One thing that's becoming more and more prominent as time goes on, is that people online don't feel the need to use good grammar and spelling. Now, despite the fact that when on IM or whatevs, it's really fine to use all of these little abbreviations like "jk" "lol" "atm" etc. etc. etc. Before I get any farther into this uncontrolled rant, let me just say that I do use some internet slang. Most of this, however, are words that I make up. So, whatevs, deelie, yuppers, wazhappenin, etc. etc. etc. I'm not one to use mainstream slang other than "lol" because there is NO replacement for LOL. No, like really.

So anyways, the thing I'm going to lecture you kiddies about today is, using proper grammar and spelling and punctuation in your writing. This is quite important, if you want respect for jobs in the future, for typing a formal writing piece, and also just gaining respect from you fellow internet-goers. Before I used good typing, people on sites looked down on me for my typing and writing. No joke, they refused to read my stuff. Since then, I have learned to use good punctuation, spelling, grammar etc.

So you may be wondering: Why do I care about any of this?? Well, here's why: I'M NOT GOING TO RESPECT YOU UNLESS YOU USE GOOD GRAMMAR. And other people won't either. So, now that I've made my point, I'm going to give you tips in your internet writing:

1. Always use spell check, when possible. My internet has a spell check built in (I use firefox, I dunno if everyone has it who uses firefox but it's very handy) so that tends not to be a problem for me. But if you're going to go write something longer than a sentence or two on a site, it doesn't hurt to open up Word and run spell check. You WILL benefit from it. And appear to be quite intelligent.

2. CUTTING DOWN ON INTERNET SLANG: Now, I'm about to teach you this vital trick. USE FULL WORDS. When it comes time to type that LA essay, you will be a better typist AND it'll save a lot of editing for you. As said before, some internet slang (like lol) doesn't really have a substitute. Well, instead of replying with lol sometimes, try saying "that made me laugh" or "that's funny". But really, honestly, lol should ONLY be used in internet conversation. If you're using it in an essay, then we don't care if what you said is funny. If we think it's funny, we'll laugh and "lol" you.

Now, others are quite obvious. What and wut. n2m to nothing much. It make take seconds more to type, but it's easier to understand and just all around better. For example, one of my friends types with no capitalization or punctuation. His sentences are impossible to understand, because I hafta find the breaks by myself, which isn't always so easy. Here's an example of something he once said "ya these seats are nice look at this a cup holder it goes up and down kool" Which would be read as one long sentence but was intended as "ya these seats are nice. look at this a cup holder. it goes up and down . kool." By me simply placing in periods, I made all the difference. Now, watch what happens when I add good spelling "Yeah, these seats are nice. Look at this cup holder. It goes up and down. Cool." Look just how far we've come from "ya these seats are nice look at this a cup holder it goes up and down kool" It makes all the difference.


I have been noticing this as a problem on Fanpop recently. In fact, I just did a pick where there were no real words and/or spelling, all net slang. I couldn't understand a single thing written in the pick, and therefore, couldn't make my pick. Come on guys, using good spelling and grammar isn't that hard. It's something you need to learn in order to get respect from others. Please, take this into consideration and actually use it more than normal. The world will thank you.