Bondage Forums

Among other things, I'm a writer. I find the construction of words into a beautiful framework that paints a picture of someone else's vision a particular delight. I love the English language and I have a special enjoyment of well-written works. Why would W/we bastardize proper grammar? If Y/you need me to lower case my name, to upper case Yours, so that W/we will all know which of U/us is the dominant, I, frankly, find it pretty humorous, but a red flag nonetheless.

I realize that, in a chat site, the upper and lower casing of names gives an immediate indication of whether you're a submissive or dominant, so I can see the usefulness, but, too, I can see the usefulness in actually talking with someone and finding out about them, rather than making a determination based on the upper or lower-casing of their name.

There was a fun article (well, I thought it was fun) about butchered pronouns written by Lord Colm (Castle Realm), and I thought I'd include a portion of it here.

http://www.castlerealm.com/library/colmsoap2.shtml

On Curtseying Tarn Birds
and Butchered Pronouns

A much needed dose of reality
A soapbox speech by Lord Colm

It's a curious thing to observe. Sometimes disturbing, sometimes amusing. Always disappointing. The Web is a powerful medium of communication, particularly in the relatively closed society we refer to as the "BDSM community." Small bits of misinformation and misconception seem to spread like wildfire amongst the online BDSMers. So willingly they accept nearly any idea uttered in this digital world. Without thought to verifying, validating, or questioning, distortions are adopted as truth and transplanted onto yet another web site, perpetuating misperception. And in this world where "whatever one says is true--is true," a concept posted on more than one web site is suddenly transformed into a tradition dating back innumerable years.

Hogwash. Some things are facts. Some things aren't. Not accepting that something is a fact doesn't change the fact that it is a fact.

[snip]

Issue Two: Bizarre online customs that have no basis in reality or even rational adult thought. Let's examine some of the more wide-spread results of uninformed inbreeding.

B/butchered c/Capitalization: Personal pronouns seem to be quite a source of consternation. Dominants who refer to "Y/you," submissives who use "W/we" when referring to a mixed dominant/submissive couple. Even worse, some people are so clueless that they randomly mix capitalization of words that have no relation to the supposed intent of the practice. I don't know about you, dear reader, but I am fluent enough in the English language to be able to distinguish the proper meaning of personal pronouns. I don't need useless, grammatically incorrect capitalization and spelling to understand the written words of others.

I've always wondered what these people do when they are actually speaking. I envision it something like this: "You..capital y...you..lower case y all...upper case a...all..lower case a...are very kind. Thank you..upper case y..you...lower case y...for your...upper case y...your...lower case y...hospitality." It's absurd, to say the least. And it's just as absurd when written that way. Don't insult my intelligence by assuming that I can't tell when singular and collective personal pronouns are being used.
*****

I know that, for me, as soon as someone with whom I'm corresponding starts consistently addressing me as ricci and themselves as Domly Dude, I'm going to look closely at their online habits.

Having once, long ago, been addicted to chat (Did you know that you can change the options in Word so that it won't correct you when you lower-case the "I" as a pronoun, or even upper-casing the first letter of a sentence? I discovered that. Then, one day, I discovered, too, that even my business correspondence was reflecting this nonsense. That did it for me!), I'm overly cautious about chat babies (as I call them).

Very few people will admit how much time they spend in chat ('cause, I suspect, it would be a bit like saying, "I just sit and watch television all day. What do you do?"), so I look for symptoms.

For me, actions always speak louder than words, so, because I don't want an online relationship, I try to be aware of things like the pronouns that are indicators (to me) of how much time they spend online.

Ricci Joy

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Mod Note: MOved from BDSM Relationships

Edited by - firedaughter on 2004-06-12 07:22:56

ricci, I am glad you got that off your chest, I hope you feel better now. I bet that took a while to write!.. applauding you.
But, ricci, I have a suggestion for your profile as an introduction why don't you change "It's not a gift...it's a relationship!" to "Only masters of the English language apply within!"

I just can't type LOL

(And if I see another referrence to that cheesey site I think I will be violently ill.)
--
"Be good! at whatever you do"
'I have spread my dreams under your feet - tread softly because you tread on my dreams" WB Yeats

Focus49.

Three full stops is called an ellipsis, and it's a function of English punctuation. I don't think Ricci is trying to be the grammar police, she's just pointing out an internet convention that she dislikes. Ricci also didn't write all that much, most of that is an article written by Lord Colm that she has reposted here.

I've never much cared for the capital games that are played online; my own nick is only lowercase because I'm used to systems that ignore case in user names. I actively dislike the "slashed caps" (e.g Y/you W/we) because I find it actively interferes with the flow of reading and looks terrible.
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"The quality of doubting is rare among men, but a few choice souls are born with it."
--Anatole France

I so agree. This has nothing to do with grammar police. It's just that some of us think the deliberate butchering of language silly and ugly. And don't you think it's a delicious irony that people who pride themselves on going against society's flow, desperately need to create their own little conventions and protocols?
Off with their heads and into the trash bin I say! Delete delete delete ......
--
remodulate the energy fields and emit the anti protons

I agree completely.
--
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely
in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways,
thoroughly used, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming... "Fuck, what a
trip!"