This has bothered me for some time...

I consistently come across forum posts that are difficult to read. Some are in text type, with everything abbreviated, and some are simply illegible-some both.

This is especially disturbing when the poster is from an English speaking country.

To the others, I appreciate the effort you make.

Therein lies the rub. There are some that try, with some difficulty, to express their views in a language other than their own.

Then, there are those of us raised "learning" English, that choose to murder the language, and, make it that much more difficult for others to understand.

If you are spending your time on a chess site, the 5 seconds you will save by writing erratically doesn't really matter-except to the people that (try to ) read it.

These forum posts post a reflection of you. One can certainly "hide" on the internet, but no one is taken seriously (even when joking) if a post looks like it is from a 1st grader.

wha ?, u talkin 'bout ?

Well, even if they have a little American flag icon you don't know what their first language is.  Also I think it has to do with typing proficiency.  If you can type well then most abbreviations like you = u actually take longer (for me anyway).

spllng n pnc2ashun be overrated n thats the truth

I, disagree, spelling and punctuation are very important; especially when you are trying to get an opinion or fact understood by others.  The language is difficult enough, even to those of us born and living in English speaking countries,  and does not need the distractions.   Just because you use abbreviation(s) does NOT mean that I will understand the word or phrase that abbreviation represents. 

.shit od em edam ock ?krow shit lliW

Well it's very important, perhaps even more important than spelling and punctuation, not to take too many things in these forums seriously, especially my comments.

.ton did I

bwaacrdks and scblreamd wloud be mroe itnsteeirng. >>

?ti daer nac uoy fi rdeonw I

BTW "this" slelepd bakcwdars ins't "shit"

And apparently those from hankas.

.pleH .ti pots t'nac I won dna, shit otni detrats em tog uoy. did uoY.

tihs

it msut eb omse effcets form yoru scrmblinag. >.<

well see I only do this because of the ratootle the el-checko, he is kind of annoying but would love to help this guy, his games are terrible and still learning. but it would be more helpful if he make some kind of effort with his sentence so we can understand him.    

Actually, this is easier to read than the backwards text.  ubt aybem htta si a ciyduflift inght?

Weird, you're right.

I'm bad at any kind of word game/manipulation in general.  It took a few tries to read the scrambled part for me.  If the first and last letter are the same it's so much easier ;)

 This is the point. I know starting this thread may make some trolls drool.

Sometimes, forum posts evolve into jokes between members. So be it. I have been a participant in many humorous back and forth segments.

My initial post is valid.

@waffle-typing proficiency doesn't matter. I think it may be part of the problem. Some may simply type so quickly and post they don't realize how their posts are viewed by others. They know what they mean, but, others may not.

"you" and "u" is a simple example of only one part of the problem. Are you that busy where you feel the need to write in text type? Those two seconds must be so valuable!!   

So you're saying it's just laziness or bad habits.  I think we can all agree on that.  It is frustrating when someone (online or otherwise) doesn't have the mind to understand how others are interpreting the situation.

TMIMITW- Some people are poor typists, and some people are poor spellers. Both are overcome by taking time to proof your comment before submitting, which it appears not many do. Those who are deliberate (other than in jest) generally don't have anything worthwhile to read so it isn't necessary to spend time deciphering it. Besides, nothing can be done about it other than ignoring it.

Quite often, people who are capable of making clear points with clean language choose to write ambiguously as a way of attracting attention. Give these people some attention (e.g. "What do you mean?"), and they'll let you in on their inner thoughts. Not a bad deal, is it? :)