What's with the creative spelling?

[Kepi]

I'm a relative newbie on the SDMB and I've thoroughly enjoyed reading most of the posts. However, I've noticed that two words often seem to be misspelled or misused: manny instead of many and than instead of then.

Example: I believe, like manny others here, that if you have a dream, than go for it.

Is this some sort of inside joke? Am I on the outside of the clique looking in? Or do most people just not realize the error of there (sic) ways?

Gratuitous winking smilie to appear here.

BTW, for the sarcastically impaired, I realize that I misspelled their there.

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Brady Bunch Quote Of The Week:

"Porkchops and applesauce." -- Peter

[Kepi]

Oh boy. Did I make a mistake here or what. I meant for this to be in MPSIMS instead of the Pit.

Moderator, could you please move it over there for me?

Thanks.

[Eve]

Oh, no, Kepi, you made no mistake. This is bound to become a Pit topic sooner or later.

My opinion? Most people have a modest grasp of the English language. And even those of us who CAN write moderately well simply don't proofread carefully enough before hitting "submit reply." There's that awful sinking feeling when you've hit it and spot that mistake juuuuust before it vanishes from the screen . . .

[manhattan]

From the Inside Jokes (http://fathom.org/teemingmillions/injokes.html) section of OpalCat’s Teeming Millions Web Page (http://fathom.org/teemingmillions/) : manny instead of many, ie, "There are manny manny posts in the Ruda Duda thread." -- Once upon a time (last December, thereabouts), a dude named ZSPhobiaSZ started posting to the MB. All his posts started like this: MANNY PEOPLE ASK ME AND NOW I WONDER... He always typed in all caps, had horrific spelling, and was amazingly racist and ant-Semitic. So much, so, that a lot of people began to suspect that he was really a reg in disguise, trying to piss people off. He became known as Manny Peoples, and people make fun of his spelling by spelling many as manny to this day. Some of his posts are enshrined on the Page O' Flames. [explained by Kyla Sedai] I actually read this before I selected my username, blissfully unaware that the username would acquire its own nickname.

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Livin' on Tums, vitamin E and Rogaine

[Bucky]

Me mad at EEve*#

her Say not us all gots gud Ienglish skillz 'n stu]ph ?>~ TheN her goes and spelz it juuuust whenm all of us noes it is jist^:

Hoo you ta takl, huhh! Eeeev$

Buckiey

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Oh, well. We can always make more killbots.

[Eve]

Oh, Bucky, I just wanna put you under glass on my mantelpiece!

[phouka]

But stuff him first, right, Eve?

[labradorian]

Not everyone in the world is a native English speaker, either, contrary to popular misconception.

Don't you have something better to complain about?

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Dee da dee da dee dee do do / Dee ba ditty doh / Deedle dooby doo ba dee um bee ooby / Be doodle oodle doodle dee doh http://members.xoom.com/labradorian/

[Kepi]

labradorian -

I wasn't complaining. If you read my second post, you would realize that I didn't even intend for this to be in the Pit. I was just curious whether this misusage and misspelling was intentional as an inside joke.

Moderator, please cancel my request to move this out of the Pit. labradorian, being one of the sarcastically impaired, has now made it truly worthy of a Pit topic.

[Eve]

Ha! Was I right, or was I right?

[Kepi]

Eve -

You da man! (Figuratively speaking, of course.)

[Lynn Bodoni]

Oh, I figured it would become Pitworthy in just a bit, I'm just being lazy.

Lynn
For the Straight Dope

[Eve]

Well, Lynn, that does not negate the fact that I am, indeed, Da Man.

[labradorian]

Sarcasm? Hell, I invented it back in early '72.

You just didn't do it very well.

[pricciar]

Wow, Eve is Da Man.

That brings up large questions about my masculinity.

I have to go play with my manny dollhouses.

pat

[manhattan]

Originally posted by pricciar:
I have to go play with my manny dollhouses.

patYou've dedicated dollhouses to me? Ew, I think.



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Livin' on Tums, vitamin E and Rogaine

[Gaudere]

I'd be more worried about the manny dolls. Very creepy or kinky or both, depending on what he does with them.

