# Clarifying the ALL CAPS issue in another thread



## kitchenelf (Oct 16, 2006)

It is considered screaming in the cyber world.  It is also much harder to read in all caps.  If someone has trouble viewing their screen there is a simple solution.

Click on View in your upper toolbar
Highlight Text Size
From here you have several options - Increase, Decrease, Normal

This may have to be done on the site everytime you visit - and some sites can't make their font larger.

You can also change your settings at your desktop to change ALL font on your computer but you can also mess it up if you don't know what you are doing.


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## Andy M. (Oct 16, 2006)

Thanks for the clarification, kitchenelf.  

I believe writing (typing) on the internet should follow the same punctuation and grammar rules that prevail elsewhere.


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## VeraBlue (Oct 16, 2006)

With the invention of internet, and now with text messaging, it's become apparent the art of the written word is lost, possibly forever.

I remember taking composition classes in the 60s and 70s.  We learned spelling, grammar, punctuation, tense, etc.  Emphasis was placed on being able to express yourself clearly, yet with style and grace.  Letter writing was taught.   I wonder how many people even know how to properly set a letter to a page.  The terms greeting, closing and salutation have lost their meaning.  

It's a shame, really, when you think of it.  I believe my generation was the last generation to learn these simple skills.  What's sadder, still, is that many people don't seem concerned, overmuch.  As a society, we have lost the ability to communicate correctly, with a pen.  I am loathe to suggest it, but I fear we may also be losing the ability to communicate face to face.  What a grim picture to conjur when one considers the society of the future, sitting in front of screens of various sizes typing messages in computer jargon instead of getting out for a chat.

I understand the 'all caps' rule that it is the equivalent of screaming.  My own personal feelings on this is that given the unending parade of typographical errors, grammatically incorrect sentences, or someone who simply types their words capitalized, I'd opt for the capital letters.

I long for the days when gentlewomen went calling in the afternoon, leaving dainty cards at the homes where they could not be received at the time.  I am quite convinced I was born a hundred years too late.


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## wasabi (Oct 16, 2006)




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## kitchenelf (Oct 16, 2006)

LMBO


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## thumpershere2 (Oct 16, 2006)

LMBO?? Are you screaming now? OK I will tell my aunt about changing all letters on her site I'm sure with alot of help she will be able to understand how to do it. Thanks for all the info on not using caps and how to change the size of letters without screaming.


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## kitchenelf (Oct 16, 2006)

thumpershere2 said:
			
		

> LMBO?? Are you screaming now?


  No, just laughling loudly!


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## suzyQ3 (Oct 16, 2006)

Okay, now don't everybody attack me at once: I've come to dislike the all-italicized posts almost as much as the screaming caps ones. But please, please if you insist on italicizing, don't also use a pale color. The combination makes the words so difficult to read. 

Keep it simple and save the the frills for the occasional emphasis. Just MHO, of course.

P.S. I know this is a bit of a thread hijacker, and I apologize for that. It's been something I've wanted to express but didn't think it warranted its own thread and certainly not a reply to a specific post.


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## bullseye (Oct 16, 2006)

suzyQ3 said:
			
		

> Okay, now don't everybody attack me at once: I've come to dislike the all-italicized posts almost as much as the screaming caps ones. But please, please if you insist on italicizing, don't also use a pale color. The combination makes the words so difficult to read.
> 
> Keep it simple and save the the frills for the occasional emphasis. Just MHO, of course.
> 
> P.S. I know this is a bit of a thread hijacker, and I apologize for that. It's been something I've wanted to express but didn't think it warranted its own thread and certainly not a reply to a specific post.



Here, here!


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## kitchenelf (Oct 17, 2006)

Yes, the light-colored font is sometimes hard to read - but we're more or less talkinng about netiquette.  It's not a thread hijacker and can still be an issue.  

But all caps is becomeing the #1 golden rule when you're just on a bulletin board or chat board.  I just very rarely seems to bother anyone unless it becomes a habit that everything is always in all caps.  THEN people will complain.


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## Dove (Oct 17, 2006)

I just wish the posts were in bold print..lol  I am due for eye surgery again but not when things here take all my time. I keep bumping my nose on my monitor.DoveExplanation:Several years ago I developed a hole in the Macula..now it is doing it in my other eye.


