OMG lrn2spl

I wanted to write about something delicious today, but I have to get some pictures to make it work. Instead I'm going to take a brief moment to beat other Paladins (and pretty much anyone else) about the head. Preferably with something large and heavy.

Here's my question and/or beef. When did spelling and writing go out of style? I'm no literary genius, hell I didn't even graduate college. I've got a fist full of technical certificates and a Certificate of Attendance from Joe's Tire College. I lean heavily on tools like spell-checker, and consult those that are English majors when I need to publish something technical. I do however take pride in not abusing the English language too often in my day to day writing.

Now you may be wondering where this tirade is coming from, or what incident finally pushed me over the edge. It wasn't a guild application (though those are likely culprits) as Parabola isn't recruiting, and we don't take applications. Unless Jesus Christ himself shows up (and he better be riding a raptor), our guild is stable and doesn't need any more idiots. We have one Canadian already (and he reeks of maple syrup).

I'm sorry to say that this current ranting was sparked by nothing more than a comment/answer left on the site EpicAdvice.com.

I'm sure it all started off innocently. Someone had a typo, and overnight Beacon of Light became Bacon of Light. Really? One letter? I can understand using abbreviations, especially when you're writing content aimed at a specific group of people. I would expect that any Paladin player reading this blog knows what JoL/JoW is, the difference between SoV and SoC, and what the recent changes to DS/DG mean for us. I expect that they know that BoL and SS should be on your tank at all times.

But BACON? I love bacon - with my pancakes (or a BLT - mmm). Do the folks that write this giggle when they do it? Tee-hee - I said Bacon of Light. AHAHAHA. Is that one extra keystroke saving them from a terminal case of carpal tunnel syndrome? "Leetspeak" has gotten out of control. If we keep dropping letters from our vocabulary we're going to eventually just type the letter A and have to decipher it.

Acceptable:
LF DPS H OK - Have Tank and Heals - fine, anyone who's been playing for a while can figure out that this person is Looking For DPS for Heroic Old Kingdom, and that they have a tank and healer already.

Unacceptable
LF DPS H OK - hv tnk/hlz - what the deuce is that?

It's gotten so bad my own mother sends texts that say "Hp ur doin wel - luv mom".

It makes a guy want to stab something.