h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"i just think its a great shame that people are taking great offence ot this."

I'm not taking "great offense", personally. I simply have standards about what I'm willing to invest my time on. Excessive txtspk or abbreviations, and any use of sTrAngElY cApItAlIzEd words will cause me to move on.

For me, it has nothing to do with "new" researchers versus longtime researchers. Doesn't matter a bit to me whether someone signed on this morning or 3 years ago. If their writing style makes it difficult for me to understand their point, I'm not going to bother trying to read it.

I don't get the impression that anyone on this thread is trying to start a movement to ban "alternative" styles. Each researcher has the option of writing however they choose, within the House Rules. Each researcher also has the right to ignore forms of writing they cannot easily understand, or just find irritating.

Precisely. Just because I believe txtspk is inappropriate for a forum like this, doesnt' mean I'm going to lobby for people who use it to be banned or anything. It just means I'm more than likely going to not pay attention to what they've written, and find something that doesn't rankle me so much to read.

I will confirm that posting through a digibox is not always easy especially when we are busy...

While the plain skin makes life easier, blank screens are still rather too frequent and don't help...

I'm back on the darn machine now as the PC won't let me express myself freely, and it's taking me ages typing this post... Apart from the text disappearing as i type, the cursor has a mind of its own and i have to scroll up and down a lot to be able to go back to the bits i want to edit...

Yes, it's possible to write entries with a digibox... some of us have done it... Not exactly the same than posting to a conversation tho'...

If someone on this site was making a point to express their surprise to the fact that i'm a digibox user, i would certainly point out that:

a) Not _all_ users from chat sites [and sites with chat facilities] are the same...

b) LeisureDistrict was not just a chat site but it also had a library where some of us quoted on various subjects...

c) I didn't realise that h2g2 was actually an exclusive site...

[Comments which i have made already in previous threads anyway...]


"Educate... educate... educate.." Oh yeah, _the_ h2g2's way of posting.... Very interesting subject as it seems that we are quicker to condemn "txtspeakers" than "smileyspeakers"... Is there really such a difference there?!... Apart from the fact that "txtspk" is associated with chat room's speak of course and that the smileys are part of the h2g2 ways [tho' some sites with chat facilities do use the smileys as well]...

If we go into the way we should communicate through our postings, then what about these "LOL"/"IMHO"/etc that crop up into established H2G2ers' posts?!... Surely if a small amount of txtspk in some users' postings is being frowned upon, then the same should apply for these cases, shouldn't it?!...

Anyway, as i said before and also in other places, the amount of txtspk in postings does _eventually_ reduce once the people who use it have had contact with those who are using a more "h2g2 way" of posting...

While we're on the subject of the culprits in txtspk use, i would like to remind everyone that not all those who post on H2G2 use a keyboard... Some of the Telewesters are using their remote controls instead and the amount of text we can type that way is actually very limited...

So, perhaps we should not be too quick judging those who use txtspk on here...

I've taken the time to preview and re-preview this posting [and it's taking me ages for the reasons mentioned earlier]... Ironically enough, if i had taken the digibox for granted, i would have posted a reply with txtspk in it []... Why?!.. Because if i type at a normal speed some letters get missed in the process...

So, it's actually easier [and quicker] to use abbreviations while posting to a conversation when using a digibox [and for some, a remote control]... After several days away from using the machine, i am noticing it even more...

So, before appointing ourselves judges, jury and executioners, we might want to look into why some people do need to use abbreviations at times...?!



loup

It took me _almost_ half an hour to make my previous posting as close as possible to the "h2g2 way" of posting with the digibox..

Kinda makes having a proper conversation/discussion a bit difficult methinks..

mmmmmmm... I've just read the posts i've missed while i was typing...

>No compromise<

I hope that now we will be ready to compromise a little bit when it comes to txtspk in postings, as the conditions to be able to post the "h2g2 way" are _not_ always possible when using a digibox...

*applause* some common sense at last. I am aware that it is easy for me to post using words without text speak, I can touch type, and have a PC, I have a quick connection so it is also easy for me to preview to check that things are right. I know that not everyone is able to do these things.

well im glad im not on my own on this particular subject

yes the remote control is VERY difficult to type with. well in fact you're not typing at all you're just selecting letters off a screen.

i would invite anyone who has been using a pc for some time to use the digibox n keyboard n then see how you get on.

saturnine

well you saying most of the people who have come from leisuredistrict are not intelligent, well i wont express my feelings there. i have an I.Q of 128 n i know quite a few people who are EXTREMELY intelligent. please dont reply n say well if i hav an I.Q of 128 than i should be able to type correctly cus that would be going over old ground n i would only have to repeat myself yet again.

as for no compromise it seems that there are some people who wont accept others just on what they type like. id like to think that me n loup have been able to educate the people who have absolutely no idea what it is like to use a digibox that there are several limitations in using the digibox. but that doesnt mean to say we cant use the site does it? (no im not saying there are some who have said that).

if i can come onto this site n compromise i cant see why others cannot follow.

i dont mean to be abupt when i say i wont change my style but its readable n understandable. the people who have said they wont read postings with abbreviations have actually replied to me so you must be able to understand it.

i will say this tho, if i did have a pc then yes i would writing the 'h2g2' way. but seen as i havent this is the way i write.