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## wasabi (Oct 17, 2006)

*It would be nice if everyone posted in bold print. I'm almost legally blind myself.*


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## YT2095 (Oct 17, 2006)

I find the pale colors (esp Yellow) almost impossible to read, but if it IS something important, you can Cut/Paste the text somewhere else and read it that way, or sometime the act of Highlighting it as if you were going to cut it will sometimes resolve it also. of course it`s much nicer if you don`t have to


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## BabyG (Oct 17, 2006)

VeraBlue said:
			
		

> With the invention of internet, and now with text messaging, it's become apparent the art of the written word is lost, possibly forever.
> 
> I remember taking composition classes in the 60s and 70s.  We learned spelling, grammar, punctuation, tense, etc.  Emphasis was placed on being able to express yourself clearly, yet with style and grace.  Letter writing was taught.   I wonder how many people even know how to properly set a letter to a page.  The terms greeting, closing and salutation have lost their meaning.
> 
> ...



I completely agree with you.  If in real life first impressions are solely or at least mostly based off physical appearance then in the social world of the internet, first impressions are based off not the content of a persons text but the grammar.  I have to admit, i find it very hard to respect a view that someone is expressing if it written with bad grammar or is difficult to read. 

I can't completely agree with you, however, when you say your generation is the last to learn these simple skills.  I have just graduated from high school and English is a compulsory subject for everyone.  Here we learn not just grammar and spelling but the logic and use of language to convey ideas and persuade and audience also known as rhetoric.  But to be honest i wish we were learning solely grammar .  In fact i think  it is ridiculous how we're made to learn about the strangest things in English, such as Coleridge's poetry as a text for 'Imaginative journeys".  I don't know if anyone here is a fan of it, but it seems like opium induced garble to me.  We also study Aldous Huxley's novel "Brave New World" i actually love that book tho.  It was written in 1931 and is a satire portraying the fears of totalitarian regimes and the acceleration of technology.  He wrote about test tube babies and genetic engineering, which was complete "science fiction" back then!

Oops, I've really gone off topic! I have my final exam on Friday and I've just been studying for 5 hours, so i forgot this was a cooking forum.


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## Lizannd (Oct 17, 2006)

YT2095,  I never thought of cut and paste.  Thanks.


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## buckytom (Oct 17, 2006)

ooh, this could get interesting. a debate on proper writing and grammar. 

ok, choose up. i'll take 'bug and vb.

j/k  

i've wondered if anyone finds it annoying that i don't capitalize properly? 
on another cooking site, i was scolded by an old timer for not taking the time, thereby showing disrespect to the other members by not capitalizing. i couldn't argue much as i was a newbie, and i also repected the old guy's opinions on most things.
i started communicating with computers before the web was public, during the infancy of bbs's, and everyone back then that i knew always used all lower case, except of course when you intended to ephasize a word, like yelling.


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## ronjohn55 (Oct 17, 2006)

Ack!!

Bad flashbacks to school!! Making me remember having to diagram sentences!!! 

BLECH!!!!!    

John


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## GB (Oct 17, 2006)

I am sure we all have habits that annoy people to one degree or another when chatting here. That is just bound to happen when you get a group of people together. We once had a member "who" could not "type" a "message" without putting "quotes" around 80% or "the words in his post" for absolutely "no reason". That drove me batty. On the flip side though, I know I probably have typing habits that drive other people equally as nuts.


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## bullseye (Oct 17, 2006)

buckytom said:
			
		

> i've wondered if anyone finds it annoying that i don't capitalize properly?
> 
> [ . . .]
> 
> i started communicating with computers before the web was public, during the infancy of bbs's, and everyone back then that i knew always used all lower case, except of course when you intended to ephasize a word, like yelling.


And here I just thought you were an ardent fan of e. e. cummings!

I, too, started my online life in the dark ages of private BBSs.  I used to access the internet--before there was such a thing as a "web"--using a 300 baud modem and a access point at the local college.  Fun times, but gopher is a far cry from Google!


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## thumpershere2 (Oct 17, 2006)

If it's perfect grammer and spelling that is required here then I'm going to be in trouble. I am also a poor typer and I make alot of mistakes. Sorry for all the mistakes and I will still just read the posts.


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## suzyQ3 (Oct 17, 2006)

_"But to be honest i wish we were learning solely grammar . In fact i think it is ridiculous how we're made to learn about the strangest things in English"_

Grammar is is but a tool, my young friend. It's only the means to an elegant end. And its rules, though beautiful, can't approach the magnificence of perfectly articulated literature, both poetry and prose. 

Now, add two eggs and a cup of a flour. See, we're back on topic.


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## Katie H (Oct 17, 2006)

i've wondered if anyone finds it annoying that i don't capitalize properly? 
on another cooking site, i was scolded by an old timer for not taking the time, thereby showing disrespect to the other members by not capitalizing. i couldn't argue much as i was a newbie, and i also repected the old guy's opinions on most things.[quote}


Actually, bucky, it doesn't annoy me. I find it fascinating how everyone expresses him- or herself. I have a background in English/grammar, etc., and am a writer as well, so one of my most maddening (to me) occupational hazards is my built-in radar for proper punctuation, spelling, grammar and all attendant writing "rules." I've also worked as a proofreader/copy editor for a newspaper, which further complicates my condition. 

