Only Insufferable Cretins Text!

[Omega]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newswee...glish-lol.html

This is pretty old, but I find this fascinating. If I knew about before I got out of that hellhole everyone nostalgically calls high school, I would have argued days on end with my teachers.

[Aimless]

Good article moar texting

[CitizenCain]

Phuck no. First, that's pretty old - before every damn phone came with a small keyboard, so u had 2 txt w the numpad, and second of all, that doesn't excuse not using actual words and punctation in other communication mediums.

[Ominous Gamer]

language evolves for all sorts of reasons. Can't blame texting directly since we had that type of short hand and emoticons in the hands of the masses well before cellphones thanks to the internet and shit like IRC and AIM. I never caught on to it. I'm well known to send a text that uses full words and several hundred letters long. Of course I grew up with mailing lists before moving over to IRC. My mom on the other hand is ridiculous, her first cell phone has because of me, and I still pay for her service, yet she texts like a 14 year old. I get a message from her and I'm always caught off guard with how short she can make words and I'm left wondering who the hell taught her how to do that.

I'm more concerned about how bad the next generation is at writing. Handwritting simply isn't as beautiful as it used to be, so many children look like they were raised by doctors

[CitizenCain]

A) We did not have that kind of shorthand before cellphones. You can blame l33t speek on IRC but not txt abbrv.
B) SMS was first introduced in the GSM standards back in 1985. AIM was released in May of 1997. So texting predates AIM by more than a decade.

Do you have to try to be so completely and consistently wrong, or is it just one of your natural talents?

[Ominous Gamer]

A) We did not have that kind of shorthand before cellphones. You can blame l33t speek on IRC but not txt abbrv.
B) SMS was first introduced in the GSM standards back in 1985. AIM was released in May of 1997. So texting predates AIM by more than a decade.

Do you have to try to be so completely and consistently wrong, or is it just one of your natural talents?

I'm referring to the masses (even said that), cellphones are old as hell, didn't mean they were designed or priced for the masses. This texting craze is a recent shift. All you can eat texting plans are only a few years old, and before that texts were priced individually high enough that most people stayed far, far, away from using them. Sidekick for example didn't go on sale till 02.

AIM was a hit almost instantly because of AOL's market dominance and the fact that the buddy list existed before 97. If you want you could go back even more to ICQ. Shorthand has always been a part of instant messaging, cellphone or computer, hell you can find online translators that at 12+ years old.

[CitizenCain]

So, it's a natural talent, then?

The type of shorthand ubiquitous to text messaging stems from the fact that cellphones (back before they became small computers) have a 12 key input pad, so typing on them can involve up to 4 key strikes for a single letter. It's a pain in the ass, it's slow, and dropping a few letters out of most words is a significant benefit. This limitation still applies today, for the types of phones (free, cheap plans) parents get their tweenie-boppers, so that's why this type of shorthand is still around. The only relationship this has to (some) internet IM clients is the same client base... who learned their IM etiquette from texting on 12 key cellphones.

A funny web-"translator" mocking AOL-tards for their inability to use English is not evidence in support of your moronic theory, either, FYI.

[Flixy]

Don't forget the character limit, that also meant abbreviations were useful.

[Aimless]

There is no character limit, it's just a lie the govt. tells you to keep you from utilizing the spectrum that rightfully belongs to you

[Ominous Gamer]

Don't forget the character limit, that also meant abbreviations were useful.

These existed in the early IM days as well. IRC still has a limit, but most programs at this point at able to handle it better.

[Omega]

I'm more concerned about how bad the next generation is at writing. Handwritting simply isn't as beautiful as it used to be, so many children look like they were raised by doctors

Actually, it all simply depends on where you look. I text. I text like a retard occasionally. I use Facebook Chat. My grammorz and synt4x leaves much to be desires, yet you see me write completely coherence and practically error free posts? I'm seventeen. Although I can agree I'm not a "typical" rising college freshmen, I know a multitude of students, who much like me can rapidly oscillate between sophomoric stupidity and intellectitude. Maybe it's because I took a rigorous course load over my high school career and I inherently ended up becoming friends with other "nerds." But I digress, what you said is such a laughably vague generalizing. It's like quoting that bullshit psychology, "oh look, he's jacked. therefore he must sport a tiny member! He's obviously overcompensating." No. That's bullshit. Same goes for hand writing. but, I'm surprised at how little cursive is used. Yet, it makes in handy since I can't write in print!

A) We did not have that kind of shorthand before cellphones. You can blame l33t speek on IRC but not txt abbrv.

