"Txtspk"

[Bob The Random Boy Wonder]

I hate "txtspk".

It pisses me off when people say they're going to "txt" me. The "X" key is a further distance from the "T" than the "E". Not expending the effort to move your finger two millimeters to type in that fourth letter when you've shown you're perfectly capable of doing so reeks of laziness. "It's faster" isn't an excuse. How many more fractions of a second does it take to spell the word "text" with all its letters?

This thought is inspired by a post I just made on the main Customers Suck board, where this happened--of all places--during a *business transaction*! Why in the name of all that's holy do people think it's perfectly acceptable to use "txtspk" during a business transaction? Even when you purchase an item from someone off the Bay of E, you are still doing formal business even if the seller is an individual and not a store or company. Etiquette and basic common sense (which I realize many customers do not have) dictates you speak in complete sentences and spell things to the best of your ability in these situations when communicating through written word. I'd hate to see what these people would do should they have to communicate through email with someone like a financial advisor or even a potential buyer for a house or car being sold.

[Panacea]

I get a lot of this from students who don't understand social and professional boundaries.

Good writing isn't taught in high schools anymore. A colleague of mine was astounded that I knew how to write a professional looking letter. Apparently no one knows how to do this anymore. I always send one out to the manager of the unit where I do clinic, and to the Burn Center to thank them for having my students. It goes over very well; most people just send an email.

I learned how to do it in high school, in a TYPING class of all things, though the instructions were also in my English textbook as well.

[HYHYBT]

It depends on the format, really; if you're seriously character-limited, it makes sense. Ebay's feedback system has a pretty low limit considering what it's for; try giving specific information and you're likely to run into it. When there's a choice between leaving out substance to save spelling and grammar or the reverse, which should win?

[Andara Bledin]

Except that this isn't about Feedback or Twitter. This was a message through the system, which has more than enough space to spell out the word "text" as opposed to dropping the 'e' which just seems lazy and inappropriate.

I use the site (used to be a lot more than now) and I've never had trouble spelling everything out in full detail, and certainly have never been in a position where a single character would save me.

[s_stabeler]

originally, it came from texts, where the longer a message was, the more expensive said text was to send- if you could shorten the message, it was cheaper, so there were shortened versions of words agreed upon.

These days, it's a combination of habit and an aid to their parents not knowing what they're talking about even if their parents check the kid's texts.

[HYHYBT]

Except that this isn't about Feedback or Twitter. This was a message through the system, which has more than enough space to spell out the word "text" as opposed to dropping the 'e' which just seems lazy and inappropriate.

Indeed. I was responding to the generalized complaint being made, not the specific incidence of it.