convince the young folks out there that clear writing really is important!

The youth of today is lost! Doomed! Our future is in the hands of children who take great pleasure in wantonly destroying the language our species has carefully nurtured over thousands of years! When we’re old, we won’t be able to read newspapers because it’ll be written in ‘leet’ (or 1337 to give it its proper name)! In 10 years time, when I sign into Messenger, everyone will be speaking in complex acronyms, spouting line after line of ‘ityanvhbydkatma’ and expecting you to interpret it! Hang yourselves now while you can still read the price tags on the rope! We are doooooooomed!

I’ll try to keep doing my part.

but I’ll keep at it . . .

I secretly hate the way most people type, but I have learned to tolerate it over the years. What I can’t put up with though is when pre-pubescent little kids decide they don’t like my individuality and ridicule me for typing properly. So what if I take the time to write words out in full?

My solution: everyone is wired up to a device that is placed in the hands of me and numerous other designated administrators. When somebody mutilates the English language with truncation, or by putting numbers in the middle of words where no numbers should rightfully be, or any other clear offence, we get to electrocute them. Fast, simple, and effective. Of course, I’m not claiming that my own spelling and grammar is perfect, but as long as people are trying, they don’t get shocked.

I’m going to be such a stereotypical old person… worryingly, I can’t wait.

I’m not at all opposed to the free reign of creative expression, even when it involves disregarding accepted standards for the utilization of language rules. The trouble is, it’s not artistic license unless you actually know and understand the rules in the first place.

Many of my literary heroes have used fragments, misspellings, etc., in their writing. And punctuation rules are widely disputed and often mostly a matter of personal taste. For example, I tend to use the Oxford comma, not because it’s necessary, but because I like it. I also sometimes start sentences with conjunctions; knowing that this is against the rules, strictly speaking, qualifies me to do so (I feel) when I like the flow of it.

The difference between artistic license and indifference shows in the way writing comes across to the reader. I think Sara explained this well here.

I don’t mean to sound stuck up; I’m really not. I know I’m as flawed as anyone out there. I just happen to care more than most people, it seems, when it comes to this particular subject. As an avid reader and an aspiring writer, I live in a kind of reverent awe of the power of the written word. I just don’t want to see it lose its magic.

I’m beginning to see the generation gap yawning behind me.

This isn’t about impeccable spelling or grammar; it might be, except I know I’m far from infallible, and I’m a bit of a semicolon/ellipsis/parentheses whore. It’s about the impression that you make when you don’t take the time to use more or less complete sentences (or even words), punctuation, and care in your writing. It makes me sad, because I work with teens & young adults, and I adore the people I work with. Teens generally tend to get a bad rap a lot of the time: careless, vapid, unconcerned, pick your negative sterotype. I know that it usually isn’t true – it’s just that many youth aren’t encouraged to express themselves, or aren’t given good forums for doing so.

What happens when you read something that someone has written? You begin, either consciously or unconsciously, to form an opinion about who he or she is. If the person uses silly language, you might get the impression that the writer is silly. If they use harsh and abrupt language, you might get the impression that they are unkind. If they use ALL CAPS ALL THE TIME, you might think they’re a little unhinged.

and if they writ like they dont care whos readin or how it sounds it u might think they dont have anything woth sayin. u c wht i meen?

I do actually understand, sort of, the thought that these things shouldn’t matter. But they do. It’s not the same thing as not caring what other people think about how you dress or about what kind of music you listen to. If you can write well, or write with the intent to be as clear as possible, more people will take the time to read what you have to say, rather than dismiss you out of hand as someone who doesn’t have anything worthwhile to say.