Why do forums make people talk smart?

Hedge

Hedge

Hedge

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
19,578
Location
Somewhere in the middle.
On this forum a lot of the time i see people using words they wouldnt normally use in normal conversation. They use these words to give them some sort of sense of superiority (ooh, thats a word i dont use in the pub).

"Condescending" has been the top word on the forum for weeks now.

and people dont just talk to eachother they "address" one another.

I notice certain people doing this a lot and to me it makes them seem like unsavoury toffee nosed gimps. If my mates in the pub started pulling fancy words i would just laugh at them.

Do all people on the net feel its necessary to eat a dictionary for breakfast then start spewing up fancy words allover the place?
 
It's how I feel comfortable speaking. Posting on OcUK made me feel that I wouldn't get socially ostracised by doing so, so often speak that way in real life now as well.

See also, appropriate grammar.

Also, is it appropriate to make a post disagreeing with way people use language , on the basis that your friends down the pub dont speak that way?
 
I noticed it when i first joined, but by saying that you've noticed it you will most likely be talked down to and told to get an education :D
 
Written communication allows a certain freedom that verbal communication doesn't. For instance, inflection is important when speaking verbally, as is body language. These are lost over text and therefore a wider vocabulary is necessary to get true feelings and opinions across accurately.

This is the freedom I mentioned in the first line of my post, expression of intent within the actual formulation of the written word is more important than the words used themselves, the overall makeup taking precedent.

Having said that, I wouldn't necessarily balk from using my relatively extensive vocabulary when speaking were I to deem it necessary.
 
It's my belief that writing completely properly online sorta looks rude. I do a mix, it's quite poor but does the job.

eg.

No, you're a clown.

No, you're a clown :)

completely different

Listen, I'm much better than you.

Listen, i'm much better than you! (in this case the ! means sarcasm, but more eccentric than a smilie face.)
 
I talk smart most of the time coz when i dont talk smart people fink im fick and then they wont talk to me anymore.

But really, this hit me a while back when i was talking to someone on msn who wanted some help and then decided to insult my, way of life really, which i didnt appreciate very much. Furthermore he didnt like the "big words" i was using and thought i was disrespecting him by using them. I can honestly say i wasnt disrespecting, i was outsmarting him though :p.

Why use big words when diminuitive ones will do?
 
Can not compute, brain overload lol

I get where yas are coming from, using better words to express yourself, but sometimes it just seems inappropriate.

And im not just saying bla de bla about my mates down the pub, its just a general reference, people i speak to in person, whether they are educated, doctors or teachers etc. They dont seem to use an array of words that i see on here.

just my friday rant :)
 
I try not to use too many big words when I'm posting here, unless I really need to. But as people have said, typing is very different from talking. If you are going to post something in proper english then it's going to sound more "posh" than if you were to say something with the same meaning.

It does get a bit annoying when people start using big words when defending themselves. It's to make people think they are smarter than the person they are arguing with.
 
Hedge said:
hey use these words to give them some sort of sense of superiority
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No, really, they don't.

and people dont just talk to eachother they "address" one another.
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Throughout history the written word has always been considered to be more formal than the spoken word.

Do all people on the net feel its necessary to eat a dictionary for breakfast then start spewing up fancy words allover the place?
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No more so than it's neccesary to become an uneducated txt spking chav lol innit lol mate big words suck, keep it real lol, safe mate?
 
People on this forum are very quick to jump on a comment if they misinterpret it or see some kind of hole in it. If it is phrased fully, then it eliminates the need for additional clarification posts and redundant debates.
 
crystaline said:
People on this forum are very quick to jump on a comment if they misinterpret it or see some kind of hole in it. If it is phrased fully, then it eliminates the need for additional clarification posts and redundant debates.
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Very true, good point. Apart from the sweeping generalisation of people that seems to encompass us all, which i do not appreciate at all.

;)
 
In some threads it's necessary, in most it's not, but many people still use it. Needless sarcasm gets on my nerves too.

edit: grammar should always be correct though ;)
 
cleanbluesky said:
Hedge, are you Tim Westwood? Is that why our method of communication seems alien to you?
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Its not alien, just not always necessary. Its just something ive noticed. Im not clever enough with words like you guys so i cant explain myself. lol
 
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