Kids These Days

[n0Mad]

I just had the following conversation via MSN IM. (Magic Bunny is an internet forum that I help moderate for the discussion of magic, illusion, sleight-of-hand, and other forms of related entertainment.)

Tino says:

Hi

Tino says:

I'm From MagicBunny

Spook says:

Uh ... okay.

Tino says:

U Are Beginer ?

Spook says:

Um ... I've been doing magic professionally for almost 20 years and own my own entertainment company.

Tino says:

KooL

Tino says:

How Old Are You  ?

Spook says:

Old enough to know that "U" and "kool" are not words.

And he never said anything after that. After a while, I decided to ban him.

To some extent, I understand the use of internet speak. I use LOL, BRB, and other acronyms all the time. Even if you look at formal letter writing, acronyms exist: Mr, Mrs, PS, RSVP ...

But I do feel that the internet has severely diminished our communication skills. People today are using words that do not, and should not exist. Spelling is atrocious, and there are way too many words and phrases like C U l8tr. *shudders*

One of the arguements for txtspk is it helps them type faster. Well, my grandmother could crank out 80 words per minute on an old typewriter that actually had a lever she had to push instead of an "Enter" or "Return" key. If she could do that, them I'm sure people can at least manage 40 wpm on a computer with proper spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammer.

I take my communication very seriously and am appalled by the apathy of kids these days. Now, I admit 70 u5!n6 1337 5p34k every now and then, but for very specific reasons when it's understood and appreciated. But, I almost never use txtspk and especially not when conversing with somebody for the very first time. First impressions are what you're known by and much of that has to do with your communication skills. The best way to get me to ignore you iz 2 sound lik a dummazz.

--end rant--

[Lilith]

Might have just been a kid looking for mentor?

[Homicidalheathen]

Well it isn't just kids. Guys approach me all the time with one liners full of misspellings....bad grammer, incomplete sentences.

Like, hey can I hit that and what up? Oh god. No you can not hit this and what up? The sky ass hole.

[Ginevra]

In informal communication among friends, I find it perfectly acceptable to use LOL BRB and the like. However, if I'm sending a cover letter to a potential employer, those would be high on my list of no-no's.

I personally strive for clarity, decent punctuation and (hopefully) decent spelling. One does not necessarily need to know the Scrabble dictionary to be able to speak well.

That said, I realise that spelling and writing are not everyone's forte`. This person might be better with music than with actually writing . . . . . or that person might be better with woodworking than being a wordsmith. I try to cut folks some slack.

[Lilith]

on the issue of spelling and grammar......... We all have our own brand of slang, from spoken word to written it has allways been there, short hand any one, the dinner codes between wait staff and cooks. There are times and places to be proper with your choosen written or spoken word. Most of the time when in chat or IM with a non Bussiness aquaintence i dont see any reason to hold true to the rules. Also on the internet you have no real idea how old a person is or what there educational back ground is.

I dont know to me banning some one for there lack of proper grammer etc.. is rather harsh and you may have missed your chance to help mentor a Bright young mind who was just trying to reach out. It not simply kids these days it has allways been kids in some compacity or another, why casue they are not grown ups they simple do not have the life experience to fill there brain to think as us adults would.

Also i am an dult and i dont have allot of time to sift thur the stuff i type in a "fun" type forum or in IM, for grammar and spelling to me it is more important to get my view down and move on so i can take care of my real life responsibilities such as my kids, or the bills or what ever.