# Uh, I'll use "u" if I damned well please. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 21, 2004, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396 "2004-02-21T18:33:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Civil\_Defense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Civil\_Defense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Defense)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/21 "2004-02-21T19:09:13Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#): > > Um, Bricker was referring to your use of clear in your assertion that OK came from okay. > > Dumbass. Etymology aside, the point of my OP was to say that anyone with a shred of intelligence can easily equate that u = you and can move on from there and finish the rest of whatever they may be reading. If the lack of 2 letters from a word requires you to denounce my intelligence and invalidates everything I say otherwise, then don’t read it. Move on and find something better to do with your time. Dumbass. Apologies to **Bricker** , who I misunderstood. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/22 "2004-02-21T19:10:05Z")
I notice that all of you are only saying that the ‘u’ is annoying. Well, to me it is not only annoying but actually harder to read. That’s right, it’s _harder_ to read. I’m quite used to parsing the normal spelling of English, so my mind will do it automatically. Whenever I see spelling that interrupts the normal flow of a sentence, I have to stop and consciously spell out what is written. That’s harder. Of course, if this becomes the normal spelling, I will adapt and won’t care. But as long as the ‘u’ is anomalous spelling, please refrain from using it. Otherwise I’ll continue skipping such posts, as I’m prone to do now. You don’t _have_ to spell correctly, I don’t _have_ to read. Spelling ‘you’ as ‘u’ is equivalent to mentally slapping the reader. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Defense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Civil\_Defense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Defense)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/23 "2004-02-21T19:10:56Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > I am free to interpret that as your lack of care or respect to communicate well I am communicating just fine as long as you understand what I said. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/24 "2004-02-21T19:11:08Z")
I wish I could accuse you of being a Troll. I won’t because I think you’re just being a stubborn ass. You also seemed to have missed the entire point of the linked Cecil article… as he points out all the examples you listed as NOT being part of the etymology of OK. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/25 "2004-02-21T19:13:33Z")
> [@Civil Defense](#): > > I am communicating just fine as long as you understand what I said. You could speak Yiddish and I could use Babelfish. Is that good, clear communication? ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/26 "2004-02-21T19:14:27Z")
Typos I forgive completely, if I can still understand the sentence. LOLs and IANALs and associated strings don’t bother me in the slightest, I consider it a part of the medium. Intentional shortening is silly, to me. Admittedly, I don’t care to compell you one way or the other, but if I see “u” for “you” or “4” in place of “for”, I’m inclined to simply turn the other way. Know your audience. If they don’t like “u”, and you want to be read, don’t use “u”. I know, we’re a really tough bunch. You’ll live, I promise. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/27 "2004-02-21T19:17:09Z")
Using “u” instead of “you” and so forth is kind of like changing the font to lime – I can still read it, but it sure isn’t fun to look at. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Defense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Civil\_Defense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Defense)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/28 "2004-02-21T19:18:27Z")
> [@Ilsa\_Lund](#): > > You could speak Yiddish and I could use Babelfish. Is that good, clear communication? It would be if you knew Yiddish. You know what “u” is and what it means. > [@erislover](#): > > Know your audience. If they don’t like “u”, and you want to be read, don’t use “u”. I know, we’re a really tough bunch. You’ll live, I promise. I do know my audience. They are educated enough to equate “u” and “you” – in some cases, they do; in others, they are just too stubborn to accept anything else. They may not like it, nor do they have to. There is a scrollbar and they can ignore my comments if desired. OR, they can accept that “u” and “you” are the same goddamn thing and instead focus on the meaning behind the post itself. I’ve “lived fine” here for 3 years now, participating in threads that I want to. But thanks for your handholding. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/29 "2004-02-21T19:29:39Z")
“U” and “you” are the same thing _if English is your native tongue._ Need I remind you a second time that this board does not consist entirely of native English-speaking readers? Admit it: you don’t care what they think, do you? If I understand what you are saying, you have communicated. If your communication is comprehensible _but you give the impression of being a moron_ then no, you haven’t communicated very _well_—unless you really _are_ a moron, in which case your level of communication is perfect. What’s it going to be? ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Defense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Civil\_Defense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Defense)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/30 "2004-02-21T19:33:50Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > “U” and “you” are the same thing _if English is your native tongue._ Need I remind you a second time that this board does not consist entirely of native English-speaking readers? Admit it: you don’t care what they think, do you? > > If I understand what you are saying, you have communicated. If your communication is comprehensible _but you give the impression of being a moron_ then no, you haven’t communicated very _well_—unless you really _are_ a moron, in which case your level of communication is perfect. What’s it going to be? Natively English-speaking or not, I’d say it’s a good bet that the majority of posters on this board can easily equate “u” and “you”. Take it or leave it, but I’m making the assumption. As to what it’s going to be, I guess you’re right-- in your eyes, I’m a moron, and you should forever ignore my ideas because I may use shorthand notation from time to time. My loss? If you say so. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/31 "2004-02-21T19:34:39Z")
**Civil Defense** , cut your losses. You simply can understand both forms of communication without struggle, while others cannot. This is a good thing! If others don’t like it, oh well. I disagree with the notion that **Civil Defense** is an idiot. Now if it was his primary form of communication, then he/she would have some serious problems. Clearly, it is not. OMGHi2U!!! LOL!! OWN3D, loL’; u sp33k l33t? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_of\_the\_CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Earl\_of\_the\_CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_of_the_CC)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/32 "2004-02-21T19:35:33Z")
Why do you all sound so angry? It’s not like this is a serious issue. Get some perspective and then breathe. ---
