Capitalization - why so against it?

RedCatWaves · 11-05-2009, 03:34 PM

I've noticed a few posters who absolutely never capitalize anything. Not proper nouns. Not the beginning word of a sentence. Nothing. Why? What advantage is there to being anti-capitalization?

luvmylocs · 11-05-2009, 03:43 PM

i don't capitalize in casual writing situations because i don't see the point. why is this the rule? in work/professional writing i always use proper capitalization, grammar, punctuation, etc.

cmb4314 · 11-05-2009, 03:43 PM

I think it's usually just laziness. Apparently, moving your pinky finger an inch to the side to hit the shift key is just too darn time consuming for some people.

It just comes across as immature to me, and I'm less likely to take the person seriously.

Also - how does one even learn to type that way? I would have to make a distinct effort to NOT hit the shift key. I capitalize my sentences without even thinking about it. Do they not teach people typing in school anymore?

Josephine · 11-05-2009, 03:47 PM

Laziness. It doesn't bother me. I don't capitalize usually in texts or ims either.

RedCatWaves · 11-05-2009, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmb4314

Also - how does one even learn to type that way? I would have to make a distinct effort to NOT hit the shift key. I capitalize my sentences without even thinking about it. Do they not teach people typing in school anymore?

That's my thought as well...I'm so conditioned to shift/capitalize while typing, that I can't not do it without exerting a lot of extra effort. My typing teacher in high school would have rapped my knuckles for not capitalizing.

I also want to be taken seriously and use proper english writing techniques, even in a casual setting.

Curlyminx · 11-05-2009, 03:50 PM

It depends. Sometimes I capitalize sometimes I don't.

No rhyme or reason. Just because.

But if I wanted to spend time thinking about it: I dont capitalize here because sometimes I don't care about it being perfect.

While I am very used to capitalizing - seeing as I'm a secretary, since I have started text messaging (on a personal level) more than ever before, I don't spend time thinking about it because it takes time to capitalize. And who cares if I capitalize: what do you want for dinner? chicken?

And I guess I figure: no one here gives me a paycheck; I don't care if it isn't correct.

DarkAngel · 11-05-2009, 03:51 PM

Laziness. I type one handed a lot of the time (holding Thing 1 or Thing 1) so it is easier to not capitalize. If I have both hands, I do.

journotraveler · 11-05-2009, 03:53 PM

I didn't do it online here and in emails for a long time because I write for a living and I'm lazy when I don't have to put on a professional face to my writing.

But I've come to see how hard it can be to read my own posts without caps, so I am trying to break myself of my habit.

spiderlashes5000 · 11-05-2009, 03:54 PM

Outta the habit from too much texting.

utopiastars · 11-05-2009, 03:56 PM

I don't care if people don't capitalize in casual situations. Random capitalization is my personal annoyance.

And I could die happy without ever seeing these again:

u
plz
ur
bff

I'm sure there are more but my eye is already starting to twitch.

Speckla · 11-05-2009, 03:58 PM

It depends on which keyboard I'm using. One computer has a shift key that gets stuck and I look like I'm yelling if I continue typing so it's easier to just not try to use caps.

Curlyminx · 11-05-2009, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by utopiastars

I don't care if people don't capitalize in casual situations. Random capitalization is my personal annoyance.

And I could die happy without ever seeing these again:

u
plz
ur
bff

I'm sure there are more but my eye is already starting to twitch.

Is that like: unBeLieVabLe? (I HATE/LOATH/WISH IT TO DIE when people do that)

Or: i went to work today. He said I could go home sick if i wanted.

