Web grammar question

[TMoore]

I am still new to the web and very new to Wet Canvas. I have noticed since getting on-line that quite often the personal pronoun 'I' is typed in as a lowercase 'i'. I was just curious as to why. It has been a while since I was in school - I wondered if my old brain had just forgotten English grammar. I even blew the dust off a grammar book I was so uncertain. The book said to capitalize it. So what's with the 'i'? The web is international. Do they do it differently in other countries or is it totally a web culture thing?

[nnelson1]

The small 'i' is a little hold over from chat rooms. In a chat, many users will use this as opposed to the fraction of a second it takes to hold down the shift key. Also, there is rampant use of abbreviations like u, ur, etc.

Some call it "web gram", some call it laziness!
Take your pick. I, however, tend to take all writing, regardless of media, more seriously if the author has the class to use correct grammer, spelling and punctuation.

But that's me.

Hope this clears up the issue for you.

Nick

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Everyone knows the moon's made of cheese...

[This message has been edited by nnelson1 (edited May 24, 2001).]

[tammy]

I believe that *I* is supposed to still be capitalized as if *I* was the most important person in the world.

Personally, sometimes my fingers get crossways, I miss the shift key and before I know it wa la, there it is, the small i.

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Don't worry, its gonna be all right....
Tammy's Home for Artists

[TMoore]

Thanks! Now I won't feel so hesitant when it comes to that pesky 'I'.

[pixelscapes]

Chat room speak?

ju$+ \/\/4!+ +!11 \/\/3 411 $+42+ +41|<!|\|9 !|\| 3133+3 $p33k3 !!!11!!1!!11!!!1!!

Translation: "Just wait till we all start talking in elite speak!".

-=- Jen "p#34r m3!" de la Cruz

[baquitania]

"I" would suggest you think of everyone as fans of ee cummings. "I" was gonna post some lines, but don't want to step on any copyright laws... go forth and read poetry! LOL

[djstar]

My shift key got stuck for a month...
AND my fingers are faster than my brain...often the same is true of my mouth!
dj*

[crazi4art]

It is easier to use a lower case i when trying to tell someone something! i personally don't like hitting the shift key every two seconds when i am emailing my friends. it is easier just to leave it lowercase and not worry about it because most people read it just as a capital i. shivani

[Roan]

Originally posted by crazi4art
It is easier to use a lower case i when trying to tell someone something! i personally don't like hitting the shift key every two seconds when i am emailing my friends. it is easier just to leave it lowercase and not worry about it because most people read it just as a capital i. shivani

Some people find it annoying

There are only two things worse than improperly capitalized sentences and "i"s: WRITING ALL IN CAPS SO THAT IT APPEARRS THAT YOU ARE SHOUTING ALL THE TIME and people who dont use a period or any type of punctuation at all it can drive you nuts its like being in the middle of a neverending conversation and you dont know whether to interrupt the speaker or let them talk on forever and ever but i think you know what i mean and this is a prime example

[sun_merman]

There is always room for good sentence construction, good grammar, and proper punctuation.

Having said that, I think that in many cases, it is a matter of how easily one types that determines whether or not you use "i" or "I"!

Teaching keyboarding was one of the many things I have done over the years in making a living. When you take keyboarding seriously, (i.e. practice, practice, practice) you develop your skills at typing and move into the realm of being able to use the keyboard without thinking about what your fingers are doing. It then becomes a matter of how well you were schooled in proper punctuation in school.

I know...sounds like a lot of blah blah...I'm laughing at myself for being so serious about it!!!

However, since many people will be making an assessment of who and what you are by the way you communicate, I still think it is important to spend some time honing (sic?) your writing skills.

Hope this isn't too much information!!!

[CarlyHardy]

Personally, small i's or cap I's don't really bother me.

What does bother me is people who type for an hour and never create a new paragraph!

Just look at some of the debate forum threads!
carly