Do you ever worry that the Internets are ruining your writing skills?

[iconoclastic cat]

I feel my diction deteriorating beneath my feet! Am I paranoid, or am I really forgetting how to write and speak properly?

What about you?

[bigwillq]

1. Yes, because I am a sports writer and I feel I write like shit

over the internet but I really do write good articles for my job. Seriously, I do.:)

[iconoclastic cat]

2. I see more and more WRITERS using text-message slang!

Now, that's scary.

[bigwillq]

7. Yes-I am a big text message user

and it shows in my internet writing.

[scottxyz]

3. Hope I'm not being full of myself, but..

...I actually think the Internet has IMPROVED my writing skills.

Why?

(1) I write a LOT MORE now. (Too often, actually. I have no life.)

(2) When I write something stupid, I get slammed. Conversely, when I write something good, I get compliments. I think this kind of feedback helps me write better.


(By the way, you should clarify what you mean by "writing skills". Are you talking spelling, grammar, punctuation? Heck, we all make mistakes when we write fast on the web without the benefit of a proofreader. But if by "writing skills" you mean the ability to communicate and/or persuade, I would guess that the web improves people's skills. Practice makes perfect.)

[iconoclastic cat]

5. The best way to improve your writing

is to write, to be sure. I wonder if your usage has improved as well. Do you edit yourself for things like parallel structure while online?

[scottxyz]

10. I edit for EVERYTHING on-line

If I can make sure the structure is parallel, I do that.

If I can shorten things and still preserve the meaning, I do that. (I noticed that my long posts got few responses, and my short ones got lots.)

I go back and check the spelling, the punctuation... I break up things into shorter paragraphs hoping to get more people to read it.

As far as content - I try to sound "reasonable" and "unbiased" - so people won't just decide I'm some kind of tinfoil-hat conspiracy theorist.

I think I've learned a LOT from posting on DU, and from seeing how people react to things I wrote. I hope my high-school English teacher would agree that I've made some progress!

[dhinojosa]

9. I agree. There are also some other advantages

• My knack for debate has improved.
  
• My vocabulary has far exceeded a republican's vocabulary.
  
• My knowledge of current events and history has also been improved.
  
• My typing skills are that of a professional typist.
  

[bahrbearian]

4. It makes it a lot harder to slur my words.

[iconoclastic cat]

6. You need to go to the bar!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x2526905

[bahrbearian]

11. I went to Mr Scorpio's Bar , and ordered a Chocolate Martini.

he gave me some Girlie Mans drink, dont get me wrong I'm not complaining. I love free drinks.

[NashVegas]

8. Grammar's Fine, Vocabulary Has Been *Drained*

It's gotten much better since I quit online gaming, where you're ICQ, etc, chatting with people whose vocabulary is usually around 10th grade level.

[Carni]

12. My handwriting is now horrendous

Let's put it this way...I could write scrips at this point and the pharmacies would think they were worse than usual!

[iconoclastic cat]

14. Hmmm...I'm running low on Vicodin!

[Carni]

19. I'm telling you...you'd end up with viagra LOL (EOM)

[iconoclastic cat]

20. Either way, I'm...

...going to get into trouble with the mods if I don't stop now.

[ZombieNixon]

13. Know. Y?

[Left Is Write]

15. No, I don't.

I'm not as big a stickler with my writing in a casual forum, but I am pretty picky when it comes to my actual writing.

[iconoclastic cat]

17. Another question for you:

Have you noticed DU slang slipping into your casual speech? (For instance, have you said "Internets" out loud to non-DUers?)

[Left Is Write]

18. No.

I've been a member of messageboards long enough to avoid that sort of thing. On most messageboards, I avoid the use of most of the slang or acronyms because they bug me. Fortunately, most of the slang and shorthand around DU (like "DU" for example) doesn't bug me.

I belong to another messageboard that doesn't allow "AOL Speak", for which I'm grateful. ;)

Boy, I really sound as though I walk around with a stick up my hind end, don't I? :D

[asthmaticeog]

16. I liek teh rite on interents it is teh 133t r0x0r LOLOL!!!!!!!!

[rbnyc]

21. Have you ever said "L" "O" "L" ...

...after hearing something funny?

[iconoclastic cat]

22. No! I have, however, passed a "WTF?" note to a colleague in a meeting.

[Left Is Write]

23. That works, though.

You used "WTF" in a written format rather than saying it out loud.

Was your colleague familiar with it?

[iconoclastic cat]

25. Yes, but she just shook her head in wonder.

The whole thing was an unforgivable waste of our time.

[patdem]

24. People who IM me hate me. I start every sentence with a capital letter

I space twice after a period, and I write as if I were writing a letter. They, on the other hand, use all small or all capital letters and seem to think I am some sort of eletist because I use proper English when I IM people, or respond to IM's? :shrug:

...otoh i can be a jerk and imho this is a garbage post...just like most in the lounge..you lizards all look alike to me...green and scally :ugh:...do we have a ugh smilie?

[iconoclastic cat]

27. HEY!

You better be dripping in irony, pal!

Lizard, my ass--this is a pleasant distraction from my daily reality-based horror and loathing!

[Skittles]

26. no, I learned proper English before the internets came along

but I must say I am appalled at some of the writing "skills" of the younger folk I work with. The older folk, too. :o

[dhinojosa]

28. If you started learning proper English less than 43 years

the "internets" will have you beat. :)


http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml

[A-Schwarzenegger]

29. It freed me right up.

Internet writing has liberated my writing and strengthened
my confidence. I dont really spend much time thinking about what's
"proper"; it's just a matter of what you can get away with.
Net writing made it easier to create characters & personas
& express the kind of playfulness & mystery that I dig. The
instant feedback is what you just dont get when youre plowing
away by yourself day after night after day. It's still mainly
solitary work, but the net stuff has definitely opened up a
fresh vein in my writing.

[InvisibleTouch]

30. I once used "IMO"...

...in an "official" college essay. And I didn't even notice I'd done so until weeks afterwards. Maybe the really odd thing was that none of the profs seemed to find it out of place either....