Reminder for all members -- Please Read!

[LisaJaney]

Dear Members,
We've noticed a trend in the last months, that members are getting a little lax in their use of capitalization, punctuation, proper spelling, etc. Please review the Site Guidelines (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=4005), and check out this post (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/announcement.php?f=9&a=3) to let you know just WHY those rules are in place. Basically, it is to make the site easier for our "English as a second (third, fourth) language" members to be able to participate fully, by our use of words that they'd be able to find in a dictionary.

You may have noticed a few moderators using textspeak last week, as an April Fool's Day prank. That was in NO way intended to imply that we condone such writing. It was a one-day bunch of silliness, nothing more. We returned immediately non-textspeak, non-lolcatz writing style, and expect the same from all our members.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter -- it makes the site easier for everyone to read and understand!


Edited to Add:
We would like to request that members consider posting in standard-sized black font. We have members who have difficulty reading the various colors and smaller sizes. The contrast between the site's background and various font colors make it difficult to read. This is not a rule, just a suggestion.

[Merlin]

tx for the reminder

(running, ducking and hiding now - LJ slaps people for no reason)

[Feye]

Hi LJ, it's really sweet of you and the other LHC moderators to care about those with English as a second language, it makes me really proud to be here :flower:

[Heidi_234]

Hi LJ, it's really sweet of you and the other LHC moderators to care about those with English as a second language, it makes me really proud to be here :flower:
Feye, I didn't even realize you're not native English speaker until now.

[Feye]

Feye, I didn't even realize you're not native English speaker until now.

Hi, thanks! No I'm not native, but I have a passion for the English language, I think it's so beautiful :)

I have been struggling with slang words in the past, and Internet short words also. At one point I even bought a slang dictionary to keep on top of things. But that was long before LHC. I really appreciate the effort of caring for all members here.

It is also very nice to be reminded that there are members here with English as a second language, because otherwise there may be misunderstandings. Some countries are more direct in their speech for example, and that could be seen as rude even when it's not meant that way. Directly translated words could also come out wrong.

:flower:

[Heidi_234]

Hi, thanks! No I'm not native, but I have a passion for the English language, I think it's so beautiful :)

I have been struggling with slang words in the past, and Internet short words also. At one point I even bought a slang dictionary to keep on top of things. But that was long before LHC. I really appreciate the effort of caring for all members here.

It is also very nice to be reminded that there are members here with English as a second language, because otherwise there may be misunderstandings. Some countries are more direct in their speech for example, and that could be seen as rude even when it's not meant that way. Directly translated words could also come out wrong.

:flower:
I understand that completely, I'm not a native English speaker myself (and I like the language very much as well :) ). As for slang and internet abbreviations, it's easier now to keep track of things with a quick google search. There are quite a few on-line dictionaries specializing in slang so it's not a problem usually.
I have more problem with product names, as they won't appear in any dictionary out there. Took me a while to figure out what do people mean by 'leave-in conditioner', because in here it's called a hair moisturizing cream. Sometimes doing an image search helps identify the product, but not always. Terms like 'canopy' and 'hemline' and 'crown' and such are even worse, because they are adopted to very a limited groups of people so they are not very "searchable" at all. Some become clear from the context after a while, some don't.
But, oh well. :) I'm glad for the practice. :)

[Feye]

Well, Heidi, you had me fooled! I thought that you are definitely native! :)

I bet that even native speakers have trouble with hemline and canopy

[Heidi_234]

Well, Heidi, you had me fooled! I thought that you are definitely native! :)

I bet that even native speakers have trouble with hemline and canopy
LOL you made my day! :D
They actually do, I know of at least one Australian LHCer who's not sure either what do Americans/British folks are talking about when they say that. :)

[Carolyn]

I have been struggling with slang words in the past, and Internet short words also. At one point I even bought a slang dictionary to keep on top of things. But that was long before LHC. I really appreciate the effort of caring for all members here.

:flower:If there is a word, expression or product you don't understand, please feel free to ask for a definition or explanation. I've had to ask for translations for some British words. A "jumper" is not a sweater in America :D

I used to keep a little list of abbreviations next to my computer until I got to know them. I still have a hard time remembering some of them.

[Nightshade]

In the even that a bit of 1337 speak does sneak into the boards, I'd really like to recommend http://www.urbandictionary.com/

It's really helpful for acronyms, memes, and just general slang.

ETA: And I had to ask the Brits what in the nine hells "Pants" meant.

[enfys]

I find even UK/USA English translations to be a bit much, so I can only imagine how hard it is to figure out slang etc.

The only time I slip up is when I say "ych a fi!" not yuck, because it's one of the few Welsh words I use without thinking. Oh, and "cwtch" for cuddle.

So sorry if I say things like that. I don't mean to confuse anyone. It'd be easier if you weren't all so good at English that I forgot it's not your native language!

[Nightshade]

So sorry if I say things like that. I don't mean to confuse anyone. It'd be easier if you weren't all so good at English that I forgot it's not your native language!

No worries, I don't think the mods mind it here and there in ways like the examples you gave. I actually like learning bits of slang and phrases like those :)

"Moggies" for a domestic shorthair cat is one I learned here that I've adopted completly.

[Magicknthenight]

oh sorry if it was me. I got a new labtop and downloaded the spell check but its still not working and i don't know how to fix it? -.-

[s_tresses]

Is "LOL" considered textspeak?

[Carolyn]

Is "LOL" considered textspeak?I think it is but it isn't quite as bad as "lols" or "lolz". We have laughing smilies so why not use them?

ETA That doesn't include the dastardly LoL :gabigrin:

[marialena]

In the even that a bit of 1337 speak does sneak into the boards, I'd really like to recommend http://www.urbandictionary.com/

It's really helpful for acronyms, memes, and just general slang.

ETA: And I had to ask the Brits what in the nine hells "Pants" meant.

You just save me.. My constant problem is that I don't understand some phrases and of course that I have huge problem with acronyms.. (Ah... if someone could tell me which herb is this "catnip tea" I will appreciate it... It doesn't exist in any dictionary, I can't find it anywhere.. :rolleyes:)

Thank you so much for your care and this dictionary link!!
:):)

[marialena]

[..]
It is also very nice to be reminded that there are members here with English as a second language, because otherwise there may be misunderstandings. Some countries are more direct in their speech for example, and that could be seen as rude even when it's not meant that way. Directly translated words could also come out wrong.
:flower:

You are quite right.. That happened to me twice this week.:( ..misunderstandings with the content of some of my posts from users that felt bad or insulted from the way I wrote something. (sorry..:o I didn't want to make you feel sad).
I've changed my signature just for this reason..
because I prefer someone to read literally what I write, instead of understanding things that I don't mean.
I found a new method too!
If I'm not sure that the other users will understand what I mean, I put a picture!:cheese: ( is this allowed?? )

[Heidi_234]

You just save me.. My constant problem is that I don't understand some phrases and of course that I have huge problem with acronyms.. (Ah... if someone could tell me which herb is this "catnip tea" I will appreciate it... It doesn't exist in any dictionary, I can't find it anywhere.. :rolleyes:)

Thank you so much for your care and this dictionary link!!
:):)
Does that (http://translate.google.com/translate_t#en%7Cel%7Ccatnip) help?
The herb is just 'catnip', when you brew it like a tea (like we do for the the hair treatment) it becomes 'catnip tea'. :flower:

[Kerri]

[...]Ah... if someone could tell me which herb is this "catnip tea" I will appreciate it... It doesn't exist in any dictionary, I can't find it anywhere.. :rolleyes: [...]

If you encounter problems like this, you could look the thing you don't understand up in the English Wikipedia. Scroll down a little and search for your language in the language box on the left hand side. This link will take you directly to the description of the thing you are looking for in your own language. If you can't find your language there, start actually reading the English article, maybe in context it will become clear to you. When you look for plants, try to find out their Latin name, then go to google in your native language (like www.google.gr or www.google.de), check the box that lets google provide links in your language only and search for the Latin name.

At least, that's what I do when I come across things I don't understand ;)


- Kerri.

[aisling]

Kerri, that's what I do as well and many others with us, it is a really good advice. Wikipedia is really helpful many times.

I'm happy this topic is current again as I've also have noticed a lot of slacking recently. Already the lack of proper capitalization makes a post much harder to read in my opinion.

[marialena]

Does that (http://translate.google.com/translate_t#en%7Cel%7Ccatnip) help?
The herb is just 'catnip', when you brew it like a tea (like we do for the the hair treatment) it becomes 'catnip tea'. :flower:


Thank you! The translation that you gave me says that is a kind of mint.
I CAN'T BELIEVE.. If this is what I'm thinking, Ι have a whole plant of catnip in a pot in my veranda.( or I hope so! :eyebrows:)

[bte]

Hi, thanks! No I'm not native, but I have a passion for the English language, I think it's so beautiful :)

I have been struggling with slang words in the past, and Internet short words also. At one point I even bought a slang dictionary to keep on top of things. But that was long before LHC. I really appreciate the effort of caring for all members here.

It is also very nice to be reminded that there are members here with English as a second language, because otherwise there may be misunderstandings. Some countries are more direct in their speech for example, and that could be seen as rude even when it's not meant that way. Directly translated words could also come out wrong.

:flower:
If you want a fascinating book about how English evolved, try Henry Hitchings' "The Secret Life of Words" published by John Murray in 2008. It's a great read.