[pricciar]

Buy your very own manny dolls.
The new version has just come out. Pull the string and he moves a post to Great Debates. (Includes the David B insult, at no extra charge)

Get em while they are hot.

If you are of the Moderator Hating personality type. (ISTJ MODH) You can use the dolls as voodoo dolls.

pat

[Nutty Bunny]

Anyway...I hate when people spell lose as "loose".

I know I'm anal and I've spelled a few words wrong due to carelessness or fatigue, but I cringe whenever I see that.

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"Don't look at me--I'm irrelevant."

[Johnny L.A.]

I tend to write "thanx" instead of "thanks". I know it's "not spelled correctly", but I find it more aesthetically pleasing.

But I agree with "your" instead of "you're", "there" instead of "their" or "they're", "loose" instead of "lose", etc.

I've found that correcting people can really tick them off. If I like someone, I don't correct them unless not correcting them will cause them undue embarassment.

[labradorian]

Anyway...I hate when people spell lose as "loose".

I've seen that in a printed book from the 1790s. It's probably been bugging people for a long time.

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Dee da dee da dee dee do do / Dee ba ditty doh / Deedle dooby doo ba dee um bee ooby / Be doodle oodle doodle dee doh http://members.xoom.com/labradorian/

[bj0rn]

creative spelling?? dont know about that, but you should bloody well have something to say! thats what matters to me...the truth in a statement instead of the way of communication used to get it through to the reader.
of course you should make yourself understandable, not make efforts towards incoherency. thus the way you communicate should not matter. just what you say/write.

bj0rn - this

[Bucky]

If I could ever read one of bjOrn's posts without my eyes bugging out, I might know what he's talking about.

Bjorn, the way we communicate DOES mater--if it didn't, I would write in Buckese. Not using punctuation, capital letters, phrases that exist in English make it harder to tell if there is an idea in the first place.

No thanx to thanks, by the way.

frustrated after reading papers that still use "alot" as one word,
Bucky

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Oh, well. We can always make more killbots.

[bj0rn]

it does not, for the reader only has to focus on the truth of the statement the original speaker makes. its as simple as that.
if the reader fails to see the truth he can not argue/debate on the subject.

for example i say that the way you communicate does not matter, like if i was speaking another language than you were what i say would be translated into your language by a translator. the translator would not have to translate what i said word by word, just the point i am making. thus i can speak whatever language i see fit, just as long as you are able to see the truth of my statements.
i do not belive that you are incapable of interpeting my words into your language, if you are you have a severe reading disability or a bad sense of humour.

rule #1: before you critizise other people spelling and grammar you should work on yours.

rule #2: do not argue a subject without a full knowledge(or in pursuit of) the truth in subject.

bj0rn - þæö!!!

[UncleBeer]

So, bj(zero)rn, would you disagree with the following or is it a non-truth?

To characterize a linguistic understanding level, the natural general principle that will subsume this case is not to be considered in determining an abstract underlying order. Comparing these examples with their parasitic gap counterparts, we see that the systematic use of complex symbols is unspecified with respect to a corpus of utterance tokens upon which conformity has been defined by the paired utterance test. So far, a subset of English sentences, interesting on quite independent grounds is, apparently, determined by a general convention regarding the forms of the grammar. It appears that the notion of the level of grammaticalness delimits the system of base rules exclusive of the lexicon.

[Bucky]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bj0rn:
[B]it does not, for the reader only has to focus on the truth of the statement the original speaker makes. its as simple as that.
if the reader fails to see the truth he can not argue/debate on the subject.

If the writer cannot make sense the reader has no chance of seeing the truth. Here's an example: +_hisado## niod$^ (8ns;l!!

for example i say that the way you communicate does not matter, like if i was speaking another language than you were what i say would be translated into your language by a translator. the translator would not have to translate what i said word by word, just the point i am making.

Translator, please?

thus i can speak whatever language i see fit, just as long as you are able to see the truth of my statements.
i do not belive that you are incapable of interpeting my words into your language, if you are you have a severe reading disability or a bad sense of humour.

I don't interpret words into my language. Nobody does.

rule #1: before you critizise other people spelling and grammar you should work on yours.

