Be nice to your friends.
Not real often, but often enough to be annoying, you will be reading something… usually a post of some sort on the internet… and the writer will use no punctuation whatsoever. (Nor capital letters where appropriate, either.) Some of these people I have known for a long time, even in so-called “real life”. I know their educational background. I know they’re not dolts, though you can’t tell that from their writing. Case in point: the question mark has become as elusive as Sasquatch. Shoot, there was one guy I knew from a message board who claimed to be a university professor, who did this all the time. No capitalization or punctuation. I’m sorry Mr Highfalootin University Professor, but if this is how you choose to present yourself, then I question the quality of the education you provide. (He once said he would mark students down if they used two spaces between a period and the next sentence. He demanded only one space. *smh* #hypocrisy.)
Moving on, of course you’re wondering if I can provide an example. You bet’cha, I am a full-service curmudgeon…
oh my god this is my dog he is so cute and cuddly we went to the park earlier today and he jumped around and chased other dogs and had a great time he was so happy i wish i could be a dog too that would be so much fun well maybe not the butt sniffing part but id have to be a poodle or something because im just cute like that dogs are better than cats kangaroos are better than dogs that pouch is so cool i want a pouch i like cheesecake but back to dogs hes so slobbery i laugh when he gives me kisses please let me know if you read this and understood it my dog is the bestest ever how come people dont have breeds like dogs do lol
😐 Did you get all that? What the hell am I supposed to do with that?!?
It makes you look uneducated. It makes you look dumb. It makes it likely that the reader will not get a thing you’re saying, especially if your post is a long “wall-o-text” type post. Not only that, it’s actually rude and inconsiderate to your reader. And phone texting is not an excuse, either. Especially if you have a smartphone with a keyboard and don’t have to manipulate numbers to form words. Why should I have to decipher what you’re trying to say as if it’s secret code?
If you do know better and are merely trying to fit in, just know that feigning ignorance and/or stupidity to fit in is uber dumb. Don’t be average, be better. So, unless you really are a dolt, stop trying to play one on tv.
There you are, in your local grocery store, wanting to get some Chinese take-out for dinner at home. You’re standing there perusing the menu board when… it changes! What the deuce, people?!? I was reading that! And it doesn’t even switch to more menu items, it switches to some mindless video of egg rolls and wontons being thrown in the air at each other like it’s a freakin’ combat badminton game.
Every year we go through the same thing. People want to start anew. People want a new beginning, a “do over”, essentially. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”, or something like that. And this is big business, too. I’d be willing to bet that weight loss programs and gym’s make most of their money in the first three months of the year, just as toy retailers make most of their money the last two months of the year. The “season” drives the rest of the year.