From: | Lurch lurch@****.net |
---|---|
Subject: | (OT) Spelling Rant (was Please!) |
Date: | Wed, 22 Mar 2000 23:14:31 -0600 |
This is a major sore point with me, perhaps because I'm an aspiring
writer and hold myself to a slightly higher standard of written
articulation than most. I apologize if I ruffle feathers or come off
like a curmudgeon with this, but to a large degree I blame the
near-simultaneous rise in popularity (and partial merging in tone) of
both "gangsta" and "hacker" cultures for the decline in coherent
literacy among today's youth. Both cultures appear to embrace
deliberate misspelling and poor grammar as some sort of identifying
mark, if not a badge of honor.
I've lost count of how many times I've logged off of chatrooms in
disgust after being forced to listen to users with handles like
"{{Gh0sTfAyCeThRiLlA}}" and "[yBaPiMpZ_|87" (not real users AFAIK,
just
fictional examples) drone on in endlessly circular, profanity-laden
breastbeating ("Dat's right yo, my warez are da bomb cuz I gots da mad
skillz, beeyotch -- glock glock!"). This coming from hackers, a
subculture which in theory is supposed to be smarter than the average
citizen and yet persists in writing like a bunch of Games Workshop Orcs?
(Interesting that SR deckers aren't generally portrayed this way, don't
you think?)
Now, I have no problem with the occasional typo or misunderstood
definition of a word (none of us are perfect), though it probably
wouldn't hurt anyone to take a moment and give their postings a quick
once-over before sending them. I also realize not everyone is a
spelling/grammar whiz. It's when poor language use is the result of
sheer laziness, apathy, or the embracing of ridiculous social
conventions that I tend to get upset.
As always, thanks for not killing the mic while I rant... :)
--
Lurch
http://yourang.freeservers.com
"Sic gorgiamus allo subjectatus nunc"