Is this a complaint? Where is the error? (Given that every non-sentence you write is an error, it's a little hard NOT to point it out.)

rule #2: do not argue a subject without a full knowledge(or in pursuit of) the truth in subject.

Where's the "full knowledge (or in pursuit of) the truth in subject" here? What the hell is that supposed to mean?


P.S. Use of a small "i" in writing indicates that the writer is the slave in a master/slave relationship. If that is the idea here, I forthwith order Bjorn to write with capital letters, punctuation, and in a way pleasing to his master Bucky.
If not, screw that.

Bucky

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Oh, well. We can always make more killbots.

[DAVEW0071]

UncleBeer, you da man, too!

Rarely does one get to read such brilliantly constructed bovine excrement designed specifically to make the point of denigrating bovine excrement.

I take my hat off to you, sirrah!

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The Dave-Guy
"since my daughter's only half-Jewish, can she go in up to her knees?" J.H. Marx

[UncleBeer]

I wish I could take credit for that garbled prose, but it is generated by a little DOS utility I downloaded from The Church of the Subgenius (http://www.subgenius.com/). I suspect their entire website was written with it.

If you want it I'd be glad to e-mail a copy to you.

[Cactus Rose]

Now we know NanoByte's secret!

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- A rose by any other name would still have thorns -

[Lexicon]

Originally posted by Unclebeer:

It appears that the notion of the level of grammaticalness delimits the system of base
rules exclusive of the lexicon. (Emphashis mine.)

Wow! You love me! You really love me!
Muuu-aahh! Muuu-aahh!
>>>>Maniacal Konrad style cackling<<<<
Noonch.

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how did it start? well i don't know i just feel the craving. i see the flesh and it smells fresh and it's just there for the taking...
VvvV

[SterlingNorth]

UncleBeer, I dare you to use that gobbledy-gook generator in a Great Debates thread.

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Tell a man that there are 400 billion stars and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint and he has to touch it.

[UncleBeer]

Aw hell, Sterling. Now that's a challenge. There's no way in the wide wide world of blazing saddles I can pass that up. I'll even let you pick the thread, just point me int the right direction and it's done.

[AzRaek]

Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

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I'm not a fallen angel, I'm a risen demon.

[tomndebb]

I take my hat off to you, sirrah!
Dave, I know you meant well, and Uncle Beer took it well, HOWEVER, you just might look up the usage (with connotations) that are associated with the word sirrah before some less understanding individual decides you are taking a cheap shot. (If you are lacking a good dictionary at home, try http://www.m-w.com/ .)

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Tom~

[UncleBeer]

Not to worry, my good Tom. I was aware of the meaning of, 'sirrah;' I assumed it not used in a demeaning manor; that connotation would not mesh with the overall flavor of the post.

Thanks, though for the clarification and your help in stamping out ignorance; you are one of the true warriors.

There's another pretty good dictionary at www.onelook.com (http://www.onelook.com) It searches multiple dictionaries, including entries in some pretty decent specialty types.

[Surgoshan]

i hjh hbjunx [fdh mnb gtyhg jjmuj

[Surgoshan]

Note: The previous post was created by dropping a stuffed puffin on my keyboard. The message was, however, created with a specific goal in mind, and was aimed at a single point and has a specific meaning. Judge it on those merits, and those merits alone, please.

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I sold my soul to Satan for a dollar. I got it in the mail.

[JillGat]

[[Note: The previous post was created by dropping a stuffed puffin on my keyboard.]]

A stuffed puffin. I've dropped em on my keyboard and ended up with misplaced apostrophes. I was late to work this morning, because I ran over a stuffed puffin and had to stop and make sure it was dead.

[bj0rn]

It appears that the notion of the level of grammaticalness delimits the system of base rules exclusive of the lexicon.
it is not a "non-truth", its simply an conclusion to a series of statements and does not under any circumstances tell you how you are supposed to write. the assumption (note the "appears") is made following an explanation on how to characterize a linguistic understanding.
based on the fact that there are many languages spoken in the world one can assume, without "knowing", that grammar varies from one language to another. without assuming i can say that several languages do have different grammar rules.
another fact is that lots of persons here do not have english(this is an english speaking message board with an international access)as the first language. english speaking people can not expect everybody to write correct grammar even if there are some non english speakers that do.
it would be like i was to assume you were supposed to use icelandic grammar just so i could have a easier time understanding what you are saying.

i hjh hbjunx [fdh mnb gtyhg jjmuj
how often did you have to drop your stuffed pal onto your keyboard? he seems to be pretty good with spaces.

bj0rn -´Rómverskur riddari, réðist inn í Rómaborg. Rændi þar og ruplaði, rabbabara og rófum.

