Online etiquette

No this isn't yet another complaint about how the Internet is dragging our human interaction and writing skills into the gutter.

 

Some expressions derived from online chatter can describe one's behaviour accurately enough without them having to write complete sentences to describe their state of emotion. So really, it's making our language more efficient.

 

Please don't take this and apply it to your professional lives, however.  I'm just talking about casual writing between friends.

 

 

The Beef

 

The problem I'm finding these days is with the overuse of these helpful acronyms, punctuation, and spelling in general.

 

Not only that, but (granting an exception for ESL students), it seems like some people never quite understood the difference between they're, their, and there as well as numerous other words (to, too, and two).

 

 

Let's examine LOL for a minute: Laugh Out Loud.

 

The goal of this expression is to subdue the need for writing an endless string of hahaha, or typing I am laughing so hard right now.

 

Unfortunately the efficiency is annulled when numerous LOL's are joined together, expressing extreme cases of laughing out loud.  Funny, but counterproductive.

 

LOL LOL LOL LOL !!!!!

 

 

The Killers

 

Punctuation and lack of proper Internet etiquette really kills it for me sometimes.  Let's provide some examples to get you in the same frame of mind:

 

Are you going to Jessica's party!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Well, if you'd ask me in the form of a question I'd consider it.  Unfortunately, not only are you screaming at me with 30 exclamation marks, but your question lacks the basic building block of the request-response scenario: The Question Mark.

 

The answer to your pseudo-question is NO anyway.

 

 

Another example:

 

HEY DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE I CAN GET THIS PHONE????????  I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

We've already covered the punctuation so I won't beat you over the head with it again.  At least this person used a question mark, though 10 of them may be excessive.

 

Their problem is that they haven't yet caught on that not many people type in ALL CAPS on the net, and when they do it typically demonstrates some form of excitement or anger.

 

So if you're not feeling any of those, click the damn thing off and continue typing without screaming at me.