# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2004, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/141 "2004-02-22T08:11:44Z")
> [@Civil Defense](#): > > What, you want an example? Alright. In my last job alone, we frequently communicated with the managers via e-mail. Ignoring the fact that they, alone, used “u” and “r” frequently in memos to us, a quick archived e-mail search brings up a letter from the corporate VP, a man who got where he is today surely with the help of some intelligence, to our store’s staff with the following line: u guys are doing great!!! We have a management guy who doesn’t use the abreviations as such but rather says things like “really cool” and calls everyone by their nicknames like “Davey” and “Scooby”. This is done in official mail to the general manager, he is the subject of significant ridicule behind his back. My opinion of your President is lowered by many things, one of them being his lack of eloquence. As far as ignoring your posts. You’ve already said that you actually don’t type like this very often. I get the feeling that you’re not defending yourself but rather the principle of being able to type how you want, kind of like pro-gun people who don’t have guns but believe in their right to have one. If I read one of your posts and it contains a single “u”, I won’t care, I may even not notice. On the other hand, if your post is peppered with “u” and “b” and “4”, then I’ll read it, but only for the amusement factor. ---
**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 22, 2004, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/142 "2004-02-22T08:15:17Z")
> [@1920s Style Death Ray](#): > > We have a management guy who doesn’t use the abreviations as such but rather says things like “really cool” and calls everyone by their nicknames like “Davey” and “Scooby”. This is done in official mail to the general manager, he is the subject of significant ridicule behind his back. > > My opinion of your President is lowered by many things, one of them being his lack of eloquence. > > As far as ignoring your posts. You’ve already said that you actually don’t type like this very often. I get the feeling that you’re not defending yourself but rather the principle of being able to type how you want, kind of like pro-gun people who don’t have guns but believe in their right to have one. > > If I read one of your posts and it contains a single “u”, I won’t care, I may even not notice. On the other hand, if your post is peppered with “u” and “b” and “4”, then I’ll read it, but only for the amusement factor. In fact, I’ve never typed in the manner that I’ve defended in this series of posts. =D ---
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2004, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/143 "2004-02-22T08:18:55Z")
Substituting “u” for “you” is sort of like giving a speech without pants on. Your speech may be excellent, but come on man, put on a pair of pants. ---
**Author:** ![Necro\_Romancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/50afbb/32.png) [@Necro\_Romancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necro_Romancer)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2004, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/144 "2004-02-22T08:23:48Z")
Which raises an even greater question…why are we expected to wear pants anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2004, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/145 "2004-02-22T08:26:41Z")
> [@Civil Defense](#): > > 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. hear,hear ive been sayin tha same thing 4 years man if u dopers cant understand than screw yall dont read my dam post than kudos to u cd ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2004, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/146 "2004-02-22T08:30:36Z")
> [@Civil Defense](#): > > In fact, I’ve never typed in the manner that I’ve defended in this series of posts. =D Really? Hmmm…let’s see…oh, here’s one! And it’s your very first post, too. To wit: "If I’m writing a nice, formal memo, **u** can **b** damn sure that I won’t **b** using phrases such as…etc. And here, in post #6: “Aw, shucks, **2** bad \*\*4 \*\* me then.” Damn! You really \*are \* stupid. There’s a shock! ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2004, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/147 "2004-02-22T08:58:41Z")
I can’t stand internet shorthand or leetspeak. It makes a sentence very difficult to read, especially for those of us who read very quickly, as has been said. I hate it when I see it on other boards, but don’t say anything, because on the gaming boards I also frequent, I _expect_ them to post like 12 year old idiots. One would hope we’d want this board to stay on higher ground, I’d think. Is it THAT hard to type well, on this one board? ---