[Rockchick]

Bucky


U R FUUnny

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Dazed and Confused
Rockchick

[Vinny]

OK Kepi, since you are our online expert, what is the proper way to spell D'OH (ala H. J. Simpson)
A) d'oh
B) doh

*dough is not an acceptable response

If the answer is A then what is d'oh a contraction of ?

[tomndebb]

what is the proper way to spell D'OH (ala H. J. Simpson)
A) d'oh
B) doh

If the answer is A then what is d'oh a contraction of ?

Regardless of the choice, "d'oh" would probably not be a contraction. When transcribing the spoken word, an apostrophe is often used to indicate a slight stop or breath that may occur before a vowel. Hebrew, for example, uses the aleph to indicate a glottal stop. English has very few actual glottal stops, so the apostrophe is pressed into service to handle their appearances.

The difference between Homer's D'oh and Dilbert's Duh is that Homer voices a slight hesitation after the "d" that is not necessary when quoting Dilbert's inDUHviduals. (If anything, people quoting Dilbert will often extend the word to two syllables, "Well, du-uhh." requiring a totally different method of transcription.)

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Tom~

[Eissclam]

Originally posted by JillGat:
[[Note: The previous post was created by dropping a stuffed puffin on my keyboard.]]

A stuffed puffin. I've dropped em on my keyboard and ended up with misplaced apostrophes. I was late to work this morning, because I ran over a stuffed puffin and had to stop and make sure it was dead.

Jillgat: OK, I understand that you had to make sure the stuffed puffin was dead and that your tardiness to work was a result of the stoppage. But what was the stuffed puffin doing on the road? I mean, everybody knows that stuffed puffins are non-migratory.

Eissclam.

PS: And where did it get that coconut?

[Kepi]

Wow! I've been deemed an Online Expert! And I didn't have to do anything to prove my expertise other than inadvertently asking a rather pointless question in the wrong forum.

One question, though. What am I an Online Expert of, since I don't remember claiming any expertise in anything at any time?

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Proudly Serving as Your Online Expert Since March 1, 2000

[Disputin]

the truth in a statement instead of the way of communication used

I started to read bj0rn's first post in this thread but almost instantly my brains began to hurt, so I gave up and moved on. I'm guessing a lot of folks do the same with this guy's babbling - totally disproving his thesis which (I THINK) is: you can write/spell/punctuate as badly and improperly as you want, as long as the idea you're trying to convey is a sound one.

The problem with this is, if I have too much trouble trying to decipher anybody's world-altering words of wisdom, I simply stop trying (there's so much more out there vying for my attention). So the message NEVER gets across at all, whether it's world-altering or "Please pass the mustard."

You have it back-asswards, my friend. You must write so your audience can UNDERSTAND you first, and then you can introduce your whacked-out, bizarro "truths."

Here's an analogy: I tend not to pay much attention to signs written in Chinese or Japanese or Thai, because the WAY it looks means NOTHING to me, I can't read funny-looking scribbles and scratches. Similarly, I have great difficulty reading run-together sentences like bj0rn's, filled with poor spelling, worse grammar, and nonexistent punctuation. The result is, the message is just as convoluted and incomprehensible as if it were written in Sanskrit, because it's impossible to follow (and too much trouble to figure out).

The consequence of this is, I'll never try to read ANY of bj0rn's posts again because (a) he's proven (and apparently proud) that he doesn't give a shit if I understand his messages or not, and (b) I don't understand his messages.

NEXT????



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Disputin
Flagrantly ignorant statements cheerfully
crammed right back down your neck.

[Vinny]

spelllling

[Lynn Bodoni]

The above Vinny should not be confused with my cousin Vinnie. My cousin Vinnie doesn't really care about spelling.