[Nightshade]

Thank you! The translation that you gave me says that is a kind of mint.
I CAN'T BELIEVE.. If this is what I'm thinking, Ι have a whole plant of catnip in a pot in my veranda.( or I hope so! :eyebrows:)

Yep! Catnip is in the mint family :) Here's a photo of what it looks (http://www.alaskancloudbuster.com/images/Fresh%20Crop.JPG) like if it helps you compare to what you have on your porch. The leaves should feel soft and somewhat feathery.

[WritingPrincess]

I understand that completely, I'm not a native English speaker myself (and I like the language very much as well :) ). As for slang and internet abbreviations, it's easier now to keep track of things with a quick google search. There are quite a few on-line dictionaries specializing in slang so it's not a problem usually.
I have more problem with product names, as they won't appear in any dictionary out there. Took me a while to figure out what do people mean by 'leave-in conditioner', because in here it's called a hair moisturizing cream. Sometimes doing an image search helps identify the product, but not always. Terms like 'canopy' and 'hemline' and 'crown' and such are even worse, because they are adopted to very a limited groups of people so they are not very "searchable" at all. Some become clear from the context after a while, some don't.
But, oh well. :) I'm glad for the practice. :)

I still don't know what canopy means, and I'm native. :lol: Does anyone want to clarify?


As someone pointed out, a "jumper" in England is what I would call a sweater. If I hear "jumper" I think a dress without sleeves, usually worn over a shirt.

Thanks, LJ, for repeating this. I love how friendly TLHC is.

[Nightshade]

I still don't know what canopy means, and I'm native. :lol: Does anyone want to clarify?

A canopy in LHC terms is the top layer of hair when your hair is down and loose :) If you were out in the sun lots, it's the part that would end up lighter than the hair underneath it, which is shielded by the canopy and more protected. Because of this, some people have canopies that tend to be dry or more coarse or flyaway than the under-layers.

I hope that made sense :blossom:

[WritingPrincess]

That does make sense. Thanks, Nightshade. And here I thought it was the portion of the length between the nape and the ends. :rolleyes:

[marajade]

Just a question- will we be told if we are one of the offending members? I really try to make sure my spelling, punctuation, and capitalization is correct and I don't want to be banned without getting a chance to improve what I am doing wrong. Sorry, not trying to whine, just asking. :) Thank you in advance!

[Alun]

There are a whole slew of abbreviations that started on the net before textspeak existed. The latter comes from SMS, which I think means Short Message Service, but that's what everyone knows as texting, which is strictly a mobile phone thing.

I use LOL, ROTFL, ROTFLMAO, IMO, IMHO, OTOH, AFAIK and maybe others all the time without it ever occurring to me that someone could think that they were textspeak, because they all predate mobile phones entirely. OTOH, lols is definitely a textspeak version of LOL. Some textspeak 'words' like that are longer than the original! Go figure.

I'm not sure that the issue is just limited to second language speakers. There are lots of us old fogeys who never or seldom use texting. When I (rarely) send a text message I write it in full because I don't know textspeak. And I don't have a QWERTY keypad on my mobile phone, so I rarely send text messages, LOL! (Yes, this IS a circular argument!).

So this is somewhat of a generational thing. Us old fogeys use Net abbreviations, but if you write to us in textspeak we will have a hard time reading what you wrote. We can probably figure it out with a little effort, but you are risking that we just won't bother. And as LJ pointed out, those who speak English as a non-native language may be totally confused.

As for dialect problems, there are loads of them. The worst one related to hair seems to be the usage of braids/plaits/pigtails/bunches etc., which is somewhat different within the US and entirely different between the US and other English-speaking countries. We also have fringes/bangs. Or rather, I don't, but you know what I mean.

Then we also have LHC specific terms, for which it probably doesn't matter what you native tongue is, because nobody understands them until they've been here a while, and sometimes not even then. There are still quite a few I don't understand, and I've been on here about five years. Maybe you have to be here ten years to know them all?

[Heidi_234]

I didn't know what OTOH mean. I googled it quickly and discovered it is an abbreviation to "on the other hand". Nobody has to remember all the textspeak words and slang by heart, you can always search common terms you are not familiar with. Even non-native speaker like me can do quite well this way.
Even country/state specific terms are easy enough to search, as there will be enough sources over the net to tell you what it means. I had no problems with getting familiar with bangs/fringe, and it is entirely different word in my language.
I sincerely think that people can manage these, it's the local term that are confusing. I thought hemline was the hairline above the forehead, and it became clear to me that it is the shape of the ends by people talking about evening out their hemline and things like that.
I'm still not sure what 'crown' means.
(And I'm not alone :)).

[Isilya]

I think the crown of the head is where you would position a high ponytail. It's the curvy part of the skull that is not quite the top and not quite the back of the head. (ETA: about the place where my barrette is in my siggy-pic)

I found PM-ing with an American LHC-friend helped me understand slang and abbreviations better :)

[Nightshade]

Another thing that gets me is long paragraphs without paragraph spaces. I assume that most the time these are posted on mobile devices, where perhaps it's harder to put in a paragraph break (I don't post from such a thing, so I don't know the nuances of it), but large blocks of solid text are really, really hard to read. :(

[misstwist]

Another thing that gets me is long paragraphs without paragraph spaces. I assume that most the time these are posted on mobile devices, where perhaps it's harder to put in a paragraph break (I don't post from such a thing, so I don't know the nuances of it), but large blocks of solid text are really, really hard to read. :(

Sing it, sister!! I just can't read these and skip them altogether.

[wintersun99]

Another thing that gets me is long paragraphs without paragraph spaces. I assume that most the time these are posted on mobile devices, where perhaps it's harder to put in a paragraph break (I don't post from such a thing, so I don't know the nuances of it), but large blocks of solid text are really, really hard to read. :(

Me too. I skip right over them.

I skip reading any posts in small or hard to read font color/size, as well.

[ratgirldjh]

OK - i am one for not using capitals.... sorry... I will try and remember :)

[Nightshade]

Me too. I skip right over them.

I skip reading any posts in small or hard to read font color/size, as well.

That's exactly what I do.

Oh, and the font thing:

I have great sympathy for people that want a larger font than the standard board font because they have a hard time reading small text, but holding down control and hitting the + or - keys will make ALL text bigger or smaller (it's essentially zooming in on the entire page).

You can also hold down control and use the mouse wheel to zoom in or out.

Don't get me started on Comic Sans :hatchet: :lol: :p

[Isilya]

Another thing that gets me is long paragraphs without paragraph spaces. I assume that most the time these are posted on mobile devices, where perhaps it's harder to put in a paragraph break (I don't post from such a thing, so I don't know the nuances of it), but large blocks of solid text are really, really hard to read. :(

This could be country/region-bound. When I first posted here, I only took a new line (no blank line) for a new "thought", because that's how I was taught in school. We were told to only use blank lines to separate the introduction, the body and the conclusion of a text. After being here for a while, I noticed people using blank lines a lot more than I was, so I asked a friend on here about it and she explained it to me. Since then, I adapted the way I write posts, but I had to be told first.

[Nightshade]

This could be country/region-bound. When I first posted here, I only took a new line (no blank line) for a new "thought", because that's how I was taught in school. We were told to only use blank lines to separate the introduction, the body and the conclusion of a text. After being here for a while, I noticed people using blank lines a lot more than I was, so I asked a friend on here about it and she explained it to me. Since then, I adapted the way I write posts, but I had to be told first.

Ah, I hadn't considered that, thank you for pointing that out :flowers:

As someone that writes a lot (for my job and novels in my free time) I trend towards some really long paragraphs. For online stuff, though, I tend to adopt a more journalist visual style, where I'll break things up a lot more, just to make it easier on the eyes :)

[Isilya]

Ah, I hadn't considered that, thank you for pointing that out :flowers:

As someone that writes a lot (for my job and novels in my free time) I trend towards some really long paragraphs. For online stuff, though, I tend to adopt a more journalist visual style, where I'll break things up a lot more, just to make it easier on the eyes :)

You're welcome :)

I've noticed that when reading online books. It's easier to lose track of where you were on the page, so more breaks are helpful.

[SimplyLonghair]

I'm still not sure what 'crown' means.
(And I'm not alone :)).


I think the crown of the head is where you would position a high ponytail. It's the curvy part of the skull that is not quite the top and not quite the back of the head. (ETA: about the place where my barrette is in my siggy-pic)

I found PM-ing with an American LHC-friend helped me understand slang and abbreviations better :)
That is one definition, but maybe not the whole one. The crown on people can be different. It is the swirl or top point of the hair growth. Where the hair can go forward or backwards. I happen to have two crowns the way that my hair grows, because there are two swirls, side by side of each other. In most people it is right about the end of the center part. Hope that helps.

[Heidi_234]

Another thing that gets me is long paragraphs without paragraph spaces. I assume that most the time these are posted on mobile devices, where perhaps it's harder to put in a paragraph break (I don't post from such a thing, so I don't know the nuances of it), but large blocks of solid text are really, really hard to read. :(

I second that! I find it just impossible to read posts like this, I skip them as well.

That is one definition, but maybe not the whole one. The crown on people can be different. It is the swirl or top point of the hair growth. Where the hair can go forward or backwards. I happen to have two crowns the way that my hair grows, because there are two swirls, side by side of each other. In most people it is right about the end of the center part. Hope that helps.
Wow, I had no idea. :eek: I thought it was the area around the head, above and close to the nape, ears, temples and forehead, the way a crown would sit on one's head. This it entirely new to me. Thanks.

[SimplyLonghair]

I second that! I find it just impossible to read posts like this, I skip them as well.

