Language Rant

[mbarrick]

What ever happened to using case correctly? What compels people to type in ALL CAPS, or no caps at all, or with RANDOM words CAPITALIZED? And punctuation? What about punctuation? I can live with a misplaced comma or the occasional misused semicolon, but no punctuation at all? Consider the readability of the following passages:

there were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face on the throne of england there were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a fair face on the throne of france in both countries it was clearer than crystal to the lords of the state preserves of loaves and fishes that things in general were settled for ever

THERE WERE A KING WITH A LARGE JAW AND A QUEEN WITH A PLAIN FACE ON THE THRONE OF ENGLAND THERE WERE A KING WITH A LARGE JAW AND A QUEEN WITH A FAIR FACE ON THE THRONE OF FRANCE IN BOTH COUNTRIES IT WAS CLEARER THAN CRYSTAL TO THE LORDS OF THE STATE PRESERVES OF LOAVES AND FISHES THAT THINGS IN GENERAL WERE SETTLED FOR EVER

There were a King with a LARGE jaw and a QUEEN with a plain face, on the throne of England. There were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a FAIR face, on the throne of France. In BOTH countries it was clearer than crystal to the lords of the State preserves of loaves and fishes, that things in general were SETTLED for ever.

Thiers a king w/ a lg jaw and a queen w/ a plain face on the throne of england. theirs a king w/ a large jaw and a queen w/ a fair face on the throne of france. In both countries it was clearer then crystal to the lords of the State preserves of loafs and fishs, that things in general were settled 4 ever.

There were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face, on the throne of England; there were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a fair face, on the throne of France. In both countries it was clearer than crystal to the lords of the State preserves of loaves and fishes, that things in general were settled for ever.

Yeah, I've been reading bulletin boards again. I've got to stop doing that. I need instead to spend more time reading correct English out of real, printed books before my own language skills deteriorate.

In case you are wondering why the passage sounds familar, it is the second paragraph of A Tale of Two Cities.