Literate

[midnightsurf]

Anyone surprised by the level of literacy prevalent in our forum?  

[Divash]

Surprised, no. Gratified and relieved, yes. By the time a person reaches our age, he or she ought to be able to at least write at the level of a fourth-grader. That means being able to compose a sentence containing at least a subject and a predicate; spell properly (either innately or by knowing how to look up a word's spelling in a dictionary); punctuate appropriately; capitalize appropriately; and convey cohesive thoughts in a coherent way.

Also, n00bspeak, l33tsp34k, and the like need to be taken out and shot.  

[Shuyajin]

Divash

Surprised, no. Gratified and relieved, yes. By the time a person reaches our age, he or she ought to be able to at least write at the level of a fourth-grader. That means being able to compose a sentence containing at least a subject and a predicate; spell properly (either innately or by knowing how to look up a word's spelling in a dictionary); punctuate appropriately; capitalize appropriately; and convey cohesive thoughts in a coherent way.

Also, n00bspeak, l33tsp34k, and the like need to be taken out and shot.

I don't know how you would shoot the internet slang, but shooting those who used it would be an interesting idea. twisted nah, j/k.

Even with literacy at a appropiate level you will still see spelling errors, because face it, we don't always know how to spell some of the s**t in this language. stare  

[Cheshirecatqee]

No because we are oldies who have grown up without mobiles and the internet.  

[Mrs_Black_Bear]

mairi1875

No because we are oldies who have grown up without mobiles and the internet.

truth.  

[Maester_Leoshin]

We are online so looking up how to spell a word, if you didn't know it, isn't too hard. The google bar even spells it out before you finish typing it, and some computers have spell check.

l33tsp34k. What is this one? I can't figure it out, something speak.  

[Demona_Darchanjel]

I don't mind internet speak when it's used in its rightful place. Too much of it causes a headache, a little bit I can deal with. Literacy is a must, although I have to admit it is a tad difficult to use proper speech when texting on a cellphone.  

[Mystic12]

Internet slang or just a typo, I really don't care. I write as I see fit in each situation with whoever. I do know how to blend in.  

[MotherMoo]

I personally don't have a problem with using abbreviations in a chat situation, like lol (lots of laughter), lmao (laughing my A off) and such as that. However, when typing in a situation where you have time to be articulate, then I think you should. I am very good at hitting the back space button in order to correct my spelling if i can figure out what I did wrong. wink But still, I'm also pretty good at reading typoneese so if someone mistakenly uses a misspelled word, I'm not going to condemn them for it.

My hubby is in fact one of the best typoneese spellers on the internet. He spells minutes this way.. minuets. I guess he thinks time should dance away. lol He types with 2 fingers and has actually gotten quite good at it.  

[Karill]

Er, I'm actually more disappointed. I'm thrilled to see a good portion of the members here have the ability to type clearly, but there still seems to be a significant portion of the guild posters who can't or won't. It's always disconcerting and makes me question whether or not the member was telling the truth about their age.

Eh, but my expectations are probably too high. sweatdrop  

[Kyreie]

I'm reasonably happy with the level of literacy here in the Geezer's Guild. It's a nice refuge after you've spent some time fishing or whatever, and chatting with the younger folks who seem to think in abbreviations and text message type.

While I agree with Karill that there are a number of guild members who can't or won't type clearly, I still find it much better than what's going on in the chats and other forums.

I do think there is a place for the abbreviations and whatnot in the chats or when text messaging, but typing a post for a forum is something that should be well thought out. There's also the fact that I just don't understand what half of the internet speak means! What is n00bspeak, and l33tsp34k?  

[dantesdemise]

I am somewhat happy with how literate Gaians are. While some can write clearly and precisely, others don't seem to know that such a thing as spell check exists, and I have to look at the words before and after the confusing word to understand what they meant. It pains me that the english language is being butchered everyday by slang and ebonics.

Oh well. Can't do anything about it but try to educate the mindless public.

And have strawberry cheesecake!  

[TheHellDevil]

I'm going to have to somewhat disagree here.... Well, I mean that the literacy here doesn't surprise me. But the opinion that literacy is a sort of virtue is a bit hard for me to swallow.

I guess it's because of how English and other languages have evolved over centuries. I have a hard time believing that the language we're using and calling "literacy" is really the "right" way to write and speak, seeing the history of language and actually experiencing its evolution in the form of internet leetspeak, ebonics, etc.

Regardless, I'm going to have to admit that I prefer reading and writing in the language that everyone here agrees is "literacy". It's just easier for me to understand a language in which I'm already fluent instead of learning a new ones, obviously. I can still type fairly quickly in alternate caps and leetspeak though. Sometimes, they're a good way of lightening a stuffy situation in chats.


P.S. Notice how I wrote "a language in which I'm already fluent"? I'm sure a lot of you guys usually say "a language I'm already fluent in" instead, especially if you're speaking instead of writing. Isn't that part of the evolution?  

[Ellemir]

Demona_Darchanjel

Literacy is a must, although I have to admit it is a tad difficult to use proper speech when texting on a cellphone.

I actually type things out when texting. My thumbs were sore when I first got my phone *this year and i'm 21* and it takes time. Additionally, I end up with two pages of text and sometimes three - all praises to my boyfriend for putting up with that.