Letter case usage

[Gopi Passiflora]

1. Do the way that upper case (capital) and lower case letters are used effect the way you perceive a message?

2. In terms of letter case, what's your preferred usage?

1. To me, ALL CAPS feels like an urgent message, whereas "all lowercase" is a more casual message.

2. If there's no rush I try to use "proper" capitalization. In something like a text or mobile message (like in Second Life), I may not even use caps at all (to communicate quicker.) I rarely use ALL CAPS. I use CamelCase for some of my usernames on MMOs (and Second Life).

[Pixie Kobichenko]

All caps= SCREAMING.  
Emphasis=bold

I have a bad habit of not checking before I hit send so ya get whatcha gets.

[Garnet Psaltery]

1.  ALL CAPS indicates shouting to me.  No caps at all hints that the speaker is in a hurry or is playing someone small, but if they incorporate 'u' for 'you' then I assume they are lazy.

2  Standard upper and lower case usage is my preferred means of communication.  I'll use lower caps sometimes when a Tiny.

[Sylvia Tamalyn]

1. I won't bother reading if someone is typing in ALL CAPS (or if they are using excessive punctuation!!!!!). It looks like the typist is frothing at the mouth, and likely saying something that I don't really care about. 

2. I use standard upper/lower case for emails, in forums, in Facebook posts, etc., where it's not a "real time" conversation. When chatting in SL or texting/messaging, I tend to just use lower case because it allows me to type more quickly. 

[Colt Leeder]

For me, unless you have limited access or ability to use a full sized keyboard, then correct punctuation should always be used. If someone has the ability to type upper and lower case then they should do so not only because it actually looks better and is easier to read but it also may make it easier to understand for those who may not have your language as their primary one.

Edited June 20, 2020 by Jon Nova

[Maitimo]

All caps looks like the person is screaming or yelling, and unless it's something like the title of a group notice, I will usually ignore it. I prefer proper grammatical capitalisation and punctuation but I confess to being lazy in SL chat.  I'm typing with one hand only, so I generally skip capitalisation altogether and type everything in lower case, including names. Toggling the shift key slows me down too much in a fast-paced conversation.

[Love Zhaoying]

MiXeD CaSe MaKeS It LoOk LiKe YoU ArE BeInG MoCkEd By A MeMe

 

[Selene Gregoire]

2 hours ago, Gopi Passiflora said:

1. Do the way that upper case (capital) and lower case letters are used effect the way you perceive a message?

2. In terms of letter case, what's your preferred usage?

1. To me, ALL CAPS feels like an urgent message, whereas "all lowercase" is a more casual message.

2. If there's no rush I try to use "proper" capitalization. In something like a text or mobile message (like in Second Life), I may not even use caps at all (to communicate quicker.) I rarely use ALL CAPS. I use CamelCase for some of my usernames on MMOs (and Second Life).

1. Of course. They're supposed to.

2. Correctly.

1. All caps is yelling, a sure fire way to get people's dander up.

2. I won't read anything with this CamelCase bull in it.

[Love Zhaoying]

2 minutes ago, Selene Gregoire said:

2. I won't read anything with this CamelCase bull in it.

 

[Lyssa Greymoon]

1. Yes.

2. I prefer standard usage. If I type something in all caps, it’s probably meant to be humorous. If I’m chatting and start typing without using the shift key, I’ve probably checked out of the conversation.

I avoid people who have a tendency to capitalize words that shouldn’t be.

[LittleMe Jewell]

I hate ALL CAPS and may choose to not even read it. 

I prefer proper capitalization.  I will excuse all lowercase it in the inworld chat, but only sometimes will I excuse it in IMs.  If I know that someone is not an English speaker, then I also give leeway for using all lowercase in forum posts, but only if the don't use run-on sentences and if they provide some paragraph breaks for longer posts. In other words, it must be readable.

I'll accept CamelCase in forum & game names, as I think that it is a valid way to distinguish multiple words in names -- as in LittleMe.

 

Edited June 20, 2020 by LittleMe Jewell

[BelindaN]

I prefer proper typing with some punctuation and no txt spk.

Maybe not a stop at the end.

I overuse !!!!! though.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

Italics for emphasis.

Bold (or coloured) if I want something to stand out and be a focus of attention.

Caps for yelling or BEING REALLY ENTHUSIASTIC YAY!

I try to capitalize and punctuate properly in all communications, but sometimes if I'm lazy or tired I'll let an unpunctuated sentence, or one without an initial capital go because, really, how important is it, actually?

I don't judge people too much for how "correct" their writing is. One of the smartest, gentlest, and most generous people I know on this forum is usually pretty negligent about capitals and periods. She gives the lie to any suggestion that "correctness" is necessarily an index of anything very important.

Edited June 20, 2020 by Scylla Rhiadra

[Talligurl]

Do the way that upper case (capital) and lower case letters are used effect the way you perceive a message?

Proper capitalization indicates a thoughtful comment that is worth paying attention to.

Anything else is not so worthy of being taken seriously.

[Orwar]

10 hours ago, Gopi Passiflora said:

1. Do the way that upper case (capital) and lower case letters are used effect the way you perceive a message?

   Absolutely.

10 hours ago, Gopi Passiflora said:

2. In terms of letter case, what's your preferred usage?

   Bicameral writing, of course. We're in the 21st century, not the 11th.

10 hours ago, Gopi Passiflora said:

1. To me, ALL CAPS feels like an urgent message, whereas "all lowercase" is a more casual message.

   All caps should be a capital crime. Winks.

