Grammerness: Important or no?

[Kipsy]

/flail
/cry
Yomiku sighs in disgust...

Yes, grammar is very important.

I've said, several times, that if I was in college currently I would be an English major. So, leetspeak, lazyspeak, and just plain disregard for the English language make me very, very sad.

What's even worse, is, when I was younger, I used to help my teachers check the english papers (Oh yeah, I was a popular little bitch in school)...

So, pretty much everytime I see a crappy sentance, horrible spelling, or whatnot, I have to "translate" it into readable english for everyone.

As Fellina said, "It's sad that a whole generation is growing up more or less illiterate"

 

[Fellina]

Actually, what I said was "functionally illiterate", heh.

The simple fact is, and something a lot of these younger kids don't realize, is that yes, proper grammar and spelling are, in fact, important. All cognitive skills, whether it be reading, writing, or arithemetic, take constant practice to keep from diminishing. By using 1337, AOL shorthand, and et cetera, they're actually sabotaging their own language skills. Which means that when they actually NEED to use proper english, say on a resume for example, they'll have more difficulty than peers who haven't gotten lazy with their linguistics.

I've seen some of the younger players give such comments as: "wtf y shud i talk like that i'm not in school". To me, this bespeaks in the ultimate in laziness. Someone who says this gives me the impression that they only care to act as a functioning member of society when someone's looking over their shoulder. Because the simple fact is that language really is the foundation of all society- it is the basis by which we share thoughts, ideas, and feelings.

Bringing this now to a more game-related note, I encounter players using the shorthand all the time. It irks me, but not so much that I'd do anything so drastic as b-listing them. I just prefer to converse with others who speak my language, which is Standard English. My husband, being older than myself, was never exposed to any of the internet sub-culture, so he literally _cannot_ understand net shorthand. A player the other day sent him a tell begging for gil, but Osse was so confused by the AOL shorthand that he didn't know what the guy was asking. When my husband responded, telling this player. "I'm sorry, I don't understand you, I need you to speak proper english please" the beggar simply responded "nvm". Heh.

 

[Keits]

u r dum

this topix r dum two

haharoooflelolomgbbq i jus got of ur moma ahahahforlfle hahaha

 

[masterorion]

people with their grammer /sigh....there is a time and place for "leetspeak" then there is a time for actual english instead of giberish.
nothing is more retarded than trying to type like a hacker throughout a whole message board post when normal speaking would have sufficed

 

[Courtney]

It's not important that all the commas and full stops are correct. It's nice to have at least some idea what someone is trying to say though...

 

[Mr.Wonko]

Absolutely yes. Not to be a Nazi or anything, but it speaks ill of the quality of the party when the invites look like "pt plz!!!!!! k thx!!1"

 

[Tyrion]

I'd like to point out that I do AOLspeak/netspeak/1337speak as a joke all the time.