[dlavery]

Elgin -

THANK YOU!

The "D/T" replacement in "congratulations" is one of my pet peeves. Every time I read it I just sit and grind my teeth in frustration, and think about how the nuns used to smack the back of my hand with a wooden ruler when I made a mistake like that. Here are a few others that appear with remarkable regularity on these boards:

- Dr. Flowers is "Woodie Flowers" (not "Woody").
- The other co-founder of FIRST is "Dean Kamen" (not "Camen").
- "There" is NOT the same as "their," which is NOT the same as "they're."
- "Ur" is not a word. Niether is "cuz," nor "ppl," nor "lol" (although "ROTFLMAO" may be acceptable in the proper context).
- "Your" is NOT the same as "you're."
- "Y'all" is perfectly permissible if you are currently located south of the Mason-Dixon line and you are speaking aloud. It is not permissible in written prose at any time.
- Punctuation is your friend. Use it.
- "FIRST" is not a verb (yet - give us time, and we will see what happens).
- When referring to yourself, "I" is capitalized.
- And my all-time favorite: "Nuclear" is pronounced "nu kli Er." It is NOT pronounced "nu kU ler." When you use this pronunciation, no matter how smart you may actually be, you sound like an illiterate dolt (are you listening, Mr. Bush?).

(Doug Ross, feel free to jump in any time!)

Some may feel that this is just the ranting of a few old farts that don't know how to lighten up. I would counter that one of the purposes of FIRST is to expose students - and some adults - to the realities of the professional world (in engineering and other disciplines). Well, in the professional world, spelling mistakes, grammatical shortcuts, leet-speek, and misused verbiage are not interpreted as signs of cute, efficient communications. They are indicators of illiteracy, inefficiency, unprofessional behavior, and sloppy work habits. The same happens here. This is not an effort to insult anyone or put anyone down. This is said as a wake-up call - "hey folks, do you really understand how what you write and the way you write make you appear to the community that reads these boards?" Your peers will come to know you by the way you present yourself. And one day your boss, who probably had the same nuns for English teachers that I had, will also.

-dave