EMAIL THREAD

What is it with all the shortcuts on email? u instead of you, r instead of are

It's really annoying and makes you look really stupid.

Fri. May 23, 9:40am

I agreed 100% - People have just become lazy. You can thank the introduction of texting for the downfall of the English language.

Friday, May 23, 2008, 9:54 AM

It is just texting habits that have moved to the computer screen. I have to remind myself every once in a while that I am on the computer and the audience is usually much larger.

Friday, May 23, 2008, 1:03 PM

I did not get it for a long time either. When I got a PDA and started using text messaging a lot more - I got it! it's convenient and way easier - you take all the shortcuts you can!

it's all semantics though and we don't have to read all the posts I guess :)

Friday, May 23, 2008, 1:20 PM

UR so out of date, why would anyone waste time? Do you understand the concept of lean? This isnt some poetry contest,

Get with it!

Friday, May 23, 2008, 1:52 PM

I agree with the OP and 9:54.
Makes people appear lazy or ignorant of the rules of language when it's inappropriate to abbreviate.
Punctuation is a big thing with me also. I have college students that write me emails that look as if a 2nd grader wrote them. It's a bit disheartening to read them because I think they can do better if they expected more from themselves.

Friday, May 23, 2008, 2:13 PM

this is a thread on a diet website not a letter to my boss, why would it be inappropiate to abreviate??!?!

Friday, May 23, 2008, 2:53 PM

2:53 read the original post

The reference is to e-mail ,and nowhere is it mentioned that posting on Peer Trainer is an issue.
Peer trainer community has proven time and again that it is in open forum to vent to your heart's content, off topic or not off topic.

Friday, May 23, 2008, 3:38 PM

This is to the 2:13 poster.

I guess I laugh when I read your post complaining about proper punctuation. Forgive me for my sarcasm today, but here is how your post should look with proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

It makes people appear lazy or ignorant of the rules of the English language when it is an inappropriate forum for which to abbreviate, such as an email. Punctuation is a big thing with me. I have college students that write me emails that appear as though a second grader wrote them. It is a bit disheartening to read them, because I think they can do better if they expected more of themselves.

Thought for the day: Do not call the kettle black if you are a pot...

Friday, May 23, 2008, 4:50 PM

cute.

Friday, May 23, 2008, 5:04 PM

Text is one thing, email is another. I think each should be treated differently. Respect the email, dammit!!

Friday, May 23, 2008, 5:12 PM

Isn't there more cross over these days between email and texting with the iPhone and blackberries, etc. That probably explains some of the phenomena. It will probably increase in the future too as people link up away from a traditional keyboard. It's the twitter thing. Quick chat.

Monday, May 26, 2008, 2:55 PM

I agree! I just got a blackberry and I've texted more in the last couple of weeks than I have in all the years it's been available! I'm finding myself looking for and taking any and all shortcuts in my typing! The SMS messages (phone to phone messages) are limited in length too so often it's a matter of needing to conserve the space ...

it's just change and that's hard for some people ...

Monday, May 26, 2008, 3:47 PM

This is to 4:50

You're correct, I didn't proof.
Still, no matter what kind of kitchenware I may be this particular day, it still looks lazy and ignorant of the rules.

Thanks,
This is just the first draft of this email so please make any changes necessary

Tuesday, May 27, 2008, 10:53 AM

4:50--your version has errors as well.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008, 3:09 PM

Name them...

Wednesday, May 28, 2008, 7:57 PM

You don't need a comma after that last "them"..........the word "because" connects the two thoughts rather than separating them as a comma would.

And I'm a different poster, just so the PP doesn't jump on someone else by accident.

Thursday, May 29, 2008, 8:46 AM

This is to 4:50 and also a different poster,

The thought "I guess I laugh...." doesn't make much sense because you don't describe why you laughed. Either you laughed or didn't, no guessing involved.
No one is immune to making mistakes, it's just that taking the time to attempt to get something that is easy to read and correct as opposed to not trying is what makes the difference between lazy and ignorant.

Thursday, May 29, 2008, 11:14 AM

Text shortenings make me think that the sender is either (a) a teenager, since they haven't figured out when it is and isn't appropriate to use them, or (b) that the person thinks like a caveman, and not the Geico commercial kind.

Thursday, May 29, 2008, 12:29 PM

to 4:50:

-"laugh" should be "laughed"
-your entire first sentence in the revision is awkward and needs to be reworded
-"I have college students that write me emails ..." should be "I teach college students who write emails to me that appear as though a second grader wrote them."
-"It is a bit disheartening to read them, because I think they can do better ..." should be "It's a bit disheartening to read them because I think they could do better ..."

I am sure others can find more.

Thursday, May 29, 2008, 2:10 PM

Wow

oh my gosh you guys! we are women not 3rd gade girls anymore! stop fighting over stupid stuff!! arn't we supposed to be lifting eachother up instead of bringing us down???
WHO CARES if someone wants to use shortened versions of words..
you ALL must be lazy people if you keep coming back checking to see who can be meaner! if you don't like spelling then U go 4 it! hehe
if you would rather type it out, go for it!

Thursday, May 29, 2008, 2:47 PM

meow .... psshhhstttttsss........psshhsstttststt

Thursday, May 29, 2008, 5:18 PM

2:47, you're a woman in age only. Time to work on the IQ.

Thursday, May 29, 2008, 7:15 PM

Anything she can do I can do better......Anything she can do I can do too,

Friday, May 30, 2008, 11:45 AM

what is op

Friday, May 30, 2008, 4:13 PM

I think language changes with time and technology. Our language evolves and changes over time. If I got an email from Jane Austin today, I'd wonder what the heck she was trying to say. I think the abbreviation that is crossing over from texting to other forms of written communication is just another example of the way language changes with time and technology.

Friday, May 30, 2008, 5:00 PM

4:13

OP means: Original Poster

Friday, May 30, 2008, 5:07 PM

I can't read my grandma's cursive.
She can't read my text messages.

The 12:19 poster wrote: "Text shortenings make me think that the sender is either (a) a teenager, since they haven't figured out when it is and isn't appropriate to use them, or (b) that the person thinks like a caveman, and not the Geico commercial kind."

People who complain about text shortenings make me think that they are old and unwilling to change with the times. :) (trying to be funny, not mean)

Friday, May 30, 2008, 5:10 PM

Nah, neither old nor young, and I change on a 4-year cycle, so I'm not stodgy yet. But I get business emails from prospective and existing clients, age 20-50, that look like this: "when r u avlble". It makes me feel like I've been confused with a booty call or something. It also makes me think that the 40-somethings are trying to sound like they're more youthful than they are, kind of like the linguistic equivalent of a 60-something wearing leopard-print spandex.

Friday, May 30, 2008, 5:16 PM

5:16 yeah you put it into perspective. When I am trying to make a business impression, I stick with formal behavior...or at least I think about the culture I am entering and proceed accordingly.

When I am emailing a friend I may lapse into texting mode....especially if we communicate on a daily basis. It's all about knowing where you are and who you are communicating with.

Here on the PT threads I don't care much but I tend to spell things out. Occasionally I make typos. Oh well.

Saturday, May 31, 2008, 1:27 AM

Language does change, but very slowly. 5:00, if you can't understand Jane Austen it ain't because of language changes. She's still pretty widely read today. You'd have to go back to early modern English (15th century) before having any trouble, and even then you could understand it, it would just take slightly more effort.

Saturday, May 31, 2008, 7:46 AM

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