - be yourself. He'll like you more than when he can tell you're not being yourself. Trust me on this - the guy I love (and always will) said he didnt like my personality, and it was because I wasn't being myself; otherwise it would have worked. So take this advice and use it. I'm also an advice-giver on my AIM, screen-name rainbowchic903"

... I think chtspk sounds dumb, but it's just teenage slang, which always sounds dumb and annoying to adults. It's supposed to be incomprehensible to those outside the "in-group"; that's its purpose.

What's really pathetic is adults who adopt it to try to look cool, but instead end up looking like immature idiots to other adults, and like loser wanna-be's to the kids. Teen slang is for teens, and it is properly spoken by them only to other teens; any other usage of it is self-defeating.

[codeman38.livejournal.com]

...Whoa. How did you manage to make heads or tails of that? I probably could given enough time, but it would take far longer than is necessary... why couldn't they just write it out normally to begin with? >_<

And this is for someone with English as a native language. If English isn't your primary language, it'll only be worse...

[codeman38.livejournal.com]

Actually, come to think of it, I think what makes it even harder for me to read isn't so much the netspeak as it is the utter lack of punctuation. I have trouble reading properly spelled English when it's written as one long run-on sentence...