ORLLY??? Kidding. How many of us know what P.M. stands for (post meridiem)? Pretty sure P.S. at the end of written letters date back to the fifteenth century. Heck, Shakespeare wrote his name in six different ways, or we've managed to find six different ways. Mr. Wordsmith made words up left and right, abbreviated for shits and giggles and I'm sure if we wracked our brains, we'd muster up millions of other examples.

There is no character limit, it's just a lie the govt. tells you to keep you from utilizing the spectrum that rightfully belongs to you

NO!!!! YOU LIEZ. 150 word cap is simply ridiculous. I'm sure we can manage to increase the data sent without hurting profits. A sending single text costs companies in the upwards of .0005 cents, I think.

[CitizenCain]

Don't forget the character limit, that also meant abbreviations were useful.

Yeah, I had forgotten about that, actually. My Driod can take more than 160 characters per SMS text... by wrapping multiple SMS texts into one. And since it's not 1995 anymore, where SMS messages cost ten cents each (), that consideration completely slipped my mind. Thanks!

ORLLY??? Kidding. How many of us know what P.M. stands for (post meridiem)? Pretty sure P.S. at the end of written letters date back to the fifteenth century. Heck, Shakespeare wrote his name in six different ways, or we've managed to find six different ways. Mr. Wordsmith made words up left and right, abbreviated for shits and giggles and I'm sure if we wracked our brains, we'd muster up millions of other examples.

Uh, no one's saying that abbreviating text first happened with cellphones. The point is that txt speak, or whatever it's called, that specific type and set of abbreviations came into existence because of trying to type text with a numpad, and SMS character limits.

And P.M. stands for "Premenstrual." (Or "after midday" in time, on account of Latin words.)

[Nessus]

Since this is the silly pants forum; the guy who made the first GSM call in the world died a couple of weeks ago.

[Ominous Gamer]

Here is a wikipedia article on AOL Speak (internet slang) that dates the abbreviations as far back as 1975 with the Jargon File. As well as a still online article from 1989 via ComputerWorld that showed commonly used abbreviations.

SMS messaging was first used in Dec 92, with usage still pathetically low through 1995.

[Ominous Gamer]

Actually, it all simply depends on where you look. I text. I text like a retard occasionally. I use Facebook Chat. My grammorz and synt4x leaves much to be desires, yet you see me write completely coherence and practically error free posts? I'm seventeen. Although I can agree I'm not a "typical" rising college freshmen, I know a multitude of students, who much like me can rapidly oscillate between sophomoric stupidity and intellectitude. Maybe it's because I took a rigorous course load over my high school career and I inherently ended up becoming friends with other "nerds." But I digress, what you said is such a laughably vague generalizing. It's like quoting that bullshit psychology, "oh look, he's jacked. therefore he must sport a tiny member! He's obviously overcompensating." No. That's bullshit. Same goes for hand writing. but, I'm surprised at how little cursive is used. Yet, it makes in handy since I can't write in print!

What in the nine hells are you going on about? I was talking about handwriting, not typing. I'm talking about the ability to write something with a pen and paper, and how easy it is for someone else to read it.

[Omega]

What in the nine hells are you going on about? I was talking about handwriting, not typing. I'm talking about the ability to write something with a pen and paper, and how easy it is for someone else to read it.

Oh, I was typing really quickly before heading out. My thoughts became muddled. I don't understand why you're attached to such an archaic form of communication. The entire process of writing isn't mind-numbing anymore or time-consuming. You can open up a Word document and edit it. You do not need to re-write an entire letter. And may God help you if you make any sort of grammatical mistake. If you manage to catch it, what are you going ot do? Cross it out? that will look ugly. You're conflicted now. Do I re-write another letter and pray I do not make a mistake? Or do I send this, which is kind of a subtle, "fuck you." Teachers demand we turn papers that have been typed. As do professors. You can easily catch plagiarism that way too. I really don't understand where you're coming from with this one.

[CitizenCain]

Here is a wikipedia article on AOL Speak (internet slang) that dates the abbreviations as far back as 1975 with the Jargon File. As well as a still online article from 1989 via ComputerWorld that showed commonly used abbreviations.

SMS messaging was first used in Dec 02, with usage still pathetically low through 1995.

Why are you linking completely irrelevant docs here?

Internet acronyms and ASCII smileys are not the same thing as common text messenger abbreviations, and some article about early 'net jargon (like what "flame" means ) is completely unrelated to both 'net acronyms and text messaging short hand.

Has this all been a case of you posting really dumb stuff on account of almost knowing something about the topic at hand? You gotta stop doing that, man. Next time you almost know something about the topic at hand, take the extra half-step, advance to ACTUALLY knowing something, and only after ACTUALLY knowing something, should you discuss it.