Wow, I had no idea. :eek: I thought it was the area around the head, above and close to the nape, ears, temples and forehead, the way a crown would sit on one's head. This it entirely new to me. Thanks.
You are welcome, my mom was a hairdresser and used to fuss about my "double crown" because it makes haircuts do weird things.:o:rolleyes:

[Pegasus Marsters]

Thank you for this, I've been skipping over so many posts lately because I just don't have the energy to try and read something that has no punctuation, dreadfully bad spelling, and is one giant block of text with no paragraph breaks.

On the side of font sizes... if you vary from the default size then I'm probably not going to read your posts. Making your font size 3x large than the default and a different colour will just annoy me. :lol:

[darkwaves]

if you vary from the default size then I'm probably not going to read your posts. Ditto. I'm also not going to read posts that are centred, instead of flush left. My eyes just don't work that way online.

[Teazel]

Thank you for this, I've been skipping over so many posts lately because I just don't have the energy to try and read something that has no punctuation, dreadfully bad spelling, and is one giant block of text with no paragraph breaks.

Pegs, you took the words right out of my mouth. :flowers: I don't know why people would write a post so carelessly that many of the target readers will not put themselves through the torture of trying to comprehend it. Why bother writing it in the first place? :p


As someone that writes a lot (for my job and novels in my free time) I trend towards some really long paragraphs. For online stuff, though, I tend to adopt a more journalist visual style, where I'll break things up a lot more, just to make it easier on the eyes :)

Exactly. Different formats call for different styles.

Oh, don't get me started. :lol:

Should I use the word "braid" instead of "plait"? I don't think so, but I often do, just because LHC members seem to be predominantly American. I will use "plait" when context makes my meaning plain... I think it does no harm for people of other nations to learn a little of another's lingo.

There's always Google, after all! :cheese:

[marajade]

Pegs, you took the words right out of my mouth. :flowers: I don't know why people would write a post so carelessly that many of the target readers will not put themselves through the torture of trying to comprehend it. Why bother writing it in the first place? :p



Exactly. Different formats call for different styles.

Oh, don't get me started. :lol:

Should I use the word "braid" instead of "plait"? I don't think so, but I often do, just because LHC members seem to be predominantly American. I will use "plait" when context makes my meaning plain... I think it does no harm for people of other nations to learn a little of another's lingo.

There's always Google, after all! :cheese:

I love the word Plait- it is so romantic sounding !!! I vote you use Plait, too! :cheese:

[Beatnik Guy]

Just a question- will we be told if we are one of the offending members? I really try to make sure my spelling, punctuation, and capitalization is correct and I don't want to be banned without getting a chance to improve what I am doing wrong. Sorry, not trying to whine, just asking. :) Thank you in advance!
You are not one of the offending members. :)

Anyone who there is a particular problem with will be told. It's actually very hard to get banned, unless you're an obvious troll or perv.

PS, thx for your email to tlhc staff about this.

[marajade]

You are not one of the offending members. :)

Anyone who there is a particular problem with will be told. It's actually very hard to get banned, unless you're an obvious troll or perv.

PS, thx for your email to tlhc staff about this.

Thanks for the response I appreciate it! :cheese:

[SimplyLonghair]

I have wondered if I had offended before too, because I don't always have the greatest grammer ! LOL But I figured if I was offending then they would descend upon me and I would know!:o:rolleyes::D
Have to love our mods! :inlove:

[princess]

What is the matter with the posts that do not have good grammer, spelling or sentence formation? Can anyone give an example of such a post?

Is it like someone cannot use slang, or abbriviations that people use on the web?

[LisaButz2001]

Temporary hijack-Aisling, I'm totally jealous of your signature & avatar!

[Calista]

What is the matter with the posts that do not have good grammer, spelling or sentence formation? Can anyone give an example of such a post?

Is it like someone cannot use slang, or abbriviations that people use on the web?
princess, something like "u" for "you" for example. Some people use it repeatedly throughout their text, and it makes it very hard to read. Add to that no capitalization and no punctuation. Nobody wants to read texts like that.

It´s not a matter of perfect grammar and spelling. There are loads of people here who have trouble with grammar or who have English as their second language (like me, for example).

[princess]

princess, something like "u" for "you" for example. Some people use it repeatedly throughout their text, and it makes it very hard to read. Add to that no capitalization and no punctuation. Nobody wants to read texts like that.

It´s not a matter of perfect grammar and spelling. There are loads of people here who have trouble with grammar or who have English as their second language (like me, for example).

Yes Yes I know what you mean. Like 4you instead of for you etc.

[Heidi_234]

soooooooo last day i was havin this amazin hair day it was so awsome i used this condish that made my hair stunning omg everybody were tellin me how pretty ma hair is and how soft and etc etc so i just wanted to share with u ppl this brand its call BADPOSTS and it smell so good also u wont believe it!!!!

[Calista]

soooooooo last day i was havin this amazin hair day it was so awsome i used this condish that made my hair stunning omg everybody were tellin me how pretty ma hair is and how soft and etc etc so i just wanted to share with u ppl this brand its call BADPOSTS and it smell so good also u wont believe it!!!!


:justy: :justy:

[princess]

soooooooo last day i was havin this amazin hair day it was so awsome i used this condish that made my hair stunning omg everybody were tellin me how pretty ma hair is and how soft and etc etc so i just wanted to share with u ppl this brand its call BADPOSTS and it smell so good also u wont believe it!!!!


Oh! I understand! I understand! You don't have to give me concrete examples. :)

[Heidi_234]

Oh! I understand! I understand! You don't have to give me concrete examples. :)
No no, didn't mean it that way, I was just having fun lol :p

[Rosepatrice]

How do you know whether the "improper grammar, spelller person" is the person on the other side of the spectrum or not. Meaning, that maybe they are the ones who are learning the language and that's how they have learned it, so when they post it looks like someone is doing it on purpose, but they are not???

Does that make any sense lol???

[marialena]

How do you know whether the "improper grammar, spelller person" is the person on the other side of the spectrum or not. Meaning, that maybe they are the ones who are learning the language and that's how they have learned it, so when they post it looks like someone is doing it on purpose, but they are not???

Does that make any sense lol???

I don't understand what you mean.
Do you mean:
1/ that some users who have English as a second language, do mistakes that make their writings look like they are doing it in purpose or
2/ That some users write in purpose mistakes in order to make other users think that English is their second language?

(and anyone who understood what I wrote answers..:rolleyes: - please try not to laugh :o)

[Rosepatrice]

I don't understand what you mean.
Do you mean:
1/ that some users who have English as a second language, do mistakes that make their writings look like they are doing it in purpose or
2/ That some users write in purpose mistakes in order to make other users think that English is their second language?


(and anyone who understood what I wrote answers..:rolleyes: - please try not to laugh :o)

I think, if I understand you correctly...that I would choose both number one and two plus some
I mean that how do we know for sure who is really trying to be perfect and does their best whether it's their second language or not? Some may have learing disabilities (ect.) that keep them from proper grammar at all times, too. How does one judge this type of thing, I would NOT want the Mods' job on this one, for sure.


Poor Mods......I feel sorry for them, bless them ALL!!!!!:o

[Heidi_234]

I think that a person that writes like that surely owns English as native language. Capital letters, punctuation marks and division into paragraphs is use in most of the languages, and if not, a learner that is eager to write in English would be familiar with a such abysmal differences as these. And a person who didn't grow up with English as a mother tongue will do his/her best to be clear and understood well. Non English members with language barrier do it so differently than this one-paragraph-4u-ppl text.
Think of lolspeak (as like the baby kitteh talk they speak on lolcat pics), it's sometimes hard enough for me to understand what is written, but it would be twice as hard for me to recreate it and make it sound authentic enough.

[Carolyn]

For those who are not native English speakers, please don't worry. You are not the problem. It's fairly obvious most of the time that they are trying hard to write well written, clear posts. From what I've seen, the non native English speakers try very hard. On the other hand it's often very obvious who is a native English speaker but is just too lazy or whatever to bother with correct capitalization and punctuation. Those are the posts that get ignored by those of us who have been here a while. I feel like why should I bother to write a reply to someone who is too lazy to write a well written post :shrug: Text speak is like a foreign language to me :D After I hit the Report Post button, I'm on to other posts.

As for Lolcats, there is a whole thread where you are allowed to indulge in lol-speak to your heart's content. I, for one, am very grateful that lolcat speak is not allowed elsewhere except for the blogs.

[Heidi_234]

Ooh whole LHC written in lolspeak ("Oh hai zere i can haz good condishiner from nom?")
:scared::lol:
Not.

[Just_Isabel]

"Oh hai zere i can haz good condishiner from nom?"

:rollin: I think LOLspeak is really funny, but it IS very hard to understand it well if you're not used to it (and even if you are, it's not always clear). I do enjoy the LOLcats and LOLdogs, and part of what makes them funny to me is the LOLspeak, but I'm also grateful that it's not allowed here.

I also skip posts that are hard to read: giant blobs with no paragraphs, lacking punctuation, as well as posts with different font / different size / different color. I get wanting to show your personality, but when the font changes make it harder for me to read something, I'll probably skip it. :o

[mira-chan]

I also skip posts with no punctuation and large blocks of text. While I might as well be a native speaker fluency wise (lived here long enough), I have dyslexia and those are impossible for me to read without getting a headache at least. I can't read certain color text too as the letters literally blur and dance.

