#1155 – LOL

ITS FNNY HW WHN I FRST GT A TXT CPBL PHN TH TCHNLGY HD ALREADY ADVNCD 2 TH PNT WHR TH PHN HD PRDCTV TXT CPBLTIES. IT WRKD REALLY WLL FR ME AND SO I ALWYS TXTD IN CMPLT SNTNCS USNG PRPR ENGLSH. I DNT CM ACRSS TXT SPEAK VRY OFTN BT IT ALWYS SLWS ME DWN AS IF IM SDDNLY TLKNG 2 SMN THT DSNT UNDRSTND ENGLSH.

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44 thoughts on “#1155 – LOL”

  1. MaskMan says:

    I *can* do l33+ 5p33k. I just choose not to.

    Leave it to Biff to find the least practical way possible to make use of technology…

  2. Gwid says:

    It took me ages to understand chat-speak, and then ages longer to understand how to do it. I much prefer writing properly – it’s actually much faster for me that way. For instance, typing “43v3r” takes about a full minute for me.

    But your comment had me stuck for a while.

    Is this right?

    Translation:
    “It’s funny how when I first got a text-capable phone, the technology had already advanced to the point where the phone had predictive text capabilities. It worked really well for me, so I always texted in complete sentences using proper English. I don’t come across text speak very often, but it always slows me down as if I’m suddenly talking to someone that doesn’t understand English.”

    By the way – are we ever going to get to see the person who Biff is asking out? His piece of popcorn?

  3. Anon says:

    Ow. Chris. Your… Your description… It hurts me.

  4. Stranger says:

    Reading that obliterated perhaps a solid 50 IQ points.

  5. Paul says:

    ……… did my eye dr tell you to give me a eye exam Chris? My eyes they be bleeding…

  6. Miles says:

    Ugh, it’s an affront to English majors everywhere. Fortubately, I’m a Psych major.

  7. chaosshade says:

    I think what’s funniest about your description today was that I understood it at first glance without even thinking about it. Granted, I had to read it aloud to interpret it properly but still.

  8. SleepySheep says:

    Stop it stop it stop it!!

  9. Ray A. says:

    Congrats on creating the first cartoon caption that should come with a Surgeon General’s warning. My face hurts.

  10. SilentDragon says:

    hahaha, is it really so bad?
    I can read it mostly ok, though I avoid use of it myself, just got to have an open mind about it!

    Photos however are the worst idea for this particular mode of conversation…

  11. Azkyroth says:

    I still use correctly spelled and grammated sentences even in txt messaging. Even if I have to fill in gaps in the existing “table of words that exist” doing it.

    You’re welcome, English. *shovels the language, rather hard*

  12. Karen says:

    Azkyroth: it’s good to know that I’m not the only one who does that. I’ve been laughed at before for using semicolons in text messages.

  13. Rhiakath says:

    That makes three of us. I use accentuation, semi colons, and capital letters..
    Whenever i receive a text message in this new “pseudo-language”, i text back saying “i don’t understand it”, even if i do. I speak portuguese, not l33t!

    (but i’m not english)

  14. soulofaqua says:

    Proper grammar and spelling are essential! No matter what medium you use.

  15. Kitkun says:

    I try to use proper spelling and grammar, however, being a slow typer means that trying to keep up with text messages or IRC requires no proofreading. That, and years of exposure to the internet has dulled my skill in proofreading, too.

  16. Tigerbitten says:

    I would punch you if I knew where you lived, Mr Chris…and if I could see (puts cold compress over throbbing eyes)

    I loathe L33t. I refuse to use it cause my momma taught me better. Now my grammar is flawed but my spelling is absolute. NO L33T.

  17. Elfe says:

    My first name is Anna. Predictive Text tells you i am called Bomb Xd

  18. Jason says:

    We’re reverting back to cavemen in a way with this abbreviated text thing. Soon we’ll just get rid of the letters and have little pictures; cave drawings, hieroglyphics and such. Coincidentally, that makes me sound like an old man.

  19. Baughbe says:

    I a a ou o e I ae a aae o ou.

  20. Wizard says:

    I’m proud to say I’ve never actually sent a text message in my life.

  21. Johannes says:

    Having used only phones with a complete keyboard I’m also an advocate of writing correct language (German in my case). Having to read text messages like those always hurts a bit. I once also came across someone who divided words not with a space ButByCapitalizingEveryFirstLetterOfTheWord – it was a 160-character mess. Seriously, internet on phones is now cheap enough (for some special cases) that e-mail is a viable alternative to text messages. And not restricted to 160 bytes either.

  22. Draco Dei says:

    What is shown here is not leet-speak. It is texting-speak or something. Leet is unnecessarily complicated just to show off. This (including the caption) is meant to serve as short-hand. A small but important difference.

  23. Ps and Qs says:

    I have found that my dyslexia actually helps me in this situation. I was able to read this entry with only a small decrease in my reading speed. I have very little experience with this type of communicating before. Finally this condition is paying off. !!! (is this the proper place for one of those fabled LOLs???)

  24. AdmiralChaos says:

    I think you brained my damage, Chris.

  25. Inestical says:

    Am I only one who could read the description with noticing something was odd (other than caps) only half-way trough? I’m not even native english speaker.

