Quote:
Originally Posted by Molten
There is no disability that causes a person to lose control of their caps lock key. There is also no excuse for not capitalizing your sentences. I understand that some may not be able to form sentences properly. I also understand that some people can't spell the best. Can someone name a disability that causes the person to speak in leet? Or that takes away their control of their caps lock/shift key? If not, then there really isn't an excuse for these type of problems.
|
I think we need to draw a line between what is obvious laziness and a genuine problem with written communication. If someone is writing in LEET or without any attempt to form sentences, and is clearly a native English speaker, I'm with the "no tolerance" faction. If someone simply has trouble writing I suggest total support and flexibility. Poor writing is not an automatic indicator of laziness, not caring, stupidity, or even lack of literacy.
I know of three things that make someone's writing hard to read through no fault of their own, and I am sure there are other causes. First, there are a lot of dyslexic (why do I always want to spell that incorrectly?) people in the world. Both of my siblings and one of my best friends have severe problems with dyslexia. None of them write particularly well, but all try hard and are at least as smart as the average CDer. Second, people with autistic spectrum disorders MAY tend to write in non-standard ways. I know a gifted hands-on techie who writes very clearly, but uses non-standard capitalization all the time. This used to annoy me until he explained that he is mildly Autistic and has never been able to understand grammar rules, so he tends to over-capitalize. Third, non-native English speakers have as much trouble writing in English as I, with my high-school German far in the past, would have in writing German.
My recommendation here is to cut a lot of slack to someone who simply does not write very well. You don't know what their problem is, so there is no need to be judgmental. On the other hand, someone writing like they are using their cell for text messaging deserves the pillory.
