fracas

Dear netizen-who-uses-all-caps;

I don’t know if you don’t know that to use all capitals (caps) when you write a comment means that you’re shouting. Maybe you do know and you use them because you think you need to shout, but I’d like to point something out to you.

We don’t read your messages and comments because it’s a pain in the proverbial arse to do so. Using all caps makes it more of an eye strain to read your comment, and you know… I’m over 40, have worn glasses or contact lenses since I was nine, and really don’t need my poor sight to progress any more than it has because you don’t know any internet etiquette.

Oh, this isn’t just about the people who comment here at my own blog. No, this is for you who comment everywhere and anywhere. You know what happens when I’m reading a thread of comments at a newsmagazine following a really good article and then wham… come across your all-caps entry?

I skip it.

It hurts my eyes and it seems to me if you can’t take the time to learn how to communicate online, then why should I read what you have to say? That might be a fine solution, only then the next poor sod commenter (and the next, and the next) do read you because they’re far too considerate. Sometimes they even comment about what you wrote… and then you know what?

I can’t follow the conversation because I didn’t fraccing read you.

So please… learn how to use the internet if you’re going to comment. From Wikipedia (but also corroborated here and here…)

“This form of typography also appears in on-line forums. It was once an inevitable byproduct of using machines with limited support for lowercase text (such as certain dumb terminals, early Apple II models), but as full support of ASCII became standard, it became solely identified with “shouting” or attention-seeking behaviour. As a result, netiquette generally discourages the use of all caps.”

Shouting at people is rude.

Hurting their eyes is rude.

Why do you do it? If you want your words to have emphasis, learn some basic html and italicize a word or two. When you capitalize everything, it’s no different than not capitalizing anything. We still don’t know what you want emphasized.

So it seems, since there is no logical reason to do it, that you must be doing it because you’re either unaware of how to comment online, or you’re rude. I don’t care which it is, just please stop it. People will read you, people won’t treat you like you’re dumb, and you’ll find that suddenly, this commenting thing online is way more fun than it was before. People will answer you, converse with you and life will be good.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I hope this has helped.

Regards,

Fracas