Most of us are normal. Few of us are average.
And shit.
I hate “i” instead of “I”. Although I try to accept that…for some…that…is i instead of i…
Yes!
I got that on an application once. Everything was exclamatory! Along with pink day-glo ink, hearts over the is and js, and smilies !! at the end of each section or paragraph. I saved it for posterity. If it had also smelt of cherry lip-gloss, I might have been forced to send it on to the national archives.
(Regarding 'lazy typing - it’s more a habitual choice than laziness. This is apparently how you choose to portray yourself, and as long as you don’t mind coming across as a mashup of Vanille from FF12 and Eeyore from Pooh’s Corner (oh god, my ears are bleeding already) then yay for you. However, as someone who does use ellipses semi-regularly in posts, this is also a plea to please don’t screw the pooch for the rest of us. KTHX.)
Now, I do not text–I have only been recently dragged into the late 20th century, never mind about this newer one–but I have been trying to make allowances for “no caps” because I am given to understand that capitalizing is not possible when texting?
I find it annoying as hell and difficult to read, but is it true that capitalization is just no longer possible with the new media?
Even on the most basic phone, capitalisation is automatic after full-stops in texting, Eve. Any other necessary use for it is achieved by the simple touch of one key. I know - it’s a hard ask…
Frankly, I could bitch and moan and whine about a lot of Doper’s use of (no, not use–overuse of memes like “meh,” “I see what you did there,” and “this” (used to agree with another poster). Granted, none of those examples have to do with spelling or grammar, but in the name of the seven seas, they are annoying as hell to me. Instead, I move on past those posts.
To those who are annoyed by ~Olive’s~ use of ellipses, I say lighten up. This is an informal message board. If she were writing a business letter, or a dissertation, and used that form, I’d be inclined to agree with you–it’s bad form. But on a message board? Get a grip. True, the Dope has more literate posters who can communicate better than say, the average youtube or imdb poster, but holy crap, some of you really seem to take yourselves way too seriously, as if posting a message and using ellipses instead of commas will somehow drag down the collective IQ of the board. I don’t buy that line of reasoning.
If ~Olive~ wants to post that way, I say let her. Unless and until she violates board rules, she’s free to post in whichever way she wants. And so will I.
On smartphones, it’s actually harder not to capitalize, because the phone autocorrects the caps for the first word of sentences and anything it recognizes as a proper noun. But even on my old flip-phone, capitalizing was a simple button-press. Not hard at all.
As for the OP, people who deliberately choose to use nonstandard punctuation as an affectation grate on my nerves. We have punctuation for a reason. The ellipse is used very specifically to indicate a pause, an omission, or a trailing thought. When you start randomly sticking them in between half of the words in your sentence, it makes it look like everything you write is riddled with pauses, omissions, and trailing thoughts. Why do this? Would? People consider it? Equally OK? If I were? To start randomly? Inserting question marks? All? Over the place?
It’s been crawling up my butt because it makes me actively anxious. It’s like talking to somebody in end-stage emphysema who makes that horrible gaspy wheezy “stop and take some oxygen” sound after every phrase.
Like hell it’s not. Phones have three capitalization settings: capitalize the first letter of anything the phone thinks it’s a sentence, force caps and force no-caps; you change from one to another using the key to the right of the zero. Phones with qwerty keyboards have caps keys.
My brothers are so used to getting anything from me spelled properly that when I once sent a SMS in which I’d abbreviated que to q (its usual SMS-Spanish abbreviation), one SMS’d back “cn you rpt?” and the other one phoned me, worried I was seriously sick.
The people who gave you that excuse? My mother calls that kind of reasoning “a bad payer’s excuse” - they can’t be arsed, but try to shift the blame someplace else.
I don’t think anybody is saying that she can’t post that way. But it comes off a certain way in the context of this particular message board, and knowing your audience is part of effective communication. I read this message board because it doesn’t look like the comments section of Youtube or Yahoo! News, or even a casual email, and when I see a post written in that style, I do mentally hiccup trying to read it.
Do keep in mind that she started this thread herself in order to talk specifically about her use of ellipses and pointing out that none of us do it but she’ll do it anyways because she’s special. Part of the attraction to these boards for many people is the culture of good, clear English writing. It would never have even crossed my mind to start a thread about this but given as she’s come along to mention it, I figure it’s only polite to respond!
Indeed, someone like this comes along every once in a while. They typically don’t last long. 
Just one exclamation point isn’t enough!!! You need to show some real enthusiasm!!! Lots of enthusiasm!!! ENTHUSIASM WITH CAPITAL LETTERS!!!
start throwing hardcovers of Pterry’s books at Little Nemo
You’re lucky my aim sucks, you!
Hey, I didn’t even mention people who use multiple letters. That’s reallllllly annoying.
If you’re going to throw books at someone, at least make sure they’re LOUSY books.
Here, have some Twilight.
I haven’t seen anyone propose that she shouldn’t be “allowed” to post. (If someone has, I’ve missed it.) Most people have mainly been pointing out that if she wishes to communicate well and be taken seriously on the board, her posting style works against that. If she doesn’t care about that, then she doesn’t care. And she raised the issue herself - no one Pitted her for it.
Why do you take the trouble to capitalize and punctuate correctly, exactly?
Saying you know how and just don’t, comes across as kind of smug and affected, maybe keep that bit to yourself.
I have no real problem with people doing what suits them, have at it. But it would be hard to overlook that it does colour how some will perceive you, and possibly your posts.
Right or wrong, it reminds me of a teenager. Maybe you are a teenager. Teenagers do like affectations, rebellion without cause, for rebellion’s sake, that sort of thing. The tyranny of proper punctuation shall end!!! Regardless, it will be hard, for me, to not see your posts as juvenile.
Speaking of teenagers, they are wont to dress in outrageous outfits, piercings, tat’s etc. Then go out in public and snarl, “What are you looking at?” at anyone who notices. Not a sin, or a crime, mind you, just an attention seeking affectation that is, well, juvenile. They are looking at you freakshow, like you didn’t understand that when you put this outfit together, seriously?
So do as you wish, no one’s stopping you. But spare us the hissy fits over the flak you get or the people who assume you’re a teenager. That’s all we ask.
And Welcome to the boards!
Some thoughts: when I read an ellipsis on a message board, I most often interpret it as “I’m having a hard time deciding what to say next.” Sometimes this can be an important concept to convey to the reader, particularly when the writer is struggling with a complicated issue. As a result of this, when I read aloha’s posts with the extremely high Ellipsis Density (ED), it comes across as “I really have no idea what I want to discuss, I’m just throwing words together and hoping that it comes out as something meaningful.” I’m sure that’s not your intention, but that’s just how I naturally interpret it.
Shouldn’t it be “typist” instead of “typer?” How come no one’s griping about that? Huh?
~Olive~ of course you can post any way you want. I think you see, though, that some people will take you less seriously if you insist on indulging in an affectation by your own admission.
My personal vote–not that you asked–is that I read each one as a pause. The little voice in my head that translates written words into thoughts insists that you sound like you’re pausing for longer than the normal time you would if we were having an actual conversation in person.