I propose that the mods are able to request that a poster refrain from using textspeak and that they follow basic, general capitalization rules. This would apply to posters in which the ‘style’ is endemic to their posts. No one should be warned for the occasional textspeak usage (I’m referring to a habitual and intentional refusal to spell out “to” or “for” etc.), nor should they get a warning for failing to capitalize a particular word (just the basics, like the word ‘I’ and the beginning of sentences). A new poster who makes more than two or three posts *after *being told to use words instead of numbers should be warned, and if they continue to use it it mods should be able to suspend or ban. Not on post four or five (mod discretion and all), but the mods should be able to tell people to knock it off. If posters are unable to follow mod direction over something so simple, it’s only a matter of time before they get banned for something else. This would avoid the latter, more disruptive behaviour.
There is no slippery slope here; this is not a request for the mods to become grammar police. Textspeak and lack of capitals are in a different class than ESL or poor writing skills. I’m not even sure paragraph breaks would fit into this—though any other suggestions for adding annoying blatant disregard for fundamental writing should be discussed.
I agree. Textspeak is fine and/or dandy…if you are texting. On a message board it’s about as awkward as a jogger in a swimming pool-it might be that person’s preference, but it still looks stupid and detracts from what people are expecting to see.
Disagree it’s like saying Ebonics is inferior to English. No it’s not, it’s just a form of English. If a poster does something you don’t like, use the block option, that is what it’s there for. Problem solved
I agree that things like textspeak and no caps (or all caps) make me all crankypants, but do we really need an official rule? Seems to me like we’ve been pretty good at enforcing standard spelling/grammar via peer pressure, ridicule, and shunning. Anyone who’s going to stick around and fit in is going to be good about responding to a gentle, or not-so-gentle, “that’s not the way we do things around here” nudge.
I see no problem with having at least a minimum standard when posting here. “Where does it stop?” implies that the moderators are incapable of enforcing rules without taking them to some ridiculous extreme, and I think better of them than that-otherwise I wouldn’t be here.
I also don’t see why we need an official rule against behavior that’s vanishingly rare on this board, and easily enough handled by the community.
If the poster shapes up, then problem solved. If they dig their heels in and staunchly refuse to stop typing like a chatroom twit, then it’s open season. Either way, it’s a win!
I agree. I will note, though, that I just told Yakuza to stop with the “2” nonsense while he’s posting in Great Debates. It’s obviously a style choice, and since it’s annoying people to the point that it’s distracting them from his arguments, I think it made sense to tell him to stop it. But I think requiring people to conform to some arbitrary standard of grammar and capitalization and punctuation (even if English is not their first language) is a little too much. If a poster’s grammar and writing are so poor that people can’t understand them, posters can ask them to explain themselves.
I agree with Thudlow Boink. Social pressure is the way to deal with things like this. Besides, there are the occasional posters who have a weird way of going on, but they actually make sense and have valuable insights. (Super K, I’m looking at you.) If I can understand what they’re saying, they don’t bother me. If I can’t, I just skip over their posts and don’t miss them.
There are many forms of English, not all of them suitable for this board. That isn’t to denigrate or disparage them, it simply means they’re not conducive to discussion on the board as they are not completely understood by all.
Do we need a rule? I don’t think so. The mods don’t need a rule for everything, they are quite capable of seeing when posts veer towards the incomprehensible and of gently reminding the poster that his or her post will be far more effective if people don’t have to labour to comprehend it.
This then. Calling it a ‘rule’ may be overkill. I encourage you to use your discretion when someone is posting far outside conventional norms with a simple “knock it off.” Doesn’t need to be codified per se, just mod intervention allowed/expected/encouraged/bribed when someone is intentionally flaunting bare minimal standards.
The idea that textspeakers and whatnot are special little snowflakes and requiring them refrain from doing so somehow impugns Ebonics is a miserable misunderstanding of what Ebonics is.