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The Squatter of Amon Rûdh · 05-14-2003, 03:08 PM

Personally I've never liked colloquialisms, and speed for me should never be bought at the expense of clarity or elegance of expression.

Many people abbreviate words and fail to proof-read their posts because they are worried that somebody else will say what they mean to before they have finished typing, but I can't see why it should matter who makes a point as long as it is made: we are not here to compete in cleverness. If someone does happen to get in first the post can be edited to avoid any duplication, and dashing them off as quickly as possible just leads to a slapdash argument that makes it appear that its author couldn't be bothered to write it out properly. Readers will skim past such a post in search of something more thoughtful.

There's also the matter of the audience: anyone with an internet connection can read what is posted here, so it surprises and saddens me that some people seem to take no pride at all in what they publish. 'Kind of' (abbreviated to 'kinda' above, in order to save typing a mere two characters) is a familiar term, the use of which is discouraged in serious writing in favour of 'somewhat' or 'rather'. The chat-room acronym 'lol' (which I thought was a mis-typing of 'loll' when first I saw it) doesn't belong at all in a discussion forum, where there is sufficient time to type "That had me laughing out loud" or words to that effect. As for the hideous 'j/k', if you have chosen your words properly anyone with a reasonable level of intelligence should be able to tell whether or not you are joking without being told. With practice it becomes easy to infuse a jocular tone into a piece of writing without the use of any decoration or embellishment at all, which makes it much more enjoyable to read. Surely we all want people to enjoy reading what we post.

[ May 14, 2003: Message edited by: The Squatter of Amon Rûdh ]

05-14-2003, 03:08 PM	#20
The Squatter of Amon Rûdh Spectre of Decay Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Bar-en-Danwedh Posts: 2,178	Personally I've never liked colloquialisms, and speed for me should never be bought at the expense of clarity or elegance of expression. Many people abbreviate words and fail to proof-read their posts because they are worried that somebody else will say what they mean to before they have finished typing, but I can't see why it should matter who makes a point as long as it is made: we are not here to compete in cleverness. If someone does happen to get in first the post can be edited to avoid any duplication, and dashing them off as quickly as possible just leads to a slapdash argument that makes it appear that its author couldn't be bothered to write it out properly. Readers will skim past such a post in search of something more thoughtful. There's also the matter of the audience: anyone with an internet connection can read what is posted here, so it surprises and saddens me that some people seem to take no pride at all in what they publish. 'Kind of' (abbreviated to 'kinda' above, in order to save typing a mere two characters) is a familiar term, the use of which is discouraged in serious writing in favour of 'somewhat' or 'rather'. The chat-room acronym 'lol' (which I thought was a mis-typing of 'loll' when first I saw it) doesn't belong at all in a discussion forum, where there is sufficient time to type "That had me laughing out loud" or words to that effect. As for the hideous 'j/k', if you have chosen your words properly anyone with a reasonable level of intelligence should be able to tell whether or not you are joking without being told. With practice it becomes easy to infuse a jocular tone into a piece of writing without the use of any decoration or embellishment at all, which makes it much more enjoyable to read. Surely we all want people to enjoy reading what we post. [ May 14, 2003: Message edited by: The Squatter of Amon Rûdh ] __________________ Man kenuva métim' andúne?