Unfortunately it also means I can't see my own typos at times and I typo a lot. :rolleyes: If I type something in comprehensible, please tell me. :o

[Just_Isabel]

Firefox has a spellchecker. ;)

(You can even add dictionaries of other languages, which is very useful if you don't write only in English. :D)

[Heidi_234]

Firefox has a spellchecker. ;)

(You can even add dictionaries of other languages, which is very useful if you don't write only in English. :D)
My secret weapon. :D
Mira-Chan don't worry, nobody's immune from being blind to their own typos. Otherwise people would have jobs as proof readers. ;)

[princess]

No no, didn't mean it that way, I was just having fun lol :p

Me too! LOL

[marialena]

Mine too. And firefox has an English Greek spell checker ( for both languages at the same time ) something that I can't find it anywhere else. Not even Open Office has double spell checker so sometimes when I write something in both languages I check it out on the browser.

[florenonite]

Dear Members,
We've noticed a trend in the last months, that members are getting a little lax in their use of capitalization, punctuation, proper spelling, etc. Please review the Site Guidelines (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=4005), and check out this post (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/announcement.php?f=9&a=3) to let you know just WHY those rules are in place. Basically, it is to make the site easier for our "English as a second (third, fourth) language" members to be able to participate fully, by our use of words that they'd be able to find in a dictionary.

You may have noticed a few moderators using textspeak last week, as an April Fool's Day prank. That was in NO way intended to imply that we condone such writing. It was a one-day bunch of silliness, nothing more. We returned immediately non-textspeak, non-lolcatz writing style, and expect the same from all our members.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter -- it makes the site easier for everyone to read and understand!

So that's why I read a post by a mod that was almost incomprehensible. It didn't click that it was April Fool's Day :rolleyes:


soooooooo last day i was havin this amazin hair day it was so awsome i used this condish that made my hair stunning omg everybody were tellin me how pretty ma hair is and how soft and etc etc so i just wanted to share with u ppl this brand its call BADPOSTS and it smell so good also u wont believe it!!!!

:spitting:


How do you know whether the "improper grammar, spelller person" is the person on the other side of the spectrum or not. Meaning, that maybe they are the ones who are learning the language and that's how they have learned it, so when they post it looks like someone is doing it on purpose, but they are not???

Does that make any sense lol???

I generally find that the non-native English speakers have very good grammar. Think about it this way: English is my first language, and French is my second. It wasn't until I'd been speaking French for about nine or ten years that I started using textspeak and slang in French, because that wasn't what I was taught at school, but rather what I learnt from my sister when she spent time in France. Hence, if English isn't your first language, you'll have learnt proper English and that's what you'll post in.

Furthermore, textspeak is really difficult in a second language. My sister and I sometimes text each other in French, and she uses textspeak which I have so much difficulty with at times because I see 'G' and think of the letter G as pronounced in English before remembering that in French it's pronounced like 'J'ai', which means 'I have'. Hence any non-native speakers on the forum using textspeak are probably very competent English speakers and therefore should be treated in the same way as native speakers who do so, in my opinion.

[Rosepatrice]

Heh, I agree with the text speak. It is very very frustrating for me to understand, too. It's a very polite rule to implement, in my opinion.:o

[LisaJaney]

Y'all are a hoot!

And to Alun, thank you for saying that bit that made "What the heck is SMS" finally click and make some sense for me. Nobody's ever said it so that it made sense to someone who didn't know what SMS is beFOREhand. Always, they throw the initials around like I'm going to know what the heck they're talking about. So, for that, I thank you.

I will interject here, right-quick, that it's not always laziness that leads to improper capitalization/punctuation. Sometimes there are reading-writing difficulties that make this "no-caps/no-periods post"...well, let's just say that for this person to get that post written was a labor of enormous proportions. Those who have trouble with those things have usually figured-out a way to compensate for the lack-of-caps, such as putting in 3 or 4 spaces between sentence-end and new-sentence, and things like that. When a person is doing everything they can, my own personal view is that caps and periods are "small potatoes" (not a big deal), if they've done something like added a longer space between sentences to show me "hey, new thought coming up, ready, set, GO!"

As for "will you know if you're an 'offender'?" -- yes, I'm willing to bet that you will. People just let the modstaff know, "Hey, here's some leet-speak or txtspeak" and we look into not only that post, but OTHERS you've made, and if it's a pattern (as opposed to an isolated incident), we write a GENTLE note as a reminder. We don't come out swinging, we don't yell and scream or punish, we just gently remind. 99.9% of the time, the problem is resolved with that one note. Like BG said, you almost have to TRY to get banned, around here. We leave plenty of opportunities to amend your ways before the door is closed for good. (except with obvious trolls or spammers. We're kinda merciless with those :twisted: )

[Pegasus Marsters]

People just let the modstaff know, "Hey, here's some leet-speak or txtspeak"

I don't know what you're talkin' about. :wannabe:

[Rebel_Dream]

The proper way is the easist way for non-english people to understand english.

[Absalom]

This issue is very familiar to me. I am a moderator at the Men's Longhair Hyperboard. We had one guy who would type out run on sentences without any capitalization or punctuation. It was very hard to read, even for native speakers, and just about impossible for non-native speakers. He was unwilling to change and follow the rules, so now he is not allowed to post at all.

[mira-chan]

Firefox has a spellchecker. ;)

(You can even add dictionaries of other languages, which is very useful if you don't write only in English. :D)
The spell checker helps for much of it. It doesn't help if the typo is an actual word, just not one that's supposed to be (typod that one as "bet" as if to prove the post :silly:) here. My brain and hands don't always coordinate. I've typed some very interesting things that way. :oops:

[snowbear]

I don't read text that's centered, an odd size or a different font as I see them as jarring. Text in a different color is fine for a line or two, but if it's a whole post then I skip that, too. For me, individuality is wonderful--just keep it to signatures, avatars, and profiles!

I do my best to keep my English free of slang, though I'm human and obviously make mistakes. I also break up my paragraphs because writing on the internet is very different than writing in real life or for schoolwork. Also, the Firefox spellchecker is absolutely wonderful. :inlove:


As for Lolcats, there is a whole thread where you are allowed to indulge in lol-speak to your heart's content. I, for one, am very grateful that lolcat speak is not allowed elsewhere except for the blogs.
That's actually why I started that thread. :lol: I figured it would do double-duty. I'm sneaky, I guess.

[Carolyn]

I don't read text that's centered, an odd size or a different font as I see them as jarring. Text in a different color is fine for a line or two, but if it's a whole post then I skip that, too. For me, individuality is wonderful--just keep it to signatures, avatars, and profiles!

I do my best to keep my English free of slang, though I'm human and obviously make mistakes. I also break up my paragraphs because writing on the internet is very different than writing in real life or for schoolwork. Also, the Firefox spellchecker is absolutely wonderful. :inlove:


That's actually why I started that thread. :lol: I figured it would do double-duty. I'm sneaky, I guess.And I thank you for starting that thread Miss Snowbear :flowers:

I love the Firefox spellchecker too. When I spell a word wrong it underlines it in a light red as I type. Often I can change my spelling right then. When I hit the "Check" button then it gives me suggestions for a correct spelling. I love it!

[Beldaran]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heidi_234
I second that! I find it just impossible to read posts like this, I skip them as well.

Wow, I had no idea. I thought it was the area around the head, above and close to the nape, ears, temples and forehead, the way a crown would sit on one's head. This it entirely new to me. Thanks.

You are welcome, my mom was a hairdresser and used to fuss about my "double crown" because it makes haircuts do weird things.
I just have to go way back and comment on this. To me, a crown is the part of your head that would touch the floor while doing a headstand. It's named for where a crown would sit, if it were parallel to the floor. People with no hair still have a crown. To be blunt and TMI, there is a medical term called "crowning" and it describes what is happening when you can finally SEE a baby that is in the process of being born, as the only part you can see is the crown of their head. (In a "normal" birth position) Otherwise the term "crown braid" would make no sense if it meant the swirls people have in their hair pattern.

Anyway, my biggest pet peeve is when people don't put a space after punctuation, be it commas, periods or exclimation points. The posts are otherwise correct in spelling and grammar, anyone know why this is done?

[Heidi_234]

I think the term "crown braid" and the term "crown" are not really related in this case. "Crown braid" doesn't really go well by your definition of "crown", because it would mean it the braid goes really high around the cortex of the head, and this is not true. It goes around the head, where I thought "crown" was.

[Beldaran]

I think the term "crown braid" and the term "crown" are not really related in this case. "Crown braid" doesn't really go well by your definition of "crown", because it would mean it the braid goes really high around the cortex of the head, and this is not true. It goes around the head, where I thought "crown" was.

A crown braid does go really high around the head, see here (http://www.dreamweaverbraiding.com/braids/crown.htm) and definition #9 here (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/crown).

[Heidi_234]

A crown braid does go really high around the head, see here (http://www.dreamweaverbraiding.com/braids/crown.htm) and definition #9 here (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/crown).
I was thinking about this one (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=78).

[Nightshade]

Well, according to the dictionary (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/crown)the crown in reference to the human head is:

6. a. The top or highest part of the head.
b. The head itself.

But then I found this too on a hairdressing site:
http://www.hairfinder.com/info/headanatomy.gif

Source (http://www.hairfinder.com/info/anatomyhead.htm)- which defines the crown as:
Crown: The Crown refers to the area at the upper back of the skull. The Crown begins at the point where the top of the head begins to curve downward to the back of the head and ends at the point just above the Occipital bone. It is a semi-circular area.

And I've heard the term double crown in reference to hair pattern, but never just "Crown", if it's a normal pattern I've only heard it called a "single crown."

ETA: Oh, and I consider a crown braid to be any braid that wraps around the head, regardless of where on the head it wraps, and no matter if it's a Dutch or French or English crown. They're just all sub-types to me.

