@pp0u20e8, on Apr 25 2006, 06:32 PM, said in Guess What, Folks!:
That is my point. It is the abuse of the language which annoys me. People using single letters rather than words just because they are too lazy to spell them correctly annoys me. When people use incorrect grammar it annoys me. It doesn't annoy me when they do it accidentally, but when people intentionally omit punctuation because it's too much effort to use the outside keys, it does.
Yes, language should be allowed to adapt and evolve, but without certain rules, language collapses.
No doubt laziness should be discouraged, to a certain extent, but ultimately some people are going to be lazy, and there's nothing you can do about it. And there are situations where certain shortenings is advantageous to communication. It's a two-way street, after all.
The less rules the better, as long as the golden rule of language is obeyed.
@flyboy, on Apr 25 2006, 11:18 PM, said in Guess What, Folks!:
Unless you can honestly say that you couldn't understand that idea that was being put forth within the context of what was being said, then focusing attention on the spelling and grammar simply distracts from the idea that was being communicated.
A few spelling errors or grammar mistakes are acceptable. Nobody is perfect, and mistakes happen. And some stuff like the singular "their", while not technically valid, is in widespread use. In a hundred years (unless the English teachers and grammar nazis have their way) it will become quite valid.