Unless I've missed the bus on some new technology, and people are making posts on the BYOND forum via their cell phone's text messaging service, I'm completely in awe with this generation.

Leetspeak is an amazingly prevalent bastardization of the english language these days. I see it everywhere, on my cell phone, where it is understandable due to the limit on characters in a message, and the time taken to text on those god damn multi-tap phones, and even in messages left for me on post-its at work.

Whenever I read a post-it at work written in leet, I tend to swing back by the writer's desk and drop another post-it on their desk with the following message affixed to the dictionary at their desk: "Lrn 2 3nglsh". A few people in my squadron find this intensely humorous, and several signs have been posted around the building emblazoned with this phrase. Apparently, the irony is laughable enough that people tend to forget that I am insulting them.

I recently read a post on the forums, someone asking for "a gm code" for their "highskool" game. Someone pointed him to the hub for libraries, and he responds with "thanx".

I'd like to also mention, that I felt like vomiting when I read these messages.


Point 1: Adding uncommon, or angular letters such as "K", "X", and "Z" does not make you look cool. It does not make your point any more edgy or extreme. It looks stupid, and though it may sound the same, and be fairly readable, it serves no purpose.

Point 2: If you don't want to type, don't post. Saving keystrokes saves no time. If you aren't going to take your message seriously, people aren't going to take you seriously. If you can't take the time to type out a readable sentence, why should I want to take the time to help you?

Point 3: Numbers do not belong in the middle of a word. End of story.

Point 4: Commas, periods, question marks, exclamation points, semicolons and apostrophes are all there for a reason. I shouldn't have to reread a post five times just to figure out what the hell you are saying. If you are asking a question, put a damned question mark at the end. Exclamation points denote emphasis just like bold text. If I have to read another capitol sentence, I'm going to stab my eyes out.

Point 5: You aren't being charged by the letter, and if you are, I'd suggest finding a new ISP. Plus, I will eat your soul.


Whatever the case, I just thought I'd share that with you. It's really been getting on my nerves this week. Maybe I take myself too seriously, I dunno, but I just like to show a little professionalism when I type, just in case someone is drawing a conclusion about my personality. I don't care if someone thinks I'm a jerk, or an asshole, but I would hate for someone to think I am unintelligent, or illiterate because of how I type. Sorry, but I like having my credibility.