ETAx2: So this is a crown braid too, in my opinion, as it wraps around the second "top of the back of the head" definition of crown:

http://blog.kievukraine.info/uploaded_images/3033-700713.jpg

/woot to Yulia V. Tymoshenko

[Heidi_234]

Nightshade, I agree with you. Crown braid has nothing much to do with "crown", it's a braid that goes around the head. :agree:

[Gutterfayrie]

Firefox has a spellchecker. ;)

(You can even add dictionaries of other languages, which is very useful if you don't write only in English. :D)


Thanks for the tip! I just installed the German dictionary' :cheese::cheese::cheese:

[WritingPrincess]

Anyway, my biggest pet peeve is when people don't put a space after punctuation, be it commas, periods or exclamation points. The posts are otherwise correct in spelling and grammar, anyone know why this is done?

That happens with me when I'm editing my post and I take out a sentence and I take both spaces accidentally. Maybe that's the reason. :shrug:

[Heidi_234]

btw, not really related - but annoying. People who don't embed pics in posts and paste links instead. I mean, if you got over 10, you could show 10 key ones in the post and link to others. But people usually have 4-5 pics, and they post links. It's irritating.

[florenonite]

btw, not really related - but annoying. People who don't embed pics in posts and paste links instead. I mean, if you got over 10, you could show 10 key ones in the post and link to others. But people usually have 4-5 pics, and they post links. It's irritating.

I post links because I don't have a photobucket, etc., and when I try and embed from my album it fails, for some reason. Of course, I'm technologically challenged, so that might be it.

[Heidi_234]

I post links because I don't have a photobucket, etc., and when I try and embed from my album it fails, for some reason. Of course, I'm technologically challenged, so that might be it.
Maybe because you try to embed photos from the album that is restricted to 'friends only'. Or you just take the address of the page where your pic is, instead the address of the pic itself?

[Beldaran]

That happens with me when I'm editing my post and I take out a sentence and I take both spaces accidentally. Maybe that's the reason. :shrug:

Oh no, this has to be intentional. It's not just one sentence, it's all of them. I was just pondering if some people get charged for texts by the word, so making a word like I'll do here,means you're not paying for "here" and "means"? Or do people get charged by the character, so leaving spaces out saves money? I'm assuming it's a left over habit from texting, otherwise I just don't get where it comes from, it would take me forver to try to type like that on purpose.

[florenonite]

Maybe because you try to embed photos from the album that is restricted to 'friends only'. Or you just take the address of the page where your pic is, instead the address of the pic itself?

I make sure they're not 'friends only' albums, but I probably am just taking the address of the page where the picture is - I can't seem to find any other :o

[Kuchen]

Some people don't want their photos to be directly on the net, I suppose.

[Tabitha]

I make sure they're not 'friends only' albums, but I probably am just taking the address of the page where the picture is - I can't seem to find any other :o

I had this yesterday then I remembered a post by Aisling somewhere - you have to right-click on the album picture to obtain the address using "properties" and use that, not the address that appears in the address bar when the picture is open on your page.

Erm ... does that make sense? Can't remember where Aisling posted so I will try and explain myself.

Eg. when this pic in my album is open, this is what shows in the address bar: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=2930&pictureid=36843

But that's not the link you need to make the picture appear - if you right-click on that picture and choose Properties> Location, you get this: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=2930&pictureid=36843

That is what I pasted into the box obtained by clicking the Picture icon (the one that looks like a postcard of a mountain scene).

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=2930&pictureid=36843

[Beldaran]

I make sure they're not 'friends only' albums, but I probably am just taking the address of the page where the picture is - I can't seem to find any other :o

Here you go. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=407338&postcount=17) It took me forever to figure out that it's apparently a known issue, and is fixable by altering the url after you paste it.

[florenonite]

I had this yesterday then I remembered a post by Aisling somewhere - you have to right-click on the album picture to obtain the address using "properties" and use that, not the address that appears in the address bar when the picture is open on your page.

Erm ... does that make sense? Can't remember where Aisling posted so I will try and explain myself.

Eg. when this pic in my album is open, this is what shows in the address bar: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=2930&pictureid=36843

But that's not the link you need to make the picture appear - if you right-click on that picture and choose Properties> Location, you get this: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=2930&pictureid=36843

That is what I pasted into the box obtained by clicking the Picture icon (the one that looks like a postcard of a mountain scene).

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=2930&pictureid=36843


Here you go. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=407338&postcount=17) It took me forever to figure out that it's apparently a known issue, and is fixable by altering the url after you paste it.

Thanks to both of you :D

[Heidi_234]

Some people don't want their photos to be directly on the net, I suppose.
If the photos are hosted on LHC, they won't show to guests or even new members.

[Nightshade]

And if you're using FireFox then you can just right click on the picture and select "Copy Image Location"

then click on this: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/images/editor/insertimage.gif

And paste the link in.

[Aisha25]

If the photos are hosted on LHC, they won't show to guests or even new members.
Oh really wow ok,that is how I am hosting my photos now, on LHC not photobucket.
So I guess newbies and guests wont see mine in threads then:)

[Tabitha]

If the photos are hosted on LHC, they won't show to guests or even new members.


Oh really wow ok,that is how I am hosting my photos now, on LHC not photobucket.
So I guess newbies and guests wont see mine in threads then:)

Aisha, If you just post a link, as Heidi is talking about, newbies and guests won't be able to see the pic if they click on it. However, if you do what we've just described to "embed" the picture in a post, anyone can see it - I just tested this by logging out and I can see that album photo of my PapaDonH sticks even as a guest. Not sure why it works that way :confused:

[Aisha25]

Oh ok well thats fine. Thank you Tabitha:flower:

[aisling]

Here you go. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=407338&postcount=17) It took me forever to figure out that it's apparently a known issue, and is fixable by altering the url after you paste it.

It's not an issue with the forum software, it's a known issue with users not knowing which is which ;) As Tabitha said, you get the picture URL to show up correctly is you right click on the photo and copy the URL you find there.

[Für immer]

I maybe just stupid, but I don't get you..
Do you mean that slang is forbidden on this site,
or did you mean something else?
Maybe my english just stinks..

[florenonite]

I maybe just stupid, but I don't get you..
Do you mean that slang is forbidden on this site,
or did you mean something else?
Maybe my english just stinks..

We're not allowed to use "textspeak", which is the sort of thing used in SMS messages and on some internet forums, when people type very phonetically, for instance "u hav 2 c dis fing" ("you have to see this thing"), because it's difficult to understand.

Slang is OK to an extent. We have a lot of our own slang/abbreviations on this site, and people tend to use fairly well-known slang terms, too. Essentially everything we say here should either be defined either on this site (I think there's a section on abbreviations) or in a dictionary.

However, as I'm assuming English isn't your first language (though your English does not stink in the slightest!) you ought to be fine; these rules are put in place specifically for people for whom English is not their first language to make it easier to understand what people are saying.

[hockeygirl256]

Wow, I didn't realize that there was such a strong community of english as a second language people. I will definitely tighten up my spelling ;)

[abritta3]

Great advice! We should all be showing some respect.

[Nightshade]

Question :) I thought I'd ask it here rather than starting a new thread on site support.

I'm really not keen on the posts with large colored fonts. I don't suppose there's a way to not see those formatted that way and make them all Arial in black?

I'd hate to not see some of the other formatting that helps read a post, but the ones with HUGE font in vivid colors are hard to read.

[snowbear]

Question :) I thought I'd ask it here rather than starting a new thread on site support.

I'm really not keen on the posts with large colored fonts. I don't suppose there's a way to not see those formatted that way and make them all Arial in black?

I'd hate to not see some of the other formatting that helps read a post, but the ones with HUGE font in vivid colors are hard to read.
Option one: Put them on ignore.
Option two: If you're using Firefox, set default text via Tools>Options>Content

There are a few more threads on this in Site Support. I'll try to find them.

[Juliabean]

A reminder I would have loved to see on another forum I frequent!

[Nightshade]

Option one: Put them on ignore.
Option two: If you're using Firefox, set default text via Tools>Options>Content

There are a few more threads on this in Site Support. I'll try to find them.

Woot to FF.

I'd hate to put them on ignore, but I may actually read the posts if they didn't bother my eyes so much! :o

[enfys]

What does setting to ignore mean, and how is it done? I struggle with those bright colours too. And big writing. And funny fonts.

[Nightshade]

Putting someone on ignore means that you see that they posted, but not their post unless you click on text that says, "View Post".

I think.

I dont' have anyone on ignore :lol:

[Carolyn]

Putting someone on ignore means that you see that they posted, but not their post unless you click on text that says, "View Post".

I think.

I dont' have anyone on ignore :lol:You are correct, Miss Nightshade. Often curiosity gets the better of me and I just have to see what the ignoree has posted. 99% of the time I'm sorry I looked. But you can look if you want. You have to decide whether to click VIEW POST or not.

[snowbear]

Putting someone on ignore means that you see that they posted, but not their post unless you click on text that says, "View Post".

I think.

I dont' have anyone on ignore :lol:
Correct. You also do not see their avatars or signatures.

[Nightshade]

Correct. You also do not see their avatars or signatures.

Ahh, I didn't know that. :) Adblock solve that issue neatly too.

[snowbear]

Ahh, I didn't know that. :) Adblock solve that issue neatly too.
Now you know! :)

All you see is their username, and "view post". No special colors, no images, nothing.

[Nightshade]

The thing is it isn't their posts that are annoying, just the color/font/size they're in. I'm not sure there's an ideal solution.

