PSA: We Won’t Know Why You’re Upset if Your Comments Are Illegible
I get it.
You’re upset. Or maybe you’re happy; it doesn’t actually seem to make much difference. Politics are divided now, right? Zero-sum, winner-take-all, no-compromise electoral slugfests: pick a team and fucking root for them, or get the hell out of the stadium and find a different game.
I can live with all that. It’s not how I’d do things, but the internet is wide, and 4chan has taught me that people have many different approaches to life.
Oh boy has it ever.
But here is the problem; I still need to know what you’re talking about. And written political discussion has, in some forums, devolved past that base standard of legibility.
Has anyone else had this problem? Are you struggling to even understand the nature of people’s written complaints? Do you find yourself double-taking while you try to figure out what “rapepugniKKKlans” or “dumbofags” are?
(The answers are “Republicans” and “Democrats,” but I won’t blame you if you didn’t put it together on your own.)
Please help do your part for our future generations’ hopes of intelligible communication: if you know someone who likes to discuss politics on the internet, help them by linking to the posts on this or other blogs that explain the basics of written text! More advanced students can be pointed to philosophers of language and discourse — but please, start small. Remember that you are dealing with angry people. Patience will be needed.
Intelligible meaning is non-partisan! Free speech is a right, but that doesn’t mean you’re not doing it wrong.
I’m Geoffrey Cubbage and I approve of this message.
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