# Why do dumb internet users type in allcaps? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 17, 2009, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738 "2009-03-17T12:33:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738/21 "2009-03-17T14:56:19Z")
¡ʍǝuʞ ı ɥsıʍ ı 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738/22 "2009-03-17T15:00:09Z")
> [@Silophant](#): > > My online banking service is inexplicably like this. Every single word on the page is capitalized. I assume the bank is run by golems. Word has a function called Title Case that capitalizes every individual word in a sentence. Maybe somebody toggled it on one day and nobody can figure out where to go to change it. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738/23 "2009-03-17T15:16:38Z")
There are times that I wish [Ee]nglish followed the conventions of [Gg]erman, in which all nouns are capitalized. I wouldn’t have to spend time trying to remember whether I was supposed to capitalize “[Pp]resident” or not, and so on. Of course, Mark Twain had the example of having just translated a sentence as “The tiger ate up the unfortunate fir forest”, not realizing that the capitalized “Tannenwald” was a man’s name in this case. And then, we have CamelCase … ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738/24 "2009-03-17T15:23:11Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > You Think That’s Odd? What About The People Who Type Like This? never mind ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738/25 "2009-03-17T16:40:07Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > Also, in the Navy, for those instances where handwriting would be required (deck logs, edge lit status boards, watch quarter and station bills, etc.) a form of handwriting would be required that would specify all caps. This wouldn’t necessarily make the documents easier to read by itself - but by removing individual handwriting style from the mix you could minimize misinterpretation and confusion. My son had to learn this in boot camp. It was kind of strange getting his letters - the handwriting was all caps, and very, very neat. I think it’s probably one of the few things he’s written in his life that I could actually READ! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![FORTRAN\_forever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f17d59/32.png) [@FORTRAN\_forever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FORTRAN_forever)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738/26 "2009-03-17T17:01:24Z")
Am I the only one who remembers the IBM 026 keypunch? If you couldn’t type it in BCD it wasn’t worth typing! ---
**Author:** ![hammos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@hammos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammos1)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738/27 "2009-03-17T17:19:19Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > You Think That’s Odd? What About The People Who Type Like This? I used to think that was odd as well, until I realised that some message boards automatically ‘correct’ postings made in all caps So That They Look Like This Instead. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738/28 "2009-03-17T20:27:43Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > I don’t know why, but 419 scammers tend to do this, too. I’ve read speculation that some of them do this so that they can easily distinguish the mark’s text from their own. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738/29 "2009-03-17T21:44:55Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > There are times that I wish [Ee]nglish followed the conventions of [Gg]erman, in which all nouns are capitalized. I wouldn’t have to spend time trying to remember whether I was supposed to capitalize “[Pp]resident” or not, and so on. Of course, Mark Twain had the example of having just translated a sentence as “The tiger ate up the unfortunate fir forest”, not realizing that the capitalized “Tannenwald” was a man’s name in this case. > > And then, we have CamelCase … You would, however, have to spend Time trying to determine which Word in your Sentence was a Noun. Do You really have that Kind of Patience? I notice that You didn’t even try to do that in your own Post. ---
**Author:** ![Dumbguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dumbguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dumbguy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738/30 "2009-03-17T22:28:18Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > There are times that I wish [Ee]nglish followed the conventions of [Gg]erman, in which all nouns are capitalized. That hardly makes up for having five ways to say ‘the’ and seven ways to say ‘you’. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738/31 "2009-03-18T01:59:15Z")
> [@Dumbguy](#): > > That hardly makes up for having five ways to say ‘the’ and seven ways to say ‘you’. It’s been too many years since I’ve studied German, but I can think of at least 6. Poor guys! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738/32 "2009-03-18T02:44:21Z")
> [@chaoticbear](#): > > It’s been too many years since I’ve studied German, but I can think of at least 6. Poor guys! 😛 Is it any wonder German is a very angry sounding language? ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738/33 "2009-03-18T03:47:39Z")
> [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](#): > > ¡ʍǝuʞ ı ɥsıʍ ı > > 😃 OK, smartypants. How did you do that? ---
**Author:** ![vintageloveletter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@vintageloveletter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vintageloveletter)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738/34 "2009-03-18T03:49:19Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Engineering drawings are all capitals. I still write all caps rather than cursive. If I write a note ,it still is in upscale printing. I’ve done all my handwriting in capitals ever since the day I learned architectural lettering. I wonder if people find my handwriting to be obnoxious. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738/35 "2009-03-18T04:07:41Z")
Could the Commodore 64 have caused some of this? Commodore used it’s own Commodore Ascii, in which the code for upper vs. lower case letters was switched from standard ASCII. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738/36 "2009-03-18T05:05:11Z")
Well, it’s sometimes because they post from secure encrypted government computers, that apparently all have the caps lock on at all times. **FORMERAGENT** explains in [this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=22149) (OK, that link is really nothing more than a stroll back into the sordid, bizarre past of the SDMB, way back in '00. While there were the great discussions, sometimes the completely insane ones are the most memorable. Read through it at your own risk.) ---
**Author:** ![Moonshiner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@Moonshiner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonshiner)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738/37 "2009-03-18T12:32:44Z")
But what about people that fabricate words such as ‘allcaps’ and ‘capslock’? Are they “dumb internet users”? ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738/38 "2009-03-18T12:43:35Z")
> [@Bluffcityguy](#): > > The USN guys (I used to be in the Navy, though not a radioman) were using teletype terminals (at least back in the days I was in, early-to-mid 1980s) and mixed case wasn’t an option. Don’t know why they’d feel more comfy with ALL CAPS after that, myself. Then again, that may explain why I wasn’t a lifer. > > Old habits die hard, I guess. > > Cheers, > > bcg UUUUU 200903180741Z TO: BLUFFCITYGUY FROM: TRIPLER POST BEGIN YOUR POST WOULD HAVE LOOKED BETTER LIKE THIS. 😃 END POST ZZZZZ Yeah, I get caught up in it too, sometimes. 'Specially when I’m trying to type an “official” email. I think it’s easy to get caught up into. . . Tripler ZZZZZ ---
**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738/39 "2009-03-18T13:44:23Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > IN OG WE TRUST. > > Lots of people do write in all caps in longhand. I’m perfectly capable of writing in lovely fluid cursive script but I often write notes, shopping lists, and so on in capitals- a bit like Copperplate, with letters that would normally be capitalized written large instead. > > SOMETHING LIKE THIS. I write longhand exactly the same way. I find that it has even invaded into my cursive. My 7yo son is learning cursive now and I had to get on the interweb to find out how to correctly form a capital Q, G, T, and S in cursive as I just don’t bother anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738/40 "2009-03-18T17:30:20Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Engineering drawings are all capitals. I still write all caps rather than cursive. If I write a note ,it still is in upscale printing. I took a class in interior decorating (don’t laugh, I needed to fill out my schedule somehow) and we were also instructed to write this way for our drawings. For a while, I wrote everything this way, but soon went back to my printed capitals and cursive lowercase way of writing. In regards to the OP, all caps was easier to read on the very first online services I had access to. I was on QuantumLink and then U. S. Videotel, FTR. I used my Commodore monitor on QLink and the USV service had its own monitor. Both monitors were not what you’d call hi res. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dumb-internet-users-type-in-allcaps/489738.md?page=3)