[Heidi_234]

The thing is it isn't their posts that are annoying, just the color/font/size they're in. I'm not sure there's an ideal solution.
There are so many people complaining about color/font problems of certain members, can't you just organize an intervention and get it over with? :p

[Nightshade]

There are so many people complaining about color/font problems of certain members, can't you just organize an intervention and get it over with? :p

LOL tempting but I don't feel like being reminded that it wouldn't be considered nice ;) :lol:

[eadwine]

I wouldn't mind if colored fonts and different font types would be disabled. Font sizes I don't really mind so much as long as they are not all in bold.

There is also a style option in the browsers, you might want to take a look at that. You can make it so your style sheet is used on webpages instead of the site's. But even that is tinkertinker not 100% perfect though.

[Rae~]

I agree with the dislike of coloured fonts, large sizes etc, and I don't consider adjusting my browser defaults to be a real option - I don't see why my browsing of other sites should be affected by a few individuals on this site (assuming my assumption that the defaults apply to ALL websites, is correct?).

I just scroll really quickly past the posts that use non-standard fonts and colours as their default. I guess I miss out on their valuable input, but if it saves my eyes and a few headaches, I can live with that.

[kwaniesiam]

I'd also like it if posts were only able to be set in the default font. Siggies, profiles, etc. are okay, but often I skip over a post with odd, large fonts in bright colors because its too difficult to read and really distracting.

[Calista]

Me too! (says she, trying to make this a ten-character post)

[Calista]

One other thing I´ve been thinking about: I find it really helpful to have an idea of where people are located. It gives one an idea of their general background, if English is their first language or not, and also of the range of products they have access to and so on. Things like "in my bed" or "over here" as a location are quite witty but defy the purpose of this profile field IMO. Another thing is abbreviations. "Aus" can mean either Austria or Australia, which are two different countries on opposite ends of the planet. Not everyone is familiar with the abbreviations of the U.S. states or is indeed aware that KY, MN or OR are supposed to be states within the USA ;). I would find it helpful if people would at least put down their country. And also polite, considering that non-U.S. members are a not-so-small minority here.

[Heidi_234]

I'd also like it if posts were only able to be set in the default font. Siggies, profiles, etc. are okay, but often I skip over a post with odd, large fonts in bright colors because its too difficult to read and really distracting.
But what if for the sake of a certain post you'll need colors, and different fonts or sizes? Why would you or I get hurt because some members can't take thick hints?

[Nightshade]

The thing is there are some posts (especially articles) where the use for formatting font and colors can do a lot to organize and clarify information.

I'd settle for Comic San's head on a pike, though :lol:

[florenonite]

One other thing I´ve been thinking about: I find it really helpful to have an idea of where people are located. It gives one an idea of their general background, if English is their first language or not, and also of the range of products they have access to and so on. Things like "in my bed" or "over here" as a location are quite witty but defy the purpose of this profile field IMO. Another thing is abbreviations. "Aus" can mean either Austria or Australia, which are two different countries on opposite ends of the planet. Not everyone is familiar with the abbreviations of the U.S. states or is indeed aware that KY, MN or OR are supposed to be states within the USA ;). I would find it helpful if people would at least put down their country. And also polite, considering that non-U.S. members are a not-so-small minority here.

I get so confused by the US state abbreviations. Seriously, it's taken me months to work out where people live because of the abbrevations. Also, CA to me is Canada, not California :p

[Calista]

I get so confused by the US state abbreviations. Seriously, it's taken me months to work out where people live because of the abbrevations. Also, CA to me is Canada, not California :p
Yes, if I put "HH" in my profile (which is the license plate number for Hamburg, as practically everyone in Germany knows) people would be very confused. Yet it seems the world at large is supposed to know what "OR" is. Or "Pacific Northwest" - for heaven´s sake, the Pacific ocean is huge, it could be anywhere! :shrug:

Sorry, this was not supposed to become a rant. :lol:

[florenonite]

Yes, if I put "HH" in my profile (which is the license plate number for Hamburg, as practically everyone in Germany knows) people would be very confused. Yet it seems the world at large is supposed to know what "OR" is. Or "Pacific Northwest" - for heaven´s sake, the Pacific ocean is huge, it could be anywhere! :shrug:

Sorry, this was not supposed to become a rant. :lol:

Ah, but don't you realise? The US is the centre of the earth, and by far the most important country, and therefore we should all worship it because Americans are so much better than us :p

Nah, honestly the reason I think it tends to just be the Americans doing it is because this is an American board, with a majority of the members Americans, so while you as a German know most members wouldn't know what HH meant, they as members of the majority might make the assumption that most people know what they're talking about.

[aisling]

One other thing I´ve been thinking about: I find it really helpful to have an idea of where people are located. It gives one an idea of their general background, if English is their first language or not, and also of the range of products they have access to and so on. Things like "in my bed" or "over here" as a location are quite witty but defy the purpose of this profile field IMO. Another thing is abbreviations. "Aus" can mean either Austria or Australia, which are two different countries on opposite ends of the planet. Not everyone is familiar with the abbreviations of the U.S. states or is indeed aware that KY, MN or OR are supposed to be states within the USA ;). I would find it helpful if people would at least put down their country. And also polite, considering that non-U.S. members are a not-so-small minority here.

Ahh, a pet peeve of mine as well, on this board and other. I've noticed that non-Americans tend to be better with correct locations, if you see "in my bed", I always assume the bed is somewhere in the US :p KY on the other hand makes me think of a certain jelly...

*is off to change her location to "Varsinaissuomi", try to say that out loud :lol:"

[Nightshade]

My location is actually from a book, and I was just reluctant to put up my real location :)

I suppose I could put : Terre D'Ange (USA) there so people stop assuming I'm French, though :lol:

[Just_Isabel]

One other thing I´ve been thinking about: I find it really helpful to have an idea of where people are located. It gives one an idea of their general background, if English is their first language or not, and also of the range of products they have access to and so on. Things like "in my bed" or "over here" as a location are quite witty but defy the purpose of this profile field IMO. Another thing is abbreviations. "Aus" can mean either Austria or Australia, which are two different countries on opposite ends of the planet. Not everyone is familiar with the abbreviations of the U.S. states or is indeed aware that KY, MN or OR are supposed to be states within the USA ;). I would find it helpful if people would at least put down their country. And also polite, considering that non-U.S. members are a not-so-small minority here.

Some people may not want to have their location on their profile. While something like "in my bed" gives you no useful geographic information, it isn't harmful in any way, either, and I think that the positives of having the flexibility to write what you want in the location field makes up for any frustration it may also cause. :)

In short: a vote against changing it. :p



But what if for the sake of a certain post you'll need colors, and different fonts or sizes? Why would you or I get hurt because some members can't take thick hints?

What she said.
I also don't read posts with fonts that annoy me or hurt my eyes, but I don't think you can restrict that without taking our ability to use different styles and colors for other purpose (emphasis, etc.).

It is probably enough to warn members who change all the font of their posts that some of us may not read what they have to say just because of that. Then they can choose what's more important to them: being read or using the fonts they like. :shrug:


KY on the other hand makes me think of a certain jelly...

LOL Me, too! :laugh:

[Heidi_234]

Some people may not want to have their location on their profile. While something like "in my bed" gives you no useful geographic information, it isn't harmful in any way, either, and I think that the positives of having the flexibility to write what you want in the location field makes up for any frustration it may also cause. :)

In short: a vote against changing it. :p


What she said. :hifive:
Hehe. I'm very concerned about privacy over the net. I would never have a public profile with my face and full real name all over it (I don't have facebook, I don't keep a blog, I don't do youtube videos or twit on twitter). My name (maybe I should have come up with a real nickname? too late for that :doh:) is not very common where I live, I feel like combining it with the country makes it so easy to find me. :shudder:
If the location field will be changed to country list I'd have to put a lie. I would say I'm from some random state at the US, and that would be a bold unessesary lie. You better have people hide their real location than to lie about it.

Regarding the font/color problem I think the best thing to to is to hit the report botton, on every songle post done like that. When the mods will see this particular member's posts get reported over the color/font/size thing so much by many members, they'll notify the member to stop. Adding a rule that changing the entire post's color, font and size setting consistantly on porpouse is not allowed could help too. :shrug:

[Calista]

Honestly guys, just how much of your privacy are you going to give up by stating that you´re from the USA? :ponder:

[snowbear]

Honestly guys, just how much of your privacy are you going to give up by stating that you´re from the USA? :ponder:
None, really. It's a large country (I've driven across it twice!), and most people give away more information in their posts than they do in their location listed in their profile. Unless they're in witness protection, or something similar, I would think it would be fine.

For me, I put in a regional location, yet it covers millions of people so I feel I'm safe. I also added "USA" a while back, since while I live in a famous state, I didn't think it was fair to assume everyone knows where it is.

[aisling]

Honestly guys, just how much of your privacy are you going to give up by stating that you´re from the USA? :ponder:

Or Europe, that would also hint that your mother tongue might not be English, which is very helpful to know many times and can explain things. That's my main reason to check location, trying to figure out if English is likely to be the first language for a poster or not.

[Just_Isabel]

Honestly guys, just how much of your privacy are you going to give up by stating that you´re from the USA? :ponder:

I'm not from the USA and I won't put where I live in my profile. :p
If we had a country list I'd leave it blank. Writing what I want lets me at least write the continent I'm from under my location. And some may even be more specific than that (and write something like "Pacific Northwest", or "Scandinavia"), but still not want to write their exact state / country. Some are more specific, like Snowbear (southern California instead of just Cali).
A country list, even if it includes USA's and Canada's states, can never give you as much flexibility as we have now. If a member doesn't want their location to be viewable by anyone who comes to this forum, you can't make them.

