FOR THE BROTHAS: CULTURE AND INTELLECTUALISM: IS THERE A PROTOCOL FOR ONLINE WRITING, STYLE AND GRAMMAR?

IS THERE A PROTOCOL FOR ONLINE WRITING, STYLE AND GRAMMAR?

The subject has been tossed around much over the years that we have experienced the internet boom. The internet is without doubt the largest river of human communication. Hipsters and Gamers, Textors and Emailers, Bloggers and Videographers will all have a different answer for the basic question, “What is the appropriate grammatical standard for internet communications”?

Whether communicating in person, writing a letter or over the internet you should always take time to execute properly composed correspondence. A gentleman who expects to be respected no matter what context he is in and who enjoys expressing himself in a smart, eloquent and effective manner will easily equip himself with this advice. An intelligent man understands how to manage colloquialisms, especially those which appear to be mainstreamed by popular culture but which nonetheless fall short of qualifying as “Standard English”. Typos, misspelled words, and simple grammatical errors speak as much to the kind of care a man has put into ones message as it does the kind of response, if any, he may ultimately expect. Remember that although you may feel that you and your audience is more relaxed, you cannot control who will ultimately view media authored by you once it has been published in cyberspace. I have never promoted any form of paranoia or self-deprecation related to externally loaded opinions of self, I am concerned that a man’s opinion of himself will serve to motivate him to choose the path of excellence regardless of how others might opine.

It is my opinion that there are two vastly different categories of internet communication, the first being Formal, business e-communications and the second being informal e-communications. Obviously the rules will vary between them but they are both bound to the simple principles of standard, proper and effective communication.

For formal communications, i.e. business related and even some personal contacts one should straightway equip themself with Standard English grammar and this always includes these simple guidelines:

· Always compose your correspondence on word or some other word processing program.

· Always utilise spell and grammar check prior to sending out any document.

· Always proof read your document especially before posting online in a group or as a formal response to an ad or post. Spell check is not always infallible.

· Never publish a rough-draft or technically troubled media unless it is for instructional purposes. And if so always clearly identify the media as a “rough draft” or as an “example”; always be sure to clearly identify the instructional purpose it is intended to serve.

For informal communications proper spelling and grammar should not ever be abandoned! If one is going to abbreviate a word the proper standard abbreviation should be used but it is always much better to clearly express ones intentions using the finest English style possible. The worst kind of internet experience is one where the author has so abbreviated, his message with slang, and other colloquialisms that it is rendered virtually unintelligible to any who are not included in his exoteric group of friends. Remember first and foremost the purpose of communication is to effectively communicate! When readers cannot identify with an abbreviated or abstracted concept they cannot possible read your mind or consult a dictionary, so they will never have a chance to understand what you, in your infinite wisdom intended them to comprehend. Informal guidelines are:

· Always compose your correspondence on word or some other word processing program.

· Always utilise spell and grammar check prior to sending out any document.

· Always proof read your document especially before posting online in a group especially in response to an ad or post. Spell check is not always infallible.

· Never publish a rough-draft or technically troubled media without clearly identifying it as such and explaining its intent.

· Remember that even if the post or subject you are responding to is informal proper grammar and syntax is always important.

Many readers are ticked off when they are looking for detail but get assaulted with what appears to be obscure generalities. Take your topic of discussion seriously and sell it eloquently! Here is a bad example of Internet communication:

“K den u bes b get’n ova here bro one.” Or “Naw pa Aaight dats whuzzup!”

While both of these responses are give some basic comprehensible information they will be frustrating to someone who has taken time to compose a well written response, he will feel that you did not take him seriously and that you did not take time to address him appropriately. Also a gentleman must be careful that his written communications are age-appropriate! For example:

TEXT, POST OR EMAIL SENT BY OTHERS: “Hello Bruce, it’s me, Maurice; the weather has been so wonderful today that I have decided to come into town and will most likely be in your area. I will have a college buddy of mine with me, his name is Oscar and I do not believe you have met him before. I certainly would not want to impose on you so please let me know if you would like to meet or receive us today. We plan to be in your area around 12:30 P.M. and I will be driving”.

RESPONSE #1: “K, cool man just let me know.”