**Author:** ![Sisyphus\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sisyphus\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sisyphus_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2004, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/148 "2004-02-22T10:47:31Z")
Bloody hell, and all this time I thought ‘u’ was meant to designate the ewe, a female sheep. Kiwis have some affection for the ewe. They have low esteem for the ‘u’. I guess I’ve been whooshed? Save your ‘u r gr8, m8’ for text messages and communicate with sober fulmination herein. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2004, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/149 "2004-02-22T11:06:20Z")
> [@Civil Defense](#): > > And, like I’ve said, anyone who’s going to label me as ignorant simply because I may type “u” isn’t worth MY time. Then leave, thus improving these boards. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2004, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/150 "2004-02-22T11:08:05Z")
> [@](#): > > **Tony Montana** : …if u dopers cant understand than screw yall dont read my dam post than kudos to u cd FU2 ---
**Author:** ![Chotii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Chotii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chotii)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2004, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/151 "2004-02-22T11:17:03Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#): > > I agree, and my post wasn’t to defend nor confound Fish’s post, merely to explain what I thought he/she meant. > > That said, typing out ‘In my humble opinion’ or ‘I am not a lawyer’ takes a lot more effort than putting the ‘e’ at the end of ‘be’. Amen. I had been going to say that. You beat me to it. > [@](#): > > As for movie titles I’m not usually going to abbreviate say, Pulp Fiction to PF, unless I repeat the title several times in a post. But, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King is definitely going to be LOTR: ROTK. But then again, context is everything. If you’re in a movie newsgroup (for instance) and there’s a thread about Lord of the Rings, then LOTR makes sense. But if in the middle of that threat, somebody throws in HPATSS, you’re going to go “Whafuck?” (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone). The context is wrong. My biggest problem with cellphone text messaging abbreviations is that I have to translate them. No, maybe not ‘u’ but definitely most of the others. And, yes, I would simply “choose to not read his posts” if I had a way to /gag or killfile posts from an individual poster. I do not. I merely read along down the thread and if a post stands out, I read the author’s name, and…mutter, grumble, dammit, there’s that idjit again. Too late. I’ve already found myself slogging through. Bleah. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2004, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/152 "2004-02-22T11:26:18Z")
> [@Starving Artist](#): > > Really? Hmmm…let’s see…oh, here’s one! And it’s your very first post, too. To wit: "If I’m writing a nice, formal memo, **u** can **b** damn sure that I won’t **b** using phrases such as…etc. > > And here, in post #6: “Aw, shucks, **2** bad \*\*4 \*\* me then.” > > Damn! You really \*are \* stupid. There’s a shock! These would all be posts in this thread yes? Do you _think_ he might just be doing it for the sake of this thread to make a point? I happen to not agree with him, but you’re are demonstrating your own stupidity with your post. ---
**Author:** ![Chotii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Chotii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chotii)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2004, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/153 "2004-02-22T11:33:13Z")
> [@KJ](#): > > But seriously, I think the main problem with “u” is not the fact that it makes the text harder to read (which it does) or that people won’t understand it (don’t worry, they do.) The problem is the attitude it conveys…I always get the impression that the person using “u” is “lazy.” Not “lazy” as in “doesn’t do a lot of physical activity” but “lazy” as in “stupid teenager who sees ‘laziness’ as a source of pride because it seems rebellious.” Give me a break. (If you’ve met this person, you know what I’m talking about–I’ll admit, it used to be me.) Or if they don’t think laziness==rebelliousness, maybe they genuinely think it’s cute, or clever, or (in the case of _some_ teenagers, who are almost functionally illiterate anyway) perfectly valid variant spellings of ordinary words. I have a 15 year old niece who is bright, intelligent and articulate. But I cannot bring myself to correspond with her via e-mail because she uses this idiotic txt-speak. Gawd. It doesn’t sound at ALL like her. It’s like talking to a caricature. Thumbs down. ---