Besides, when it is relevant, many posters can (and do, I've seen it) also give some hints in posts / threads to help the people who want to give them advice, even if they just say that they're not in the US or something like that. Also, you can always ask. ;) If someone is asking for advice with hair products or whatever, there's no harm in asking them where they live. The poster can then answer according to her/his comfort level.

[Calista]

I'm not from the USA...writing what I want lets me at least write the continent I'm from under my location. And some may even be more specific than that (and write something like "Pacific Northwest")...
I know you´re not. ;) And I wasn´t requesting a mandatory country list. What I was hoping for was making people give some useful information by their own free will. See, "somewhere in the EU" is useful information for me. "Pacific Northwest" is not. It´s not more specific, but less specific, because I simply don´t know where it is. It is a group of islands in the Northwest Pacific we´re talking about here? Or maybe it is the West coast of the USA - which would not be the Northwest Pacific at all, but the Northeast Pacific. :shrug: And "KY" could be a town in South Korea for all I know.

[Just_Isabel]

I know you´re not. ;) And I wasn´t requesting a mandatory country list. What I was hoping for was making people give some useful information by their own free will. See, "somewhere in the EU" is useful information for me. "Pacific Northwest" is not. It´s not more specific, but less specific, because I simply don´t know where it is. It is a group of islands in the Northwest Pacific we´re talking about here? Or maybe it is the West coast of the USA - which would not be the Northwest Pacific at all, but the Northeast Pacific. :shrug: And "KY" could be a town in South Korea for all I know.

I thought that the Pacific Northwest was a group of states?

Ok, I wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_northwest)'ed it:

The Pacific Northwest is a region in the northwest of North America (the term refers to the land, not the ocean). There are several partially overlapping definitions, but they always include the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon.

There. Now we know what it is. :lol:

About what to do about the unclear locations... maybe we could have something like this reminder but about how not everyone may know what the abbreviations mean?

Things like "Pacific Northwest" don't really bother me because they're easy to google / wiki. A two-letter abbreviation is harder because it has a lot more possible meanings, but I usually assume that they're somewhere in north America (non-Americans tend to assume that most people won't know what they mean ;)) and that also tells me something about where a certain poster is from. :cool: :p

[Calista]

Yes, I can Google, I can Wiki, or I can assume. I still think it´s common courtesy not to make others go out of their way to do it. I don´t see non-US members doing it, but I guess it´s just a sensitive subject for me. ;)

But I really don´t want to blow this up out of all proportion. Obviously I´ve been putting up with it for close on four years.

[Raederle]

Yes, I can Google, I can Wiki, or I can assume. I still think it´s common courtesy not to make others go out of their way to do it. I don´t see non-US members doing it, but I guess it´s just a sensitive subject for me. ;)

But I really don´t want to blow this up out of all proportion. Obviously I´ve been putting up with it for close on four years.

I think you raised a good point, and one I've come up against. I've seen recommendations for products or stores to shop for said products only to have the OP inform that those stores aren't available in wherever they do live.

At any rate, I've added USA to my profile. I'm embarrassed to admit that I thought Southern California identified the USA, but, of course, that's assuming. ;)

[Calista]

Even I know where Southern California is :o, and it helps immensely to have it spelled out. But someone has "Georgia" as their location, and to this day I haven´t figured out if it is Georgia, the country or Georgia, the U.S. state.

[Anje]

But what if for the sake of a certain post you'll need colors, and different fonts or sizes? Why would you or I get hurt because some members can't take thick hints?


The thing is there are some posts (especially articles) where the use for formatting font and colors can do a lot to organize and clarify information.

I'd settle for Comic San's head on a pike, though :lol:

Hmmm.... Are any of you familiar with "bookmarklets"? They're these little javascripts that you can place in your bookmarks, and you can use them to alter the page to be more to your liking. "Zap colors" and "Zap Presentational HTML" on this page (https://www.squarefree.com/bookmarklets/zap.html) would work well. You can also modify them....

ETA: For example, copy the following and put it in the location for a bookmark. It's just the Zap Presentational HTML link, but it won't change alignment (so people's siggies remain centered, and so on.)

javascript:(function(){var%20H=["bgcolor","bgColor","background","color","text","alink","vlink"],Y={FONT:1,CENTER:1},d=[],p;%20function%20R(N){var%20a,x,i,t;%20if(t=N.tagN ame){%20t=t.toUpperCase();%20for%20(i=0;a=H[i];++i)if(N.getAttribute(a))N.removeAttribute(a);%20 for(i=0;x=N.childNodes[i];++i)R(x);%20if%20(Y[t])d.push(N);%20}%20}%20R(document.documentElement); %20for%20(i=0;N=d[i];++i)%20{%20p=N.parentNode;%20while(N.firstChild)p .insertBefore(N.firstChild,N);%20p.removeChild(N); %20}%20})()
ETA2: It's also worth noting that hitting the escape key will freeze animated gifs, if they're annoying you.

[Nightshade]

Anje- That's so cool! Thank you :)

And I love the Esc trick. If an animated siggy is only mildly annoying I'll do that. If it's REALLY annoying I just adblock it.

[Pierre]

WA could be Washington or Western Australia.
AL, MA, MS, MT, PA, PR, and SC are all in both the United States and Brazil.
Most people would understand Armenia to be next to Georgia (Tbilisi, not Atlanta, of course), but I know someone from Armenia, Colombia.

[eadwine]

ETA: For example, copy the following and put it in the location for a bookmark. It's just the Zap Presentational HTML link, but it won't change alignment (so people's siggies remain centered, and so on.)

javascript:(function(){var%20H=["bgcolor","bgColor","background","color","text","alink","vlink"],Y={FONT:1,CENTER:1},d=[],p;%20function%20R(N){var%20a,x,i,t;%20if(t=N.tagN ame){%20t=t.toUpperCase();%20for%20(i=0;a=H[i];++i)if(N.getAttribute(a))N.removeAttribute(a);%20 for(i=0;x=N.childNodes[i];++i)R(x);%20if%20(Y[t])d.push(N);%20}%20}%20R(document.documentElement); %20for%20(i=0;N=d[i];++i)%20{%20p=N.parentNode;%20while(N.firstChild)p .insertBefore(N.firstChild,N);%20p.removeChild(N); %20}%20})()




This works great! Thanks!


I wish that I could manage to put it in a user.js file so I could load that as a script just for LHC in Opera. Tried, no such luck just yet.

[maaria]

Thank you. Now I hope its easier to read and understand in this forum!!

[zombi]

I find even UK/USA English translations to be a bit much, so I can only imagine how hard it is to figure out slang etc.

The only time I slip up is when I say "ych a fi!" not yuck, because it's one of the few Welsh words I use without thinking. Oh, and "cwtch" for cuddle.

So sorry if I say things like that. I don't mean to confuse anyone. It'd be easier if you weren't all so good at English that I forgot it's not your native language!

This has nothing to do with anything, but Welsh is endlessly fascinating and slightly terrifying to me. It seems like it'd be so hard to learn!

[Teacherbear]

Please note the ETA in the original post of this thread.

Thanks.

:cheese:

[snowbear]

Please note the ETA in the original post of this thread.

Thanks.

:cheese:
:bowtome: Thank you!

[dawnss]

Thank you, it is so nice to come to a forum where people are encouraged to use correct english, not instant message language.

[Fortymumble]

I love that the correct use of punctuation and language is encouraged. I'm getting terribly weary of seeing textspeak everywhere. =)

I've joined the Community today and it is going to take me a wee while to work my way around. =)

[IStand4u]

Thanks for letter me know this, I'm new here and now that I know I'll be sure to use my proper spelling and grammar here (as much as I know how to anyway). :)

[kumar.lovely4u]

Thanks for the information...

[Themis]

Hmmm.... Are any of you familiar with "bookmarklets"? They're these little javascripts that you can place in your bookmarks, and you can use them to alter the page to be more to your liking. "Zap colors" and "Zap Presentational HTML" on this page (https://www.squarefree.com/bookmarklets/zap.html) would work well. You can also modify them....

ETA: For example, copy the following and put it in the location for a bookmark. It's just the Zap Presentational HTML link, but it won't change alignment (so people's siggies remain centered, and so on.)

javascript:(function(){var%20H=["bgcolor","bgColor","background","color","text","alink","vlink"],Y={FONT:1,CENTER:1},d=[],p;%20function%20R(N){var%20a,x,i,t;%20if(t=N.tagN ame){%20t=t.toUpperCase();%20for%20(i=0;a=H[i];++i)if(N.getAttribute(a))N.removeAttribute(a);%20 for(i=0;x=N.childNodes[i];++i)R(x);%20if%20(Y[t])d.push(N);%20}%20}%20R(document.documentElement); %20for%20(i=0;N=d[i];++i)%20{%20p=N.parentNode;%20while(N.firstChild)p .insertBefore(N.firstChild,N);%20p.removeChild(N); %20}%20})()ETA2: It's also worth noting that hitting the escape key will freeze animated gifs, if they're annoying you.
This is great info, especially the simple ESC trick to freeze animated GIFs. You've just enhanced my browsing experience on multiple forums - thank you!

[Heidi_234]

Wall of text (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wall%20of%20text) :laugh:

[florenonite]

Wall of text (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wall%20of%20text) :laugh:

I love Urban Dictionary :lol:

[Heidi_234]

I love Urban Dictionary :lol:
Me too! Alot! :D

[truwave]

Thanks a bunch

[lexiflowers]

I find even UK/USA English translations to be a bit much, so I can only imagine how hard it is to figure out slang etc.