PROPER RESPONSE #1: “Hello Maurice, I am so pleased that you and Oscar will be visiting today and except for the fact that I do have an appointment with my automobile mechanic at 12:15 I would have lunch already grilling on the deck when you pulled up at 12:30. If you can manage to wait for me to join you around 1:30 I’m sure you can just park at my house and we can all have a late lunch at Reajohn’s Barbecue Shack downtown. If you can manage to arrive by 11:30 I will be glad to let you both relax at my place, you know my bar is always fully stocked and open or if you chose you can just hang out until we meet at my house. By the way my address has not changed, it is 1527 North Suttler Place. Please R.S.V.P.”

The first proper response was the more gentlemanly of the two and as such, the only proper one a gentleman would allow. It acknowledges the receipt of his friends invitation to visit and also suggests a structured arrangement for coordinating the timing while the first response leaves these guests hanging in cyberspace. Even though the best laid plans may go amiss the second set of plans has the best possibility of success. Important also is the fact that the second response did not assume that the guests knew or remembered the correct address, an important factor in these days of personal navigation systems.

The second message and response is for communication between two people who have just met online. Tired, one word responses indicate a lack of interest or enthusiasm. While one will not be expected to write a virtual novel it is nonetheless important to demonstrate some attempt to communicate facts and data that cannot otherwise be ascertained due to the displacement of the internet.

TEXT, POST OR EMAIL SENT BY OTHERS: “Hello man, I just read your ad and checked-out your pictures; I was so impressed by them all. I was pleased to find that we share many of the same hobbies and interests one of which is fine dining. I am a “foodie” from way back and have always fancied I’d have a buddy to share my passion for food who would be company for me at the other side of the table. By the way my real name is Butchie”.

RESPONSE #1: “O.K. cool dude, so what’s good?”

PROPER RESPONSE #1: “Pleased to meet you Butchie, my name is Bryant and I really appreciate your complements. I am responding to you as much in awe of you as you are of me. I think you are a handsome and intelligent brotha and I can see that we will have much in common not only with respect to food. I was attracted to you and therefore your ad as soon I saw it. I noticed that you are an avid baseball and football fan. I have been collecting sports memorabilia since I was a kid and recently inherited my grandfather’s extensive sports memorabilia collection. I look forward to discussing it over dinner sometime in the near future. I am actually out of town until next Wednesday so I suggest that we chat while I am away to get a sense of each other and if all seems well by the weekend we should definitely make plans to meet face to face by Thursday or over the weekend. “

PROPER RESPONSE #2 “Please allow me to thank you for your complements Butchie, they are well received. Let me also take this time to complement you as I see you are a very handsome and intelligent man. I would like to politely decline your gracious invitation but again I thank you for what appears to be an honest complement. Butchie let me conclude our correspondence by wising you the very best of luck in all endeavors as it appears you are a true gentleman and will make someone a very happy man”.

If someone is gracious enough to give you a complement you as a gentleman must also take appropriate space to thank them. If the complement is of a sexual nature then you must also thank them but if you are have not intention to take them up on their offer you must, as a gentleman, politely find some distinguishing quality of theirs to return the complement and then politely decline their invitation. A gentleman is always transparent about his feelings, so if you are not interested find a polite way to communicate this. Never send a rude or condescending response even if you are thoroughly disgusted by the person who complements and approaches you! Even if you receive a rude or threatening response when the person discovers you are not interested find a polite word to discontinue the conversation and do not return any more correspondence to that person. If the person persists then you might have to report them or block them but never stoop to base or ungentlemanly deportment even if you have clearly been disrespected.

Whether communicating in person, writing a letter or over the internet you should always take time to execute properly composed correspondence. Even when writing correspondence of admonishment one should always use proper grammatical form. In life we will always use informal structure especially with close friends and family and this is both natural and acceptable. Written correspondence should be fun and even when it is not it should be clear and well written. History has preserved letters dating back many thousands of years. Reading them today has allowed our generation a window into the past. Think about this whenever you write. Your writings may be preserved for posterity without you ever knowing it. If they are to be read hundreds or even thousands of years from now I am sure you would want them to be clear and well composed.

So to answer the question posed by this article, “IS THERE A PROTOCOL FOR ONLINE WRITING STYLE AND GRAMMAR”? the answer is unequivocally, Yes! There has always been and will always be an overriding protocol and that is proper English! Fads, Styles, Movements, all come and go with the wind. A gentleman knows how to distinguish them and himself from them in the manner of his correspondence. He understands that simply because something is currently in fashion does not make it credible… A gentleman’s writing style takes years to develop, at some point he is confident with his command of the language or languages he knows and begins to take the skill of writing to a higher level of artistic expression. That is the second nature that I am invoking in you…