**Author:** ![CheekyMonkey613](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e480ec/32.png) [@CheekyMonkey613](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheekyMonkey613)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2004, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/154 "2004-02-22T14:01:13Z")
> [@Ferrous](#): > > You may notice that the posters in the Anti column represent a pretty broad range of attitudes and interests, and include several people who disagree with each other on practically everything. On this issue, they are united. > > So, **Civil Defense** , to the extent that the posters in this thread represent a meaningful sample of the total population of the SDMB, roughly 71% of Dopers are not worth your time to read or respond to. Kinda makes one wonder what you’re doing here, ya know? Wow Ferrous … that must have taken a lot of time and patience. I haven’t continued reading past this point (didn’t want to lose my train of thought), so if it’s been addressed, sorry. You missed out something very important in your calculations. Seventy-one percent 😉 of the people who **responded** to this thread (which has a very descriptive title) are “Anti-U”. I’ve noticed that when people reply to a Barbecue Pit thread, it’s usually to disagree with the Original Post. I certainly don’t have the patience, and I’m sure you don’t have the time, but it would be interesting to see the ratio of people who respond in agreement to _any_ post in this section. Post Script: I noticed you counted me in the “Pro-U”. I’m not really “Pro-U”. I’m very neutral about it, though I’m stunned by how many people feel so strongly about it. Stuff like “WAG” and “IANAD” derails me momentarily. Count me in for the “Anti-Kewl” though, if you’re still keeping a running tab. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2004, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/155 "2004-02-22T14:14:59Z")
> [@Civil Defense](#): > > Yes. Yes, I do. Now, if you will be so kind as to ignore all future posts from me, because, clearly, I am below your acceptable level of conversational intelligence, then we can both be about our business and you can find much smaller, menial things to pick at, I’m sure. Yes, you certainly are well below the standards of this board, or any other that attracts an educated membership. Rest assured, I have no desire to pick at the shriveled road apple inside your skull. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/156 "2004-02-22T15:17:27Z")
> [@Civil Defense](#): > > In fact, I’ve never typed in the manner that I’ve defended in this series of posts. =D What dog do you have in this fight, then? Do you fear that the imbiciles that type “u” and “r” are too stupid to speak up for themselves? You’ve put a lot of energy and time in defending a practice that even you don’t do? ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/157 "2004-02-22T15:42:07Z")
u look like a dumb fuck when u use “u” ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/158 "2004-02-22T15:42:49Z")
Oooh! Can I opt out, as well? I personally _loathe_ netspeak. I’m a mod on another forum, one that’s rather heavily populated by 13-year-old fanboys. As such, there’re a lot of “u” people there. And it’s well-known that if you want to ask me a question in that forum, you’d best not use any sort of netspeak contraction- otherwise, I’ll a) not answer your question, and b) make you look like an illiterate idiot. I think others have said it in this thread, and probably better than I, but I’ll give it a shot (and add myself to the rapidly-growing majority of posters in this thread who’ve said they dislike netspeak). Whenever I ask anyone why they use “u” for “you” and the like, the answer is inevitably “because it saves time.” I call bullshit. You may have saved one millisecond or so by not typing those extra two letters… but you’ve caused everyone who reads your post at least that much time, since they have to take the time to translate it. And you know, there’re a lot more of US than there are of YOU, so you’re just putting the burden on everyone else. That’s just sheer malicious laziness, that is. Just yesterday, as a matter of fact, I was asked to be one of the judges on a multimedia fair at the local college. There was one exhibit which normally I wouldn’t have hesitated to vote for- it was quite well done, and was a very interesting exhibit… but the student insisted on using netspeak in the exhibit’s description. As a result, I didn’t vote for him- and, apparently, neither did any of the other judges. He didn’t win. Care to guess why the other judges didn’t vote for him, either? You’re not typing this thing on a cellphone, are you? You’ve got a fully-functioning keyboard sitting on the desk in front of you? You’re physically capable of typing the letters “y” and “o”, correct? Then knock it off. Or don’t post. Anything else, and you’re just deliberately being an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/159 "2004-02-22T16:39:12Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > FU2 [ahem](http://www.turbokart.com/sounds/JFS%20first%20test%20run.mp3) ---
**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 22, 2004, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396/160 "2004-02-22T17:18:49Z")
> [@Ruby](#): > > What dog do you have in this fight, then? Do you fear that the imbiciles that type “u” and “r” are too stupid to speak up for themselves? You’ve put a lot of energy and time in defending a practice that even you don’t do? Lots of people put in time and energy doing defending things they don’t do, but agree with. I may not agree with you, but I will defend … yadda yadda yadda. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-ill-use-u-if-i-damned-well-please/230396.md?page=9)