10 hours ago, Gopi Passiflora said:

2. If there's no rush I try to use "proper" capitalization. In something like a text or mobile message (like in Second Life), I may not even use caps at all (to communicate quicker.) I rarely use ALL CAPS. I use CamelCase for some of my usernames on MMOs (and Second Life).

   If it's 'quicker' to write without any caps at all, I'm sorry to inform you that you would not find employment as a typist (/secretary); pressing shift should be done with your left pinky, and it should never have to leave the position to do so. The left hand should hover over the WASD-position at most times, but occasionally skip 'one over' when you extend the reach of your left hand, for example to hit the 't'-key, unless your hands are large enough that you can reach it from the default position. 

   The one thing I don't generally do when typing messages in Second Life, that I would if writing a text for an email or such, is that I don't spell check or re-read at all times to ensure I didn't make any mistakes; if I notice such once I've sent the message, it's easy enough to clarify what you maent.

   Meant*

   See?

[Drakonadrgora Darkfold]

11 hours ago, Gopi Passiflora said:

1. Do the way that upper case (capital) and lower case letters are used effect the way you perceive a message?

2. In terms of letter case, what's your preferred usage?

1. To me, ALL CAPS feels like an urgent message, whereas "all lowercase" is a more casual message.

2. If there's no rush I try to use "proper" capitalization. In something like a text or mobile message (like in Second Life), I may not even use caps at all (to communicate quicker.) I rarely use ALL CAPS. I use CamelCase for some of my usernames on MMOs (and Second Life).

1. No. for everyone is different in how they communicate.  some think all uppercase is yelling. I personally dont see it as such.

2. Either, i adapt to the person i am with. Its not important how it looks, what is important is what is being communicated. If I can read it and understand what was meant by it that is all that matters.

[kali Wylder]

For me it depends on the scenario.  In the forums, I like standard punctuation, it's the easiest to read and there is time to do it right. In chat I still try for standard but will sometimes windup up with the first two letters of a name capitalized due to my lazy fingers. and I often leave off periods and capitalizing the first letter of the first word in a sentence.

All caps is shouting, who wants to see that all the time?

I don't bother to fix typos in chat unless the meaning gets lost

Edited June 22, 2020 by kali Wylder

[Madelaine McMasters]

As a fan of e e cummings, I'm quite willing to let all manner of idiosyncratic writing slide, so long as it doesn't get in the way comprehending a good story.

I know the sloppy typer Scylla described and agree completely. I look forward to those missing caps, periods and personal pronouns because they tell me I'm about to read something immensely enjoyable. That poster has a style all her own and it's lovely.

Conversely, beautifully formatted prose, absent kindness, compassion and thoughtfulness, leaves me cold. I'm as quick to skip over that as I am to hunt down caps-free gems.

I have little difficulty parsing sparsely decorated prose and I do not require more finesse than the situation demands.

Edited June 25, 2020 by Madelaine McMasters

[Tari Landar]

I type how I type and I don't give a fig if anyone else likes it. That's my preferred usage, and may come in the form of singular statements, sentences, paragraphs or walls of textual drivel. I stopped caring what people thought about it a long time ago.

If I see a singular word in all caps, my thought is emphasis, which is actually the basis for using such in typed form(and always has been, alongside bold, which is designed to have the same effect). If I see multiple words, my thought is extra emphasis perhaps with some emotion thrown in (again, the very basis for such). If I see an entire sentence o or statement, it indicates yelling/shouting/extra emotion. All caps has never actually been a wide use case for visual impairments, despite many people claiming such, it's just a commonly accepted excuse for people that either don't want to punctuate or have never actually been shown how to properly adapt what they cannot see. 

But, really.... I don't give a flying rat's nut 99% of the time, because odds are damn good I can't read a lick of it anyway and have to adapt what I want to read in order to do so. Odds are good what you think you typed, won't look that way to me, no matter how prim and proper you think you're being, lol.

Lose the sense of sight, to the degree I and countless others have, and you might realize just how petty some things truly are when it comes to these kinds of topics. I get crap for my posts ALL the damn time...used to care, now I just assume people are petty pennies and they can so find a rusty spork on which to sit, then spin. 

[Sylvia Tamalyn]

11 minutes ago, Tari Landar said:

Lose the sense of sight, to the degree I and countless others have, and you might realize just how petty some things truly are when it comes to these kinds of topics. I get crap for my posts ALL the damn time...used to care, now I just assume people are petty pennies and they can so find a rusty spork on which to sit, then spin. 

You sure seem to be angry a lot. 

[Luna Bliss]

I don't find punctuation a problem, but when people do run-ons without paragraph breaks I get annoyed.

[Madelaine McMasters]

1 hour ago, Tari Landar said:

 walls of textual drivel

Have I told you I like you, Tari?

[Maitimo]

My friend Greville apparently uses all-caps in his work a lot (no clue what he's actually doing with them) but he'll often switch to SL, forget to turn the caps off and greet me in an IM with an enthusiastic "HELLO MATTI!" His next line will be "Ooops, sorry caps!"

It's like he's super-excited to see me, and it makes me smile. 

[Madelaine McMasters]

2 hours ago, Maitimo said:

It's like he's super-excited to see me, and it makes me smile. 

...SETS YOU ON FIRE!

[Love Zhaoying]

6 minutes ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

...SETS YOU ON FIRE!

People once set on fire, only LOOK 'super-excited'  while they are actually "dancing" to try and put the fire out.