It's not just the written word that makes me goofy, it's the spoken word, too. Commercials on the radio and television are some of the worst offenders. It seems as though even the most rudimentary grammar is ignored. My husband is a writer, too, and suffers from the same malady but not as acutely as I. We're quite the pair when watching television. Thank goodness it's just the two of us, so we don't embarrass anyone or ourselves with our silly, "Did you hear what he/she just said?" 

As for Internet/computer ettiquette, I'm still learning and find the lingo and acronyms interesting and amusing. I did suspect that typing in all caps could be interpreted as shouting and only use caps to emphasize a word or phrase. I prefer italics for that purpose but find it difficult to differentiate within some font styles.

At any rate, just my thoughts on the subject. Everyone's different and not everyone can be an A+ typist either, which is a whole other discussion. I'm happy everyone is having fun and can feel free to express themselves here. 

Type on, y'all!


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## bullseye (Oct 17, 2006)

thumpershere2 said:
			
		

> If it's perfect grammer and spelling that is required here then I'm going to be in trouble. I am also a poor typer and I make alot of mistakes. Sorry for all the mistakes and I will still just read the posts.



Don't stop posting, Thumper.  I enjoy reading what you have to say.  I think what most posters are deploring is the increasing use of abbreviations borrowed from cellphone text messaging and IM use.  Things like "cu" instead of "see you."  Personally, though I enjoy the elegant use of the English language, the important thing is to be able to accurately express oneself so as to communicate without misunderstanding.  I don't think anyone is reading DC with _The Chicago Manual of Style_ in hand.


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## suzyQ3 (Oct 17, 2006)

Katie E said:
			
		

> i've wondered if anyone finds it annoying that i don't capitalize properly?
> on another cooking site, i was scolded by an old timer for not taking the time, thereby showing disrespect to the other members by not capitalizing. i couldn't argue much as i was a newbie, and i also repected the old guy's opinions on most things.[quote}
> 
> 
> ...


 
Same boat here, Katie. I was an Eng lit major but ended up teaching just the mechanics to adult students studying to be court reporters, who in California have to pass a rigorous written test on punctuation, grammar, style, vocabulary, etc. And my husband also has a strong background in such details. 

But no one likes a grammar nazi, so it's best to save the nitpicks for those private spousal chats. I've even learned not to cringe at some of my favorite faux pas.  And of course, teaching adults the stuff they either never learned or had quickly forgotten demanded huge doses of patience and humility.

That said, I always do appreciate clear and concise language. Too much of what passes for communication these days is so incomprehensible that I sometimes get a strange desire to whack the writer with a ruler.


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## buckytom (Oct 17, 2006)

you must have gone to catholic school, suzyq. we can compare scars.

can you write on the blackboard, backwards over your shoulder while still facing the class?

my dad was a medic in wwII, then a western union teletype operator, then a fireman, and finally a writer for the associated press. all of these jobs required good typing skills, as well as grammar and spelling. in fact, the reason he was chosen as a medic was he was the only guy in his division who could type. he was always thankful that he didn't have to shoot anyone; just save lives (on both sides, towards the end. if anyone ever tells you the holocaust didn't happen, i'm supposed to slap them in the head! my dad saw it firsthand!)

anyway, he and mom raised our family being good writers, and typists. my brother is an english lit teacher and head of the english dept.. my eldest sister is a grammar school english teacher.  i am the exception in the family, i'd guess. i type using only five fingers. three on my right, two on my left. 
the only problem being in a house like that was we had to learn to spell quickly. if you asked my dad how to spell something, he spit out the letters really fast, as if he were typing them on a teletype machine.


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## pdswife (Oct 17, 2006)

Heck thumper.... don't stop posting.  If you do,  I'll have to stop also.  I make more mistakes than anyone.  Can't type, can't spall... but I get my meaning across.  That's what counts.


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## YT2095 (Oct 17, 2006)

thumpershere2 said:
			
		

> If it's perfect grammer and spelling that is required here then I'm going to be in trouble. I am also a poor typer and I make alot of mistakes. Sorry for all the mistakes and I will still just read the posts.


don`t be daft lass, just get yourself a disclaimer in your signature like myself, it werx all the time


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## Alix (Oct 17, 2006)

Meh! The important stuff here is the cooking, camaraderie and recipes. Not the perfection of our grammar or spelling. I'm closing the thread as kitchenelf tells me this notice has done its job. Thanks all!


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