**Author:** ![Elysian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c77e96/32.png) [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/33 "2004-02-21T19:36:49Z")
I will join the growing list of people who say that “u” substituted for “you” is darned hard to read. I am a speedreader and that “u” trips me up every time, and I have to go back and look at it and puzzle it out, which interrupts the flow entirely. If you want a reader to quickly and easily understand what you type, and NOT automatically presume you’re an imbicile and easily led by the current fad (although this is a very longstanding fad), then you should waste the extra 1/8th second and type the extra two letters. If you really and truly think that shortening words leads to easier comprehension, I suggest you ferret out the studies that unanimously say this is not true. I am too lazy to find them for you right now. Yet I am NOT to lazy to type the entirety of you. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/34 "2004-02-21T19:36:55Z")
> [@Civil Defense](#): > > They may not like it, nor do they have to. There is a scrollbar and they can ignore my comments if desired. I believe that’s the point. We will. > [@](#): > > I’ve “lived fine” here for 3 years now, participating in threads that I want to. But thanks for your handholding. Hey, you want to make it a big deal, like we’re cramping your fucking style by requesting you just type English, that’s what you’re going to get: people holding your hand, and people ignoring you. If that doesn’t bother you, then why post about it? No, you’re pissed because people express their distaste at this method of posting, and by gosh and by golly you’re going to post how you like. But it is a stupid fucking OP that raises an issue then “suggests” that people that disagree just don’t post. Get over yourself. It’s a stupid fucking OP that offers the hypothesis that people shouldn’t care about “u” because we’re smart enough to form the association. And it’s a naive individual that expects to be tolerated just because he is not forbidden from performing the activity. Some of us don’t like it. We tell you. Just because you are given the liberty to have different opinions and standards doesn’t mean you’re immune from criticism of same. And you’re probably talking to the wrong audience for sympathy. So I have to either assume you’re feeling like getting on a cross over this, or speculations as to your maturity level are gaining empirical support. Frankly, I don’t even know why I said anything in the first place. We all do stupid things sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Defense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Civil\_Defense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Defense)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/35 "2004-02-21T19:37:16Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > **Civil Defense** , cut your losses. > You simply can understand both forms of communication without struggle, while others cannot. This is a good thing! If others don’t like it, oh well. > > I disagree with the notion that **Civil Defense** is an idiot. Now if it was his primary form of communication, then he/she would have some serious problems. Clearly, it is not. > > OMGHi2U!!! LOL!! OWN3D, loL’; u sp33k l33t? Thanks for the voice of reason (finally), **ParentalAdvisory**. It may behoove everyone in the thread to understand what you’ve pointed out – there is a huge difference between “OMGHi2U!!! LOL!! OWN3D, loL’; u sp33k l33t?” and the occasional “u”. I am defending the usage and intelligence of one, but not the other. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/36 "2004-02-21T19:39:38Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > “U” and “you” are the same thing _if English is your native tongue._ Need I remind you a second time that this board does not consist entirely of native English-speaking readers? Admit it: you don’t care what they think, do you? Whoa, are you suggesting that we translate every post from english into other languages because the non-english speaking people might not understand it? ¿Whoa, usted sugiere que traducimos cada poste del inglés en otros idiomas porque las personas parlantes no-ingleses no lo quizás entienda? ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Defense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Civil\_Defense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Defense)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/37 "2004-02-21T19:40:50Z")
> [@erislover](#): > > But it is a stupid fucking OP that raises an issue then “suggests” that people that disagree just don’t post. Get over yourself. It’s a stupid fucking OP that offers the hypothesis that people shouldn’t care about “u” because we’re smart enough to form the association. And it’s a naive individual that expects to be tolerated just because he is not forbidden from performing the activity. Maybe I wasn’t clear in my OP. I wasn’t telling you not to reply, I was just warning you that your disliking of my usage wasn’t going to change the fact that I will use it, if I feel like it. Your attacks of my intelligence fall on deaf ears, on this end. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/38 "2004-02-21T19:44:10Z")
One of the attractions of this board is that it remains largely free of internet shorthand, fucking “Leetspeak” and the like. Atrocities like “ur” degrade the dialogue and are irritating to interpret. I don’t give enough of a fuck to devote even a fraction of a second to trying to decipher your adolescent shorthand. Save it for passing notes in your eighth grade social studies class. If you can’t fucking spell the word “you,” then why the fuck should anyone take you seriously in anything else you say? ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/39 "2004-02-21T19:45:50Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > One of the attractions of this board is that it remains largely free of internet shorthand, fucking “Leetspeak” and the like. Atrocities like “ur” degrade the dialogue and are irritating to interpret. I don’t give enough of a fuck to devote even a fraction of a second to trying to decipher your adolescent shorthand. Save it for passing notes in your eighth grade social studies class. If you can’t fucking spell the word “you,” then why the fuck should anyone take you seriously in anything else you say? Don’t hold back man. Tell us how you really feel. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Defense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Civil\_Defense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Defense)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/40 "2004-02-21T19:49:19Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > One of the attractions of this board is that it remains largely free of internet shorthand, fucking “Leetspeak” and the like. Atrocities like “ur” degrade the dialogue and are irritating to interpret. I don’t give enough of a fuck to devote even a fraction of a second to trying to decipher your adolescent shorthand. Save it for passing notes in your eighth grade social studies class. If you can’t fucking spell the word “you,” then why the fuck should anyone take you seriously in anything else you say? Because if you’re going to take someone’s poor spelling or grammar (or even their apt shorthand) to be an indication of their intelligence, then you’re the ignorant one. [off-topic, but appropriate for your mentality]Shit, why don’t we just put those ESL immigrants to work doing some manual labor? Anything not involving communication. After all, their English definitely isn’t perfect.[/end] I apologize if my dialogue is not on par with your own; feel free to exclude me from it in the future. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396.md?page=3)