Welcome to Gaia! ::

I'll admit that at the end of the day a lot of what we do does come off as pedantic, but I think that what really underlies our sometimes harsh adherence to the rules of grammar is simply a desire for clear communication.

Going around correcting people's grammar or spelling is something I avoid if I can since it makes me feel too much like I'm editing and not enough like I'm enjoying; however, if I come across something that is unclear to me I have no problem asking for clarification, and I'll ask again and again until what is trying to be said is clear. The problem I have with text talk is that it lacks a structure that allows thoughts to be laid out with precision and clarity. If someone was talking to you and you couldn't understand what they were saying, wouldn't you feel justified in asking them to repeat what they'd just said? If what they said to you was unclear, wouldn't you ask them to clarify it? If someone was talking to you and they were using words incorrectly or pronouncing them improperly isn't it okay to offer them helpful corrections? Why should it be any less acceptable with written communication?

Does the fact that you might do things that annoy other people mean that you can't address people when they're doing things that annoy you? I might do things that annoy other people, but if I'm in a theatre and people are talking that doesn't meant I don't have the right to ask them to be quiet. Rather, my knowledge of the fact that I might be doing things that could annoy other people only means that I would fully expect them to ask me to modify my behaviour when I'm around them.



I have trouble imagining any situation in which someone would want to befriend a jerk over a nice person... Unless the jerk was a perfect, donor match and I needed a kidney. Then again, I also have trouble imagining a nice person who would have so little respect for you that they refused to speak to you in the same manner you spoke to them.

I agree, degrading or disrespecting people without good reason is a bad thing; but I have trouble seeing how correcting people either degrades or disrespects them.

While looking down on someone solely because of bad spelling or grammar might be presumptuous, assuming that someone's stubborn refusal to spell-check or proofread their writing doesn't tell you something about their character is just as ill advised.

You probably should relax a little. Pet peeves are not worth the wrinkles, not matter how annoying. stare

I've been in the Chatterbox quite a few times since 2004. I know what it's like, and I cannot stand it. I personally prefer to be away from it and its people.

When in casual conversation with friends via instant messaging I may pepper my speech with an an occasional "AFK" or "LOL", when it gets down to serious things (or even when I seriously role-play) I swap to a sort of hybrid that I learned in an IRC channel over a decade ago.

For emotes, instead of strange acronyms or indecipherable smilies, you enclosed your emote in a pair of colons. :: demonstrates ::

It sets your text apart from your actions in a role-playing environment, and still retains a bit of the "cute" factor (Girls like me can make the colons a different color and/or bold). :: demonstrates again ::

I don't know if a "lead by example" tactic will work in General Discussion or Chatterbox, but if you are brave enough to go there, maybe its worth a try.

Typing in any post in any forum is when I'm most grammatically correct, or as it usually sounds, it is when I am most pompous. In casual conversations with friends, or even when typing in the chat for one of the minigames on Gaia, I have a much more laid back way of typing. Mostly I skimp on capitalization, maybe some punctuation.

I honestly just cannot read some "txt tlk."I often have to ask people what the abbreviation they just used meant. Things that are just missing vowels I can usually follow well enough. I've actually told friends that "txt tlk" hurts my soul. Their reaction is usually to try and speak to me in it. After a few messages they realize I have no idea what is being said and quit.

I definitely look down somewhat on people who use too many abbreviations and miscellaneous short cuts when typing online. I understand it being used in texts because there is a character limit; however, I believe people should take the few extra moments to type something out fully when speaking to others on the internet.

I think I could make it an hour in chatterbox. I have been in there a few times, but mostly I avoid it.

Sorry, I think I may have been ranting, rambling, or some combination of the two. sweatdrop

Hero - Haru ni saku hana ya
Max - Natsu no sanahama
Uknow - Aki no tasogare ya
Micky - Fuyu no nukumori