2 Clever By 1/2

Today’s Globe editorial about how text messaging is killing off proper English didn’t make me ROTFL. In fact, it made me think, WTF?

That’s because the editorial board decided to write the 342-word piece in text message lingo. The website version comes complete with this handy explanation of what follows:

A new study warns that writing text messages could hurt a writer’s command of standardized English.

And forcing your readers to slog through an entire editorial of the same garbage is, what, good for them?

The Globe didn’t waste any time employing the gimmick. Here’s the lede:

WE HAD to LOL when we read how txt-msg lingo is replacing stndrd english in student academic pprs. 1 casualty of da trend is uz of capital letter to start a sentence. kids feel free to lowercase everything. pnktu8n is also dissed. tchaz try to help but its often 2 l8.

new paragraphs r not uzed in txting either. kids prolly think all dis iz ok cuz even Richard Sterling, emeritus xecutiv director of the ntl riting prjct, gives it the nod. natl riting prjct is sposd 2 improve riting instruxn in americas schoolz.

“i think in the future, capitalization will disappear,” he sed in the nytimes. 4 lazy students dis is 2G2BT!

It got worse from there. I wonder if the authors found it funny or educational or clever to use the very language that is supposedly eroding our command of standard English.

Whatever the reasoning, my eyes hurt now. & I trly H8 them 4 that.