# Celestina, I don't mean to be a jerk, but . . . **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 2, 2005, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920 "2005-02-02T02:51:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920/1 "2005-02-02T02:51:58Z")
Don’t expect this to be one of those pittings in which goats are felched or curses invoked to bring the wrath of the Babylonian deities on the pittee. But Celestina, could you stop with the typing in dialect, please? I’m not one of those people who judges folks on the way they speak. In fact, I’ve studied linguistics enough that I now take it as a given that regional dialects, sociolects, and the like don’t have any inherent, objective good or bad quality to them. If I met you in real life, it wouldn’t bother me a bit. But when it’s typed, it’s really cutesy and annoying. Really cutesy. Really annoying. There’s more or less a standard way of writing English, and it gets me out of my groove when I find myself stumbling over deliberate, unnecessary, and distracting writing. I mean, such things have their place - threads devoted to casual joking around in various ways. But I didn’t run into you until the recent “Ask A Muslim Woman” and Angua’s sequel thread. They were not appropriate places to call attention to yourself with language. It’s cutesy and affected. I don’t doubt that you talk like that in real life - except for the "I declare"s; they’re a little bit of a stretch. But I don’t think you want to be known around here as the “girl who types funny” rather than for your own unique knowledge and personality. It’s like a high school kid going to England for two weeks and coming back with an accent - sorry, but it’s unbelievable, and silly. It’s a distracting affectation. It makes it really hard to take your statements seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920/2 "2005-02-02T02:55:08Z")
I hate to be the one that says it… Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920/3 "2005-02-02T03:04:54Z")
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5789843&postcount=64](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5789843&postcount=64) > [@](#): > > \Apart from the tinfoil hat brigade what’s thinkin’ up alien invasions and MJ’s persecution at the hands of the government or white folks, well, them folks got too much time on they hands. And, upon further reflection, so does Otto. > > \ > > What you should have been pittin’ is them damn idiot parents what let they kids spend the night over at MJ’s when it’s already been reported that he’s settled out of court with a few families over this stuff. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920/4 "2005-02-02T03:07:34Z")
I like it, it’s readable, amusing & just short of over-the-top. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920/5 "2005-02-02T03:10:40Z")
Or [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5790054&postcount=47) post. Some examples: > [@](#): > > Okay, I don’t mean no disrespect or nothing because your religion sounds right nice and all, but I was wondering about the Hazar Imam. > > […] > > What’s y’all’s position on divorce? How do y’all go about divorcin’ if it comes to that? > > […] > > Tamerlane, are you sure you ain’t some kind of history or religious studies professor? I declare everytime I turn around you educatin’ the experts Dopers. Come on. 'Fess up, hon. ---
**Author:** ![WaryEri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ea666f/32.png) [@WaryEri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WaryEri)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920/6 "2005-02-02T03:33:22Z")
I’ve read quite a few of celestina’s posts lately, thanks to following the Muslim threads. I didn’t even notice the dialect . Do I need to work on my observational skills, or is this something that only happens in some posts, not all? ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920/7 "2005-02-02T03:35:28Z")
Ehhhhhhhh. Extremely minor. Everybody writes with their own ‘voice’. Let her find her own. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920/8 "2005-02-02T03:35:46Z")
I don’t care for the chopped-off ing endings, but I don’t mind the casual tone. I use y’all all the time IRL and don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t be used on the boards. ---
**Author:** ![midget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90db22/32.png) [@midget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/midget)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920/9 "2005-02-02T03:45:46Z")
It’s like a cross between Ali G and a deep southern accent… ---
**Author:** ![elfbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@elfbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfbabe)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920/10 "2005-02-02T04:25:53Z")
It’s something I find irrationally annoying, like changing fonts or colors or TyPiNg LiKe ThIs. So… well… I don’t read it. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920/11 "2005-02-02T04:29:24Z")
Another vote for extremely minor. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920/12 "2005-02-02T04:41:26Z")
_I GOT BLISTERS ON ME FINGERS!_ ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920/13 "2005-02-02T04:57:30Z")
> [@elfbabe](#): > > It’s something I find irrationally annoying, like changing fonts or colors or TyPiNg LiKe ThIs. So… well… I don’t read it. [This](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5790480&postcount=43) makes my eyes scream. What’s the point of that? I’m much rather read a post like celestina’s than read anything that messes with the visual flow of a post (all the stuff you mentioned). ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920/14 "2005-02-02T05:01:56Z")
Yall are racist for disrespecting the sister’s down home language. :wally You think black folks haven’t earned the right to do their own thing in this country by now? The HELL they haven’t! I can tell none of yall ever read any Zora Neale Hurston. And you talk about your “written” English. _Hpmh_. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920/15 "2005-02-02T05:04:24Z")
It’s lame, affected and annoying but not worth a pitting. Haj ---
**Author:** ![elfbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@elfbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfbabe)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920/16 "2005-02-02T05:08:09Z")
> [@Silver Fire](#): > > I’m much rather read a post like celestina’s than read anything that messes with the visual flow of a post (all the stuff you mentioned). To me, nonstandard grammar DOES break up the visual (or at least mental) flow of the post. It makes me stop reading, go “Huh?”, and back up to squint carefully at the word or phrasing. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920/17 "2005-02-02T05:11:13Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Yall are racist for disrespecting the sister’s down home language. You think black folks haven’t earned the right to do their own thing in this country by now? The HELL they haven’t! You’re fucking kidding me. Hey, I didn’t even know she’s black until you said so but knowing that doesn’t make it any less annoying and it sure as fuck doesn’t make me, or anyone else in this thread, racist. Fuck you for even bringing race into this. Watch this extremely mild pit thread turn into a multi-page trainwreck. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920/18 "2005-02-02T05:16:00Z")
> [@elfbabe](#): > > To me, nonstandard grammar DOES break up the visual (or at least mental) flow of the post. It makes me stop reading, go “Huh?”, and back up to squint carefully at the word or phrasing. Yeah, I get it. I agree, too. But I really hate giant, bright words, or multi-colored posts that scream, “Look at me, I know how to change colors!!1111” Yellow is the worst I’ve seen so far; completely unreadable and freakin’ **bright**. So if I were held down and forced to choose, I’d still pick celestina’s posts over anything with colors and big font, and I certainly don’t think it’s irrational. That’s mostly what I was getting at. ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920/19 "2005-02-02T05:18:17Z")
> [@Silver Fire](#): > > You’re fucking kidding me. > > Hey, I didn’t even know she’s black until you said so but knowing that doesn’t make it any less annoying and it sure as fuck doesn’t make me, or anyone else in this thread, racist. Fuck you for even bringing race into this. > > Watch this extremely mild pit thread turn into a multi-page trainwreck. :rolleyes: I’m guessing, and hoping, this it was a whoosh. ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920/20 "2005-02-02T05:19:42Z")
> [@Nightwatch Trailer](#): > > I’m guessing, and hoping, this it was a whoosh. My personal vernacular involves using “this” in place of “that.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celestina-i-dont-mean-to-be-a-jerk-but/287920.md?page=2)