  26. dartigen says:

    I’ve never really gotten into using abbreviations in texts, so it’s gotten to the point where I can barely read text-speak. It takes me about ten minutes longer while my brain figures out what each abbreviation is.
    With that being said, I do use a form of shorthand. It mostly consists of dropping anything I don’t need to say and using as few words as possible. If I keep my texts under 160 characters (including spaces) then I only pay for one text.

    My dad’s texts, on the other hand, are a real brainteaser. You have to figure out which keys he hit, then what word he was trying to spell, and then you have to figure out the rest of what he was saying because he got annoyed and gave up halfway through. My dad has huge fingers, and not enough fingernail to use that for hitting the keys. He also doesn’t understand predictive text. Mostly he just calls people. (We’re on the lookout either for a touchscreen phone with a stylus and onscreen keyboard, or a phone with large buttons, that we can get on prepaid for him.)

  27. Reina says:

    Dartigen:
    May I point you towards either the Pogo Sketch Stylus (http://tenonedesign.com/sketch.php) or the Griffin iPhone Stylus (http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/stylus)? They both work on most modern touch screens.

    Couple this with a larger display, such as a Droid X, and you have a rather comfortable setup that should be easy to use for even the most blunt.

  28. Calica says:

    I use proper English, but I totally understood what you said below the daily comic ^^

  29. Cal says:

    Ow. Dear god, my brain! It’s coming out of my ears!

  30. Corjoth says:

    Cngrts Chris u Mngd 2 Brk most of ur rdr’s minds wth dat>.>

  31. kaitou says:

    Actually, the method Chris has used is called quickhand: you drop all the vowels and doubled letters except when necessary to differentiate two similar words that can’t be easily determined by context. It’s way older than texting. Change the letters to strange squiggles and, voila, you have shorthand! (And when was the last time you saw anyone use that?) I had no problem reading it (which I find kinda scary).

  32. ZeoViolet says:

    I didn’t have a problem reading it, but I cringe every time I see people regularly typing using text speak and leet-speak, or writing by hand using that spelling. It makes them look like they never graduated fourth grade. Imagine that on a resume!

  33. Polymorph says:

    One of the few times I have developed a migraine due to reading.

  34. Michael says:

    Is it weird that I virtually never see/use net speak and yet could understand the description perfectly, with only ‘someone’ near the end slowing me up at all? I guess maybe mild dyslexia has its advantages from time to time.

  35. Moluccan says:

    Looks like a facebook post from someone I know.

    I also didn’t have much of a problem reading the comment. When people use it it does make me cringe, though. What would possess you to type like you bashed your phone against your head and just happened to manage to get something that looks like what you were trying to say?

  36. Miles says:

    I once had to edit someone’s English rough draft as it was in a combination of net speak and text. I would disable texting on my phone if that weren’t the primary means od my roommates communications. As it is, I’ve disabled voice mail. If I don’t answer, I’m either busy or didn’t want to talk to you anyway. Either way, I don’t want to have to play a recording of you back later.

  37. cayra says:

    Oh gods, this is twice as hard to read for those who are not native english speakers, just so you know. My brain hurts.

  38. Obsidia Black says:

    *Beats head against a rock until the evil nerd-speak fades away*

  39. Micah says:

    I’ve been texting for years. I still use complete sentences and all the punctuation and spelling, except for when I’m rushing, but then all that happens is I lose a capital here or there or something.

  40. YukiYukimura says:

    I… don’t text.
    I don’t need to, I just phone them, as, if you text, they usually l33t back.
    When I DO text, I use u instead of you, and thats it, because Id rether not waste my life typing something slower than I could have said.

  41. Momorikku says:

    That took me a moment. I can handle it in little incrememts. THAT however, tested my skills. I get a C-. Honestly, the only thing worse than all txt spk all txt spk in bright, eyemelting colors for seventeen out of twenty comments on a comic, picture, poem, etcetera. That was the only reason I could even read that. Because I. Don’t. Text. I don’t like to, really.

  42. Acies says:

    l33t != txt spk

    l33t is primarily used to avoid certain word detection software so users can talk about subjects and use words that are supposedly banned by a discussion board. It is focused on using nontraditional spellings of common words, without necessarily shortening words. In fact, sometimes words become longer if you try to use several symbols to represent 1 letter (ie. N can be represented as ||)

    txt spk on the other hand is focused on shortening messages as much as possible. They may use very normal spelling, just skipping letters (ie. text = txt). Or using common symbols to represent words (ie. + instead of “and”). This is very useful when there’s a very short char limit (my phone only allows 140 chars) and when you really don’t want to spend all that time typing out every letter on a tiny cell phone.

    In summary, l33t focuses on encryption, txt spk focuses on abbreviation. Different languages for different purposes!

  43. Biligum says:

    l33t //45 4|//4y5 1n7u17/3 4 //3 4 s0//3 r34s0n.

    I choose not to use it though, far too degrading.

    Maybe it’s just a linguistics thing, how some people are naturally more capable of being polyglots than others.

  44. Radical Edward says:

    Being a polyglot, I have been able to navigate my way around the internet to find exactly what I want, especially if it is Japanese language anime direct from Japan or hair dye from Australia, Great Britain and Canada.

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