Lol - Rofl - Wtf - Lmao - Gr8
Internet language is something I believe we take for granted this far into the internet generation. Conversations through MSN, Skype, ICQ, cellphones and so on is something we all have on a daily basis and the language we use there has devolved since the first time we did it.
Then:"Haha, man, you should've seen what I did on the party last night! It was awesome! Call me! Oh, and by the way - Don't thank me for the girl I sent your way (;"
Now:"Lol u shudve seen what I did on teh party last night man it was azum lmao call me and btw your welcome 4 the girl I sent ur way (;"
Sure, you could argue that it's far easier to type like the latter one, shortening words for convenience sake, especially if typing on a cellphone. But if you are typing on a keyboard I just dont think it is necessary to make yourself sound stupid. Because that is what you are doing. It might be very normal to you to type like a retarded porkchop, I can't argue with that, even I type like that!
But what this also does to this generation of kids is that it doesn't teach them how to be literate, rather, it teaches them that typing like that is okay, because the cellphone they got from their parents is something every kid should have these days. If they don't have one, they will nearly get bullied. Sure, they get taught in school how to write, but I can assure you that kids nowadays uses their cellphones or computers to communicate with their friends more often than they use a pencil and paper.
Another thing that can become a huge problem when having a text-based conversation online is that you can't read the other parts body language or listen to the sound of their voice. It is impossible, so that leads to ALOT of misunderstandings when you or your friend attempts sarcasm or irony. If you don't know your friends way of typing, you can get emotionally hurt. I know this from personal experience. We have come to a point were we communicate online more than in real life - Of course, this doesn't include everyone! No, alot of people doesn't even know what a smiley is when typed.
But even if you do know your friends way of typing online you can impossibly have as much combinations of body language than the combinations of words.
Maybe your friend does something with his eyes when he jokes, maybe he bends his body in some way when he is sarcastic. These features are something that text can NEVER simulate.
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I hate to see people trolling or acting condecending towards players in online games because they might not reply to their messages in like a second I get sick. Because I know that some people just can't type in english and for that they get bullied. Like my 12 year old nephew, who for some reason plays World of Warcraft. He can't type in english yet, at least not very well. And when I see him play dungeons, which he's very good at despite his lack of english-knowledge, getting screamed at by the "pros" it's just.. Yeah. And by screaming I mean using "caps".
When I see people having conversations in World of Warcraft I almost get depressed when I think that that might be those peoples only social engagement that day.
EXAMPLE:- rofl
Jim's character jumps constantly up and down.
- I kno riet lmao
- so I herd u got a new haircut
- irl?
Brian's character stands still as Jim runs around him in circles then stopping after another jump.
- y ofc lol
- y but the barber suck'd LOL
Brian's eyes met Jim's as they passed each other in the hallway leading up to the lockers.
- Oh my God, you got a new haircut, Jim? He snickered, immedietly turning his body towards Jim with a smile.
Jim pierced his ears as he heard his friends voice faintly through his hearing plugs. He then looked up, removed one of his hearing plugs from his MP3-player and gave Brian a sarcastic smile.
- Yeah, man... But the barber cut it too short...
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Even trying to write something better there I still can't convey as much feelings, emotion and messages as being in front of the one you're speaking with.
I know that this is something we all are dealing with but take my advice and don't be afraid to ask your friend what he meant with something instead of jumping to conclusions. It is troublesome but necessary if you don't want your friend to kick your ass by spreading rumors about you for misunderstanding him (:
EXAMPLE:Jenny is in a pretty bad mood for being in her period -
Ben is in a great mood.
Ben: Heeey Jenny watsap! : D
Jenny: Hi : ) Not much
Ben: How are you cutie-face? ;D : )
Jenny: I'm fine ^^ How about you?
Ben: I'm grrrreat! : DD
Jenny is in a great mood -
Ben is in a pretty bad mood since he didnt get invited to one out 9 parties in town.
Jenny: Hey ben!
Ben: ...
Jenny: What's the matter?
Ben: nothing
Jenny: You can tell me, I'm your friend! ^^
Ben: everything sucks
Jenny: Are you okay?
Ben: ...
Ben: no
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Now, from previous experiences
Jenny might be used to
Ben using alot of smileys in their chats. And now he's not using any, he's not using capitol letters and he's talking as if he's about to kill himself. Of course that makes Jenny very concerned and getting the feeling that something is horribly wrong when in reality Ben is just a bit angry.
How would
Jenny know that? She couldnt. She couldnt read
Ben's face or his body, leading to a clear misunderstanding.
We're all used to it at this point, but having someone being literate when talking online is very refreshing to see. If you see someone not using smileys you might think that he's weird or appearing to be in a foul mood when he's in reality just not comfortable with using them.
Someone seeing someone using alot of smileys might think that he's a little 13-year old kid when he's in reality 27 years old.
We don't know and we won't know until we ask and stop being prejudice about our fellow onliners!
I could go on and talk about emoticons and all that too but I think you get the point!
I hope this awfully long journal made you think in any case (:
Jump down and check the comments for more examples about this!/MLeth out
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`anmari has been spreading her infectious positivity throughout our community for over 6 years. Throughout this time Ana has been at the core of all things devious, passionately developing an eclectic gallery, helping organise devmeets, participating in chat events and also recently completed dedicating her time as a Community Volunteer. We are absolutely delighted to bestow the Deviousness Award for May 2013 to `anmari, congratulations! Read More
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I too have my problems with this whole L33T Speak thing. I've seen at least a couple million different abbreviations/emoticons, and I don't even have a clue what an increasing number of those mean! In one case, I had to do a Google search to learn that 'OTL' is not an abbreviation but a Korean emoticon for something like defeat or shame (supposed to be a man kneeling on the ground with his hands downward and hanging his head).
Another little thing that irritates me that I see quite often is failure to observe proper grammar conventions. We all know to capitalize proper pronouns and place punctuation where appropriate. For example:
"ill" instead of "I'll"
Some people don't seem to realize 'I' is a proper pronoun and should be capitalized. The presence of the apostrophe makes a difference too, as it distinguishes "I will" from a state of sickness.
What burns me most about our web-obsessed culture, though, is some people's depence on cell phones. A few months ago, I had a cousin who would not stop sending text messages at the dinner table even after her mother (my aunt) repeatedly asked her to stop. There is also the fact some people can't seem to live without mobile web access, photo-messaging, Twitter, Facebook, etc. It almost scares me how people forget a phone was made originally for just calls and texts. You don't need a cell phone for anything else. That's why computers haven't become obsolete yet.
Whoa...Sorry, man. Didn't mean to rant like that, but it's out of my system now. Anyway, thanks again for the call to issue.
Or my brain is failing for typing correctly and ponctuate properly or the "internerds" are getting a smaller brain for typing too abreviated or faster enough... '^'