Lynn

A nasty looking dwarf throws a knife at you.

[Doobieous]

Originally posted by bj0rn:

it would be like i was to assume you were supposed to use icelandic grammar just so i could have a easier time understanding what you are saying.


No, it would be like us trying to get across to you that grammar and punctuation are important. Something you obviously miss everytime someone tells you that. Unlike you, most people actually take the advice of native speakers in mind, to try to improve their grammar and spelling.



Also:

for example i say that the way you communicate does not matter

Wow, that statement reflects just how lazy, arrogant you must be.

[Vinny]

Ok, I'll give a serious response to your inquiry. In regards to the spelling errors, this is a very informal forum. Individuals should be judged on what they have to say and not the fact that they might have accidently pressed a key twice. As for the grammar I think Robert Frost said it best:
"You can be a little ungrammatical if come from the right part of the country."

[Kepi]

Vinny -

I agree with you. I try not to judge posters because of their typing and/or spelling mistakes. We all make mistakes here. I just noted that several posters - posters that normally have few typing or spelling mistakes - have a tendency to type "manny" all the time. I figured it was some sort of inside joke, and I was just curious what it was all about. If you read the second post in this thread, you would see that I didn't even intend for this to be in the Pit, but rather in MPSIMS. I wasn't being critical of people's typing and spelling mistakes. I just noticed a pattern here.

Lighten up!

[Vinny]

Kepi-
I'm a relative newbie on the SDMB
As you can see by the number of post, I too am a realitive newbie. If I had bothered to follow the post from top to bottom I would have responded differently. I guess I'm just one of those people who hate to admit that occasionally they need a dictionary to look up polysyllabic words.

[bj0rn]

The consequence of this is, I'll never try to read ANY of bj0rn's posts again because (a) he's proven (and apparently proud) that he doesn't give a shit if I understand his messages or not, and (b) I don't understand his messages.

ok...im not expecting the original speaker of this statement to read this message. but how can he make staments like this if he doesnt understand what i am saying? do not try misunderstand this statment i just made, im not making a joke(im not very good at that).

You have it back-asswards, my friend. You must write so your audience can UNDERSTAND you first, and then you can introduce your whacked-out, bizarro "truths."

yes...you got that right. and wrong...
you seem to be deliberately misunderstanding what i am saying, or you truly do not understand it at all. if you truly do not understand it, i am confused. how can you then argue that i am wrong?

Here's an analogy: I tend not to pay much attention to signs written in Chinese or Japanese or Thai, because the WAY it looks means NOTHING to me, I can't read funny-looking scribbles and scratches. Similarly, I have great difficulty reading run-together sentences like bj0rn's, filled with poor spelling, worse grammar, and nonexistent punctuation. The result is, the message is just as convoluted and incomprehensible as if it were written in Sanskrit, because it's impossible to follow (and too much trouble to figure out).

if so...dont bother me!

Something you obviously miss everytime someone tells you that. Unlike you, most people actually take the advice of native speakers in mind, to try to improve their grammar and spelling.
and when has anybody given me advice about HOW i can improve my spelling, grammar and etc...
my style is not using capitals. "'" i dont know how to use. punctuation is something i dont know how to use in english. and if i dont know how to spell a word correctly i usually try not to use that word.
basically, you are not correcting me, so i am still writing in the way i have always written. and i do not belive understanding the words i am writing is too difficult for you to follow or decipher.

bj0rn - enjoy

[Bucky]

Originally posted by bj0rn:


and when has anybody given me advice about HOW i can improve my spelling, grammar and etc...
my style is not using capitals. "'" i dont know how to use. punctuation is something i dont know how to use in english. and if i dont know how to spell a word correctly i usually try not to use that word.
basically, you are not correcting me, so i am still writing in the way i have always written. and i do not belive understanding the words i am writing is too difficult for you to follow or decipher.
bj0rn - enjoy

Well, I'm pretty sure that I suggested using capitals. This is NOT a "style" choice. You're not e.e. fricking cummings, so you either choose to be correct in your use of language or you choose to be incorrect. "" are used when directly quoting--pretty simple, I would say.
No, YOU don't think you are hard to understand, but lots of us do! We can't read minds, which is why we have language and rules of language use. The rules are flexible--if we understand each other, no rules are really broken. But you are incredibly hard to understand. Not to change this is arrogance or ignorance on your part.

