Just the other day I was talking to someone through Windows Live Messenger (MSN Messenger) when suddenly he started to type in a delusional, almost cryptic word using abbreviations and acronyms unbeknown to me. I’m no stranger to chat, having frequented the likes of AIM, Yahoo!, ICQ, IRC, etc. for over a decade now, but I found myself “Googling” these strange 2-4 letter puzzles just to keep up with the conversation.
I know “tpn lk ts” is a lot faster than spelling out each word, but for those of us who communicate often over the Internet, if you don’t spell the word correctly then you’re not “speaking” the language you’re using. If I typed in an acronym-filled crypto-speak on a corporate e-mail to my Boss, I’m sure I’d be seeking new employment by the end of the day.
To an extent I can understand such behavior on a mobile phone where the keypad might be difficult to effectively type on, but on a device with a full QWERTY keyboard like a smartphone, computer, etc., I find this to be absolutely unacceptable and nothing short of laziness and ignorance on any medium.
March 1st, 2008
Personal Rants