Why do people use SMS language on this forum?

[frustrated]
I am a bit fed up.

This is a typical (usually newbie post) in SMS languange:

hi can u hlp me plz i installd ubuntu but now my cam isnt wrokn help me plzzz!!!! its urgent!!!

Well, I learned not to answer these kind of mails with some piss-off mail as usually I get pissed off by other members because I am discouraging people from starting to learn and use Linux.

Why can't those nice new linux lovers see how decent posts are written, and just adhere a bit more to what seems to be normal etiquette?
[/frustrated]

jlinkels

Because they know no better and their regular forums (Gamespot and the like) allow it. Gentle teaching is a good idea in this instance - point out that we're an international site and that not everyone can understand that language.

Past experiences.... Reminds me when I picked up this New York style accent. Bad habits dying hard I would think.

They probably don't know better either. Not so much that they would be ignorant but simply they don't fully think it through.

Also I think some things we learn over time. I looked over some posts that I made two years ago. I'm kinda shocked at some of the stupid posts there.

Now I know to actually mention hardware/software/etc. details so someone could actually help me.

One thing I do know. Sending piss-off responses simply releases your steam and leaves the other side either pissed off or makes them want to skip out of that forum.

I've gotten plenty of piss-off responses (and yep I was at fault). Thing is no one likes to be receiving that stuff. I like to think some people will eventually realize that post like the one you quoted are not right and will fix that. Then again I like to think I'll win the lottery someday.

Each to his own.

dpc

I will ask them to use proper English to make the post understandable. If they don't listen, I'll just block that user.

I'm not sure what SMS is---I've always called this "chat room baby talk". What I find particularly frustrating is the use of these abbreviations by non-native English speakers. The combination can be almost unintelligible.

But these are--I assume--mostly younger people who think it's cute to talk/write this way. How about all the adults with college degrees who cannot compose simple prose in their native language or otherwise?

I was listening to a podcast. One of the speakers also teaches in a Jr. College. He used to have a number of multiple choice questions and 3 essays on every test. He dropped the essays because none of the answers were intelligible.

If I had a cellular phone I would disable text messaging. The classified ads in a newspaper are cheaper then sms.
Especially if you exceed the limit in a "limitless" wireless plan and end up with a $4000 bill.

Well they shouldn't have limited SMS messages to 160 characters. But who could have known back then that it would lead to people saving in characters to save in money (shorter messages = less messages in total = less money lost), and that when it kept going on for years, people actually learned to do it instinctively. Nowadays people can write long enough SMS messages that their fingers ache at the end, but most still stick under 160 or at least under 320, because it's in their veins. And when it spread to the internet, more people adopted to it (hey cool, I can write a three-letter word with only one letter!) and now we're knee deep in [that itself].

Yeah, I don't get it either. When I grow a few years older, maybe ten, I have lost all the nerves I had and start replying the same way they ask, only trying to make it more idiotic if possible. It's ok to do wrong and learn from it, but it's not funny if you keep on mis-writing for years.

A child is sane when it's playing, but sick if it can't stop it.

Sadly it's becoming more widespread. I have read that some teachers are actually allowing students to write in such a way in school papers. I think that's absurd and doesn't do anything to help those young people succeed in the business world.

When I see such posts I ask the poster to please write in actual English. Failing to do so means that I will ignore that person's posts in the future.

Originally Posted by masonm Sadly it's becoming more widespread. I have read that some teachers are actually allowing students to write in such a way in school papers.

Where did you read that? I'm interested.. Here they're pretty strict about correctness in written text, at least under university level, and I don't mind. But indeed it's not impossible that the teachers would in future let their little students write garbage (how could they teach it right, if they can't tell good language from bad themselves), and the only practical hope in that matter is probably that some people are very strict about it - those people who teach the teachers.

It could be that in future good writers are valuable stock. Or then people just adapt to reading "omg lol" news. How would it look like if the yellow press actually started typing "OMG" at the front page, or if a "missing"-paper of a missing person read "W NEED U 2 FIND TIS GYU"? (EDIT: would you take that "missing" seriously if it was written like that?)

lol, how many times have people ranted about this on here?

God... LQ General has been preeeety slow for the past few months.

As far at the SMS language, I think that there is a multitude of reasons - could be laziness ( me! ) or indifference to the medium. Or, maybe that person had a cell phone before really getting into computer forums, and got acclimatized to the SMS format first. Or, didn't learn proper English (for the native English speakers here.) Or, is a non-native English speaker and is trying to catch up (I applaud your not-unnoticed efforts.) Or, could be that they really don't care and want to be irritating.

Or, like someone else said, their regular forum allows it and know no better. That is very probable. Isn't there a commercial on the tube now with a bunch of young girls speaking in SMS language? Those could be the SMS people's personal heroines. . .

Originally Posted by masonm Sadly it's becoming more widespread. I have read that some teachers are actually allowing students to write in such a way in school papers.

I wonder if that's in the same district(s) that were found to NOT be teaching long division!! If I recall correctly, a lady in Washington state discovered this and mounted a nation-wide effort to reverse it.

I am not exaggerating in saying that (some) professional educators are among the dumbest stumps I have ever met.

Hi this tis Bubba and me has truble understanding all yur posts but me still hangs in thar. Please don't take fence to this writing, me don't understand tem red lines under some of me words.

Originally Posted by pixellany I wonder if that's in the same district(s) that were found to NOT be teaching long division!! If I recall correctly, a lady in Washington state discovered this and mounted a nation-wide effort to reverse it.

To be fair, I have never in my life been able to do long division and had to convince my teacher that I could get the same results quicker going via the short method. And he agreed and so I have never had to learn it.

The only drawback is when I help my daughter with her maths homework

I had a similar issue Xaviar, but the difference between us and most people is probably that we could to long division tasks by the short method. Most probably can barely do standard short dividions to start with and simply rely on calculators for larger divisors