To the topic at hand:
While text messaging shorthand does contain some (maybe many) of the same acronyms and shorthand used online in other mediums (IMHO, AFK, BTW, and so on), this is incidental, not causal. Text message shorthand includes those acronyms because they are short, but also adds new ones, and uses abbreviated words and phrases that only make sense for a 12 key input bad. Like: TK2UL8R, TKU4..., B4N, BON, GR8, etc.

Geez man. Next thing you'll be trying to tell us that the ID error code: 10-T originated with Ubuntu, because the first time you it used was by a 'nix guru to describing a Ubuntu user. The world is larger than our personal experiences with it. This is more true for some than others, and a reality you really need to make an effort to be aware of on a persistent basis.

[Ominous Gamer]

Why are you linking completely irrelevant docs here?

Internet acronyms and ASCII smileys are not the same thing as common text messenger abbreviations, and some article about early 'net jargon (like what "flame" means ) is completely unrelated to both 'net acronyms and text messaging short hand.

So much incoherent blabbering
The article didn't mention flame once, the jargon file includes all kinds of words, phrases, and short hand, that were dominantly net related. Its like an internet dictionary for dummies. Pissing it away as irrelevant because of a single full word seems rather dishonest since I was only using it to show where these abbreviations rose from. I mean, damn, LOL is in the title of the OP link.

You're also trying to twist what I originally claimed. Language evolves and shorthand like what the article is referring to didn't start on cellphone text messaging. It might have expanded, but language was well on its way to that point anyway.

language evolves for all sorts of reasons. Can't blame texting directly since we had that type of short hand and emoticons in the hands of the masses well before cellphones thanks to the internet and shit like IRC and AIM.

as a reminder

[CitizenCain]

Well, no, you're wrong, because shorthand English writing predates electronics with secretaries using shorthand for taking dictation, so the cause of shorthand in common culture is the damn bitches from post WWII who kept their jobs, instead of styaing in the kitchen and making me a damned samich.

There we go, Q.E.D., the cause of this text messaging shorthand crap is letting women out of the kitchen, to work as anything other than a penis receptacle. If we'd kept women either in front of the oven or on our dicks, we wouldn't have text messaging shorthand at all.

This has been informative and useful, thank you for enabling it by conflating text messaging shorthand into all shorthand.

[Nessus]

Can't we unite in blaming the non-whites instead?

[CitizenCain]

I dunno. I'm usually much more agreeable on a full stomach... so maybe I'll come around, if you go make me a samich, bitch!

[Nessus]

But

I'm not a negro

[CitizenCain]

Right, that's why I need you to make me a samich, not harvest my crops.

I mean, having a negroid make me a samich makes no sense. After the negroid touched my samich, I'd have to disinfect it, which takes almost as much effort on my part as making a samich to begin with, plus the disinfectants make the bread soggy, and add that metallic-chemically-burning taste to the food. Good God woman, who taught you how to use your slaves?!?!?

[Nessus]

Meh, you could give your slaves standard disinfectant hand wash and have the ones caught not using it liberally stripped of the skin on their palms.

[CitizenCain]

Dude, if their skin is infested with negroidism, then the stuff under their skin is going to be infested with even higher levels of negroidism! Stripping off their skin's just gonna make my samiches even more infectious... don't you know anything about biology?

[Nessus]

You don't put the ones stripped of skin on sandwich duty, they're examples to the rest of the population

[CitizenCain]

Oh, well, I'm not sure I have enough to do that with. Unless I start breeding them, of course... but the downside to breeding more negroids is increased numbers of negroids. Hmm... there really is no such thing as a free lunch.

[Lebanese Dragon]

I've always been an advocate for txt speek. I view it as a evolution of our language, and in fact an improvement upon it. It allows people to find more efficient ways to communicate the same ideas, I don't feel it replaces the old so much as supplements it. I do understand the fear that people may forget the official "correct" spelling of a word, that'd be the only point i'd give up. However as far as communicating well, text speak is simply finding more efficient ways to get the same message across. It's not dumb because your using a different form. You're using a faster form, that still communiciates the idea. You can still convey detailed thoughts.

[Omega]

text speak is simply finding more efficient ways to get the same message across. It's not dumb because your using a different form.

I'm going to assume the business world will eventually switch to thi...wait a second. Most of those pie charts have acronyms and like Cain said, secretaries, or anyone else taking any notes, will be cutting out unnecessary vowels in order to maximize their ability to listen and write any important information. I know I did that in certain classes. I think college students do the same, or at least that's what the TV told me.

I mean, why would you write, "The Mongols were the first nomads to use the hit-and-run strategy against fortified castles."? I found myself writing, "Mongols, 1st nomds 2 hit & run strats against ppl" and my notes made perfect sense to me when I used them to study for a tests.

[agamemnus]

This thread is TL; DR.