Diddy!

Well, I consistently preach tolerance and understanding on this site, so it looks like it's time to practice what I preach. I had no idea the technical constraints some researchers have to work under. I'm fortunate to have a PC and a satellite link, but that's not the case for everyone. I'll make an effort to work out what people are saying when they use txtspk and abrvs, now that I realize that there's a reason for it.

There's still no excuse for using sTraNge CapitaLiZatIOns IN a COmpLeteLy POIntLeSs wAy that seems to take longer

Z i absolutely agree with you on the caps in mid sentence. i think i said previously in this thread that i detest that style of writing. i for 1 wont read such crap.

i have tried to stop using txt speak n if you do look at my first ever postings last year it was full of it (n txt speak ).

im very happy that we can all get together n have a healthy debate n be able to understand each other.
thats why i had stopped writing txtspeak all the time but i just think the odd letter here or there is OK as long as theres no overuse.

i wish i did have a pc but lack of funds has stoped me from buying one. i envy the people on here who take the pc for granted.

Diddy!

Finally we have some common sense agreement, I was worried we were going to get a flame war

I certainly don't take my PC for granted - I saved up really hard to buy one, and I really appricate it.

*gives computer an grateful pat*

Um, wandering off topic slightly... how exactly do you get onto h2g2 through a Telewest box? I'm keen to try it...

dr e vibenstein

heres my email address

[email protected]


i'll send you the link so you can go straight on here . also the firewall is down at the mo so you'll be able to get on the net as well but dont think it will be as good as on a pc! in fact its rubbish but it does show you what the digibox can do.

Should I e-mail you from the PC or my activemail account?

sent it to your activemail account

let me know how you get on

I certainly don't take my PC for granted. It was actually a donation from a fellow researcher; as was my DVD drive and my soundcard. I spent my birthday money on my USB port and webcam.



Intelligence on LeisureDistrict?



If you say so. I see little point in you boasting about your IQ score. To begin with, it's a biased test that focuses on the mathmatical/logical sections of intelligence. And to end with : it's not WHAT you have, but how you use it.

In my experience, LeisureDistrict was populated by the dregs of society...

But that is digressing from the subject at hand.

I am with TopHat. I despise the laziness of txtspeak. The point of me explaining my experiences with the digibox, was to point out that bad posting is nothing to do with the equipment you are using. Yes there are problems, but they are easy to work around. Go and look at my past posts. Up until March of this year, all of my posts were made via digibox. And aside from the obvious mistake, I didn't let cheap technology get in the way. If you have that much trouble, then pay out the money for a PC, or assemble one from the resources around you. I found good friends to help me. If you can't do that, accept that you aren't making the highest of efforts to produce legible postings, and accept the criticisms.

Tolerance for laziness isn't one of my strong points I am afraid.

*mistakes

saturine
I take umbrige at your remark about exLDers being "dregs of society"
I suffer with Osteo-Arthritis and some days I cannot even get outside my front door,, LD was a godsent to me as it was my link to the outside world,
Not all of us who used that site are morons, some of us are intelligent and can spell and can type via their digig-box,,,

GONE

Diddy, do remember the title of this thread, which encouraged those who dislike textspeak to post! I'd also like to mention that I have ploughed through your posts in this thread in order to be able to reply to them, but they take me almost twice as long to read as 'normal text' because of your lack of capitals, sparse punctuation and your continued use of abbreviations.

I am sympathetic towards those who are using a remote to type, but all the more need to think carefully in advance, to be clear and concise.

Right, I'm logged in via the digibox. I had to go back and send myself a link in plain skin before I could get in, and the navigation is a bit awkward, but bearing in mind that the site was never meant to be accessed this way, I don't think it's too bad.

The infra-red keyboard is adequate, although some of the keys work in unusual ways (the delete button deletes the entire post instead of just the character after the cursor, for example, as I've just found to my cost ) and the shift key can be a bit temperamental, which might go some way to explaining why so many digibox users type entirely in lower or upper case. However, I don't suddenly feel the need to slip into txtspk as sum ov u seem 2 do. Oops.