Follow along now with a few lessons:

1) Begin sentences with a capital letter on the first word. Other than that, use caps for proper names and not much else.

2) Put a period at the end of a sentence if it is a simple statement. If it is a question, use a question mark (?). If it is emphatic, use an exclamation point (!).

3) Use a comma when making lists, or when you have phrases that work as an adjective. Example: "John, who is my neighbor, threw up." Commas can also be used to ease reading if they separate phrases from each other. The phrase should usually contain both a verb and a noun. It can get tricky here, so we'll keep it simple.

4) Use a dictionary or a spell-checker. It's not flawless, but it helps.

5) Proofread your posts. Consider waiting five minutes before sending anything and reading it over again.

6) Ask yourself if this will make sense to anybody else but you.

7) Remember (from an earlier post by me) that your non-capitalizing of "I" means that you are a slave, and that I claimed you first. Thus, I command you to follow my orders!!! (evil laughter) On the other hand, if you do follow them, you free yourself from slavery and allow us to understand you more effectively.

8) This isn't "art for art's sake." It's communication, and you are not establishig a transaction that can be followed. The message must be sent effectively if it is to be received effectively.

Bucky


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Oh, well. We can always make more killbots.

[Coldfire]

Originally posted by bj0rn:
how often did you have to drop your stuffed pal onto your keyboard?

And to think I ignored this thread all this time! Of course, bj0rn is being his usual obnoxious self. Once more, he is one of the few examples of non-native speakers of the English language that doesn't give a flying fuck about how incoherent his posts sound to other people. I could go on and on about this, I could advice bj0rn to write all his mindless drivel in a personal diary and stop bothering us, but that has never worked before and it probably never will.

However, I just couldn't help but see the quote above. The entire stuffed puffin debate cracked me up, but this takes the cake: bj0rn, since you never use a regular sig line (you slam your forehead on the keyboard three times after typing your name and before clicking "submit"), I suggest you start using the following:

Yer Stuffed Pal,
bj0rn

C'mon, admit it. You love it!

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Coldfire
Voted Poster Most Likely To Post Drunk
________________________________________________________
"You know how complex women are"
- Neil Peart, Rush (1993)

[Bucky]

Originally posted by bj0rn:

and when has anybody given me advice about HOW i can improve my spelling, grammar and etc...
my style is not using capitals. "'" i dont know how to use. punctuation is something i dont know how to use in english. and if i dont know how to spell a word correctly i usually try not to use that word.
basically, you are not correcting me, so i am still writing in the way i have always written. and i do not belive understanding the words i am writing is too difficult for you to follow or decipher.

bj0rn - enjoy[/B]

Okay, I'm going to try posting this again.

I know that I have suggested that you use capitals, Bjorn. It is not "your style" to choose not to use them, it is arrogance or ignorance. This is just plain laziness, I suspect. I would say that "writing the way you have always written" is not a good plan. (1) You write in an uncommunicative style. (2) Persisting in writing like a child is childish. (I may guess that you wrote when you were a child? If so, then that is the way you've "always written.")

As far as "" go, use them when you quote someone or something.

Punctuation, I would wager, exists in Iceland. But here's a quick run-down of English punctuation. Sentences usually end with a period; questions end with a question mark--it looks like this ? and is very handy. Exclamations end with an exclamation point. It looks like this ! and would be used in statements like "use a fucking exlamation point!"

Review what you write before you post it. Communication is a transaction between the sender and the receiver(s). It is the duty of the sender to try to make the message as clear as possible, not to simply send out whatever mumbojumbo spills out of their mouths or keyboards.

Seriously, if you WANT help, I am willing to give you lessons through the email. If you don't want it, expect to be ignored.

Or, as you might type,

adjajoi!@ 9320lk**/ewiop swljklkcma 11232 i um ycelanderic zo dunt gkit maddd if u cond interstannm me

bJ0)rrcn



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Oh, well. We can always make more killbots.