by Thackary on Tue Dec 10, 2002 12:08 pm
Although I despise text-speak, I can understand why it is used. There are only a few keys on a phone keypad, and sometimes it's easier and a lot less hassle to miss out a few letters instead of pressing the same key a number of times in order to find the letter that you want.
However these days, with predictive text input, the phone guesses what word you want to write, and nine times out of ten it will get it write. If you know how to use your phone properly (and anyone who has technology should have the decency to learn how to use it), you should be able to send text messages with ease, and with correct words and spelling.
A lot of people say that it means you can fit more into a message if you use txtspEk, but if you think about it - if the message is that long, you might as well ring the person you are texting. (On average), it costs more to send two texts than it does to make a short phone call.
BUT! With a computer, you have a keyboard with all the letters of the alphabet laid out in front of you. There's no excuse for typing phonetically.
Some people type very quickly, and are prone to make mistakes. A lot of these are obvious; most notably the mispelling "teh". But confusing the words their, there and they're isn't a typing mistake. By using the wrong word, you change the meaning of the sentence.
If you've got a spell checker, then use it. Or better still - learn from it. See which words it replaces, and make an attempt to use the correct word next time.
Now I understand that there are some people who have a genuine reason why their spelling isn't spot on, but there are so many things available to help with spelling.
I'm not campaigning for everyone to spell everything correctly, and I realise that these boards are informal, but in the same way that some people get irritated when others drop litter, or smoke in public places, I get irritated when people spell incorrectly.
If I were to campaign about something, it would be for the correct use of the apostrophe, but that's another matter...