The only time I slip up is when I say "ych a fi!" not yuck, because it's one of the few Welsh words I use without thinking. Oh, and "cwtch" for cuddle.

So sorry if I say things like that. I don't mean to confuse anyone. It'd be easier if you weren't all so good at English that I forgot it's not your native language!


Yay for cwtches! :) That's the kind of word I think it's good to spread around, so much nicer than a hug or a cuddle. Do you actually speak Welsh? I don't (grew up in England anyway) but words like "cwtch" made it into my day-to-day vocabulary thanks to my parents and grandparents. :)

[enfys]

Yay for cwtches! :) That's the kind of word I think it's good to spread around, so much nicer than a hug or a cuddle. Do you actually speak Welsh? I don't (grew up in England anyway) but words like "cwtch" made it into my day-to-day vocabulary thanks to my parents and grandparents. :)

I don't speak much Welsh because Cardiff is too close to England, but DH went to a Welsh school so he helps me out and we try and speak Welsh to each other to not get too rusty! I think cwtches is the easiest word to carry into real life though.

[Heidi_234]

How do you pronounce cwtch?

[florenonite]

How do you pronounce cwtch?

Exactly what I was wondering!

Welsh is a funny language. Beautiful, but impossible for non-speakers to pronounce.

[enfys]

Cwtch rhymes with butch, ironically.

[Heidi_234]

Cwtch rhymes with butch, ironically.
Ah-hah! Thanks! I read it like 'cwetch', which sounds like squashing something (or someone lol) :lol:

[Pierre]

So if you cuddle and tickle at the same time, you cwtchi-cwtchi-cw?

[enfys]

Yup, that's about right!

[Marjolein]

Off topic: So, I'm still not sure how to pronouce cwtch. Is it "kwootsj" or "swootsj" or even something completely different?

I can totally see myself going to Wales and greeting everybody with Cwtch!! Would make a lot of friends probably ;)

On topic: For me as a Dutchie text language can be difficult to understand, and I often have to check google before I can continue reading. Not really a huge problem, quite informative actually, but it can be bothersome. So I'm very happy you're warning native speakers about that.

And off topic again: Never had a problem with LOL, since the word "lol" means "fun" in Dutch.

[MissMandyElizab]

thanks working on it but thanks for the reminder and the understanding

[craftybunn]

Thanks for the reminder about proper spelling and grammar. I will also try harder to stay congnisant of this.

[beachlover]

Thank you for the reminder!

[JenniferNoel]

I try my hardest. I may not have a huge vocabulary, however, I can indeed speak the King's English when necessary. :p
And oh, what would I do without spell check. That's what you get for not being a reader. LOL.

[Chestershire]

Amen!
English is my third language.

[ArcticNights]

Thank you for this, it is quite hard for me to follow the discussions here b/c I`m not english. Trying to figure out the all the letter-codes makes me ???? ;-)

So far I know what SMT is, and I`m exited :-)

[YesitsReal]

How do you pronounce cwtch?


Exactly what I was wondering!

Welsh is a funny language. Beautiful, but impossible for non-speakers to pronounce.


Just like Gaelic. I know a few phrases, but please, don't ask me to spell or even read them! WAY too many silent letters, diphthongs, and whatnot! That's why I like German! I can read it, even if I don't know what it says all the time. :cheese:

[Aurantia]

I have to say I love this rule. :heartbeat:

Though my spoken diction is downright lax, for some unfathomable reason my writing style is verbose and formal even in text messages. Give me a keyboard and I instantly turn into a stodgy librarian from 1948. Not only does wall of text, lolspeak and poor grammar drive me nuts but no matter how hard I try I simply can. not. adapt.

Strict grammar policies not only soothe the soul and welcome non-native speakers, they help weirdos such as myself feel like less of a dork! :D

[halo_tightens]

Though my spoken diction is downright lax, for some unfathomable reason my writing style is verbose and formal even in text messages. Give me a keyboard and I instantly turn into a stodgy librarian from 1948.

That made me smile! I'm the only person I know of who uses capital letters and punctuation, and spells out all words in full, when text messaging. :D

[jane53]

That made me smile! I'm the only person I know of who uses capital letters and punctuation, and spells out all words in full, when text messaging. :D


Well, you sort of know me, in a cyber way, and I use capital letters, fully spelled-out words, and correct punctuation in text messages. And I text message a lot!

[florenonite]

Just like Gaelic. I know a few phrases, but please, don't ask me to spell or even read them! WAY too many silent letters, diphthongs, and whatnot! That's why I like German! I can read it, even if I don't know what it says all the time. :cheese:

I can read Gaelic ok (in terms of pronunciation, not comprehension), I just can't write it :lol:

[Aurantia]

halo_tightens & jane53, ladies, it's nice to see some kindred souls!

jane, I text message all day long, too. I think I'm getting carpal tunnel from my phone. :rolleyes:

[Pimpernel]

I didn't realize there were so many non-native English speakers on here. Reading through the thread, I did learn a lot of terms that I as a native speaker didn't even know.

[May]

Dear Members,


You may have noticed a few moderators using textspeak last week, as an April Fool's Day prank. That was in NO way intended to imply that we condone such writing. It was a one-day bunch of silliness, nothing more. We returned immediately non-textspeak, non-lolcatz writing style, and expect the same from all our members.


So do you you say not as you do? lol. Just kidding :D

[wasf1675]

So far I know what SMT is, and I`m exited :-)

You've got one on me. I do not know what that stands for and am horrible at cyber speak. So from the newbie, thanks for the rule. It is appreciated.

[Gumball]

You've got one on me. I do not know what that stands for and am horrible at cyber speak. So from the newbie, thanks for the rule. It is appreciated.

It's not cyber speak, per se, but references something in the forum (a hair moisturizing recipe). You can read the common abbreviations used here on this article (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=10).

[WilloTheWisp]

^ Thanks for the link Gumball, I didn't even get to ask about all the abbreviations, it really helps me :) there's so much information and discussions here I get confused pretty fast...
Where can I find the discussions I've already taken part in? Is there a list somewhere in my profile(which I can't see due to lack of posts)?

[Gumball]

^ Thanks for the link Gumball, I didn't even get to ask about all the abbreviations, it really helps me :) there's so much information and discussions here I get confused pretty fast...
Where can I find the discussions I've already taken part in? Is there a list somewhere in my profile(which I can't see due to lack of posts)?

If you look to the left of your posts you'll see your name. Click on your name and a small menu will open up. You can click on "Find More Posts By WilloTheWisp" and you will be taken to a search page that looks at every post you've made. That way you can see where you've posted.

When you get 25+ posts and moderator approval you can change your settings to subscribe to threads you've posted in. If you do that, you can then look at your subscriptions to keep track of stuff.

Also later on you can search for your username using the search at the top right of the screen, clicking on Show Posts instead of Show Threads. In that way, you can see instances of your name being mentioned (like when people quote you in a reply like I did).

[julia941]

I'm a native English speaker and I cannot stand text speak or lol-cat speak (that one really bugs me). It seems that spelling and punctuation have become a lost art in the digital age and I am glad that there are sites like this with like-minded people fighting valiantly against this assault on the English language. It matters. Thank you and keep up the good work. Good grammar costs nothing!

[dreamy10]

yikes! sure glad I read this reminder.

[Pixna]

I'm a native English speaker and I cannot stand text speak or lol-cat speak (that one really bugs me). It seems that spelling and punctuation have become a lost art in the digital age and I am glad that there are sites like this with like-minded people fighting valiantly against this assault on the English language. It matters. Thank you and keep up the good work. Good grammar costs nothing!

I agree ... but what is "lol-cat speak"?

[strwbrry dakri]

I agree ... but what is "lol-cat speak"?

www.icanhascheezeburger.com

Cute pictures of animals - mostly cats, hence LOL (laugh out loud) cat) - that humans have captioned with misspelled versions of words. Those misspellings are theoretically the way that cats would spell. I must admit that I am addicted to the silliness myself!

[Pixna]

Aha! Thanks, strwbrry dakri. Although I can't say I like the misspellings, that video about the mama cat adopting a squirrel was outstanding!

[strwbrry dakri]

Be careful Pixna, you can spend a lot of time looking at cute little animals, and we all know where being addicted to a website will lead...:agree:

[lorenaluo]

Dear Members,
We've noticed a trend in the last months, that members are getting a little lax in their use of capitalization, punctuation, proper spelling, etc. Please review the Site Guidelines (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=4005), and check out this post (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/announcement.php?f=9&a=3) to let you know just WHY those rules are in place. Basically, it is to make the site easier for our "English as a second (third, fourth) language" members to be able to participate fully, by our use of words that they'd be able to find in a dictionary.

You may have noticed a few moderators using textspeak last week, as an April Fool's Day prank. That was in NO way intended to imply that we condone such writing. It was a one-day bunch of silliness, nothing more. We returned immediately non-textspeak, non-lolcatz writing style, and expect the same from all our members.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter -- it makes the site easier for everyone to read and understand!


Edited to Add:
We would like to request that members consider posting in standard-sized black font. We have members who have difficulty reading the various colors and smaller sizes. The contrast between the site's background and various font colors make it difficult to read. This is not a rule, just a suggestion.

I have been struggling with slang words in the past, and Internet short words also. At one point I even bought a slang dictionary to keep on top of things. But that was long before LHC. I really appreciate the effort of caring for all members here.