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Although they may be useful on mobile phones, to avoid the cost of speaking, and to save time due to the totally inadequate keyboards, - oh, and of course to save time while typing in chat rooms and on forums, - they erode, and cause deterioration of the language.

On a site like this, the asking of questions, and answering them, depends on understanding and being understood. There are a vast number of Blender users to whom English is their second language, and it can be quite a difficult language to learn! Why throw in 'curve balls' which, even to English speaking people, can be hard to understand?

There are times when I'm not sure whether I'm reading a typing error or a 'text'! We should try to keep it clean and precise (or we'll end up with no language at all!).

I post this at the risk of upsetting a few 'lazy' people. :)

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  • $\begingroup$ Yeah.. this is a bad habit.. blame it on english itself! This is not something that can be easily 'fixed' however and it is prevalent everywhere, not just here. While abbreviations are suitable and intended for chats etc., they tend to creep in our everyday writings and even speech. We can discourage it.. but to what extent, it's not a rule is it? They say if you can't beat something, go along with it.. and teaching english is not the point of this site either. $\endgroup$
    – iKlsR
    Jul 12, 2013 at 23:18
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    $\begingroup$ @iKlsR Like this: OK, TIL, IIUC (FTR), WRT acronyms, they are not necessarily OT. OTOH, IMHO, PEBKAC - SCNR. ;) Wow, that IS easier!! I'm learning. :) or: OK, today I've learned, if I understand correctly (for the record), with regards to acronyms, they are not necessarily off topic. On the other hand, in my humble opinion, problem exists between the keyboard and the chair - Sorry, could not resist. ;) $\endgroup$
    – SteveW
    Jul 12, 2013 at 23:48
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    $\begingroup$ I don't think we need a stiff and straight rule against this, but if you see it, I doubt anyone would object a kindly edit converting the abbreviations to standard English. $\endgroup$
    – Luke_0
    Jul 13, 2013 at 2:05

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A few well-known abbreviations such as LOL, OTOH might not bother anyone, but stuff like "r u using cycles" puts pot holes in the road of reading for most of us.

Let's not have a harsh rule banning it, since we want this site to grow and newcomers need time to become familiar with what's preferred. Be nice; not everyone is coming from the same place. Do make it known, on the FAQ and in comments, that we frown upon textspeak.

Do allow users to edit slipshod English to be more readable.

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    $\begingroup$ +1 Not to mention FAQ is an abbreviation, also. $\endgroup$
    – Daniel Node.js
    Jul 15, 2013 at 17:12
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    $\begingroup$ I agree. The last thing I want is harsh rules. In fact, I find this site more than a bit overrun with rules and regulations for me! Really, all I am suggesting is that people should be discouraged from too much abbreviation. $\endgroup$
    – SteveW
    Jul 15, 2013 at 22:12
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Yes some abbreviations are OK especially when they are not replacing parts of 'speech', like NURBS, BSDF. etc.. Convenience to the writer of things like 'OTOH' ,however, is not as important as the negative effect of lost legibility.

Maybe this is related:
I'm surely not the only person to frown on capitalizing words mid sentence to place emphasis on something, The trick to making points is to avoid writing walls of text around them in the first place.

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  • $\begingroup$ I think you hit the nail on the head with: 'Convenience to the writer of things like 'OTOH' ,however, is not as important as the negative effect of lost legibility.'Nice one! :) $\endgroup$
    – SteveW
    Jul 20, 2013 at 4:33

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