OBB · 11-05-2009, 04:02 PM

in an informal setting im guilty of it. but hey at least im consistent.

i try to at least capitalize proper nouns though.

luvmylocs · 11-05-2009, 04:07 PM

this is sort of interesting to me....obviously i'm a "chronic non-capitalizer", lol....

anyway, i don't feel like i'm lazy at all, it's not burned into my brain to capitalize but i can and do when i feel like it's appropriate/necessary/required (and sometimes when i just feel like it period, even here). i prefer to use my capital letters for emphasis rather than simply because they are at the start of a sentence or in a contraction, etc.

there are so few forms of self expression...me typing without capitalization just feels like me

i almost liken it to wearing your hair curly...the "rules" may say it is "correct" to straighten but who makes these rules anyway...i'm mostly joking but sort of not

interestingly, i was thinking about this the other day. as a kid i was a lefty. my teacher made me write with my right hand. i still do many things left hand dominant. our brains are all wired differently. it's not a big deal to me, the capitalization. i care more about proper word use, spelling, etc but here on nc.com it's where i come to just be who i am amongst "friends" without judgment so i don't trip off something like capitalization....

utopiastars · 11-05-2009, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Curlyminx

Quote:

Originally Posted by utopiastars

I don't care if people don't capitalize in casual situations. Random capitalization is my personal annoyance.

Is that like: unBeLieVabLe? (I HATE/LOATH/WISH IT TO DIE when people do that)

Yes! That and the occasional word that's not a proper noun, but for some reason was capitalized anyway. I run into this all the time editing news stories:

"The Commissioner said he disagreed with the Sheriff's opinion that Deputy Positions will need to be eliminated due to budget cuts."

WTF!!!

Gemini13 · 11-05-2009, 04:14 PM

I automatically capitalize where necessary... but really, it doesn't bother me when people don't. ANYWAY, IT'S BETTER THAN TYPING LIKE THIS.

(I have coworkers who do that and it makes me want to scream!!! All I can hear is their loud mouth bellowing the message...)

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmb4314

Do they not teach people typing in school anymore?

I never took typing in school. It was offered but wasn't a requirement.

OBB · 11-05-2009, 04:14 PM

i agree with Luvmylocs. i feel this board is where i can be loose and "let my hair down" so to speak.

cmb4314 · 11-05-2009, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gemini13

I never took typing in school. It was offered but wasn't a requirement.

Huh. We had typing in elementary school, mandatory. I remember sitting at the computer with a big red piece of cardboard covering my hands so I could learn to type without looking. It was pretty hard and stressful for a 9 year old. I can remember having to go up to the teacher's computer and take little tests where we had to type certain sequences of letters correctly, without looking, and using the correct fingers.

In high school, we had to either take typing or test out of it by typing at a certain speed/accuracy.

This was not that long ago either, I graduated high school in 2001.

I guess kids today start typing at a much earlier age than I did, so they reach a level of proficiency faster. I can see how some schools might phase it out. I wonder, if they do phase it out, how many people type "correctly" anymore. As in, I wonder how many people use the specific fingering and such that they used to teach.

Another remnant of lack of typing class that is a bit smaller - I always thought it was standard to put in two spaces after a period. I do it automatically because it was beaten into my head as a kid. I've noticed recently, when combining my writing with someone else's, that this is not as automatic to most people as it is to me. I've been told it's a remnant from using a typewriter (though I'm not certain what the purpose was then) and it's unnecessary now, but it just looks wrong to me if I only use one space. Also, like capitalization, I would have to make a distinct effort not to hit the space bar twice.

TechKnockout · 11-05-2009, 04:46 PM

Ja, pretty much. By middle school, everyone has already had at least 2 computer classes. Be it typing, or basic software classes using Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Flash, etc.

I started typing in 2nd grade. Graduated hs in 2007.

CurliLocks · 11-05-2009, 04:53 PM

I don't usually mind if people don't always capitalize, although it can make it harder to read. I have rarely not capitalized, out of laziness. My natural habit is to capitalize.

That being said, I am not a real stickler for grammar (that is usually a pet peeve of mine). But here, not so much. Like OBB and others have said, this is where I come to relax and have fun with friends, so I don't worry about being grammatically correct at all times.

But I normally am IRL.

What bugs me is the run-on sentences where u abbreviate 2 much and go on and on without periods or commas b4 ever stopping and use 2 much txt speak........