how 2020 talks

DrJoeTr0n · Post by **DrJoeTr0n** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:29 am

2020 wrote:
(
ugly word that
incorporated
)

Okay man, is writing like this totally necessary? I mean come on now.

2020 · Post by **2020** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 8:43 am

(
: )

Post by **Lucifer** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 8:45 am

Give him a break, he just wants to be different, just like everybody else.

2020 · Post by **2020** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 9:13 am

i wish i had a choice about it

Do you think that if I write in complete sentences, I will become normal? This style of writing, with capital letters and full stops for example, is a matter of historic accident, evolving through hundreds of years to compensate for advances in technology, guttenberg press etc.

Since words are not set with wooden blocks any more, and we are not limited by the quanity of paper we may have, the form of our writing is allowed to evolved.

My own preference it so make my thinking clearer. It is not a matter of style, but clarity. I have found from people's reactions that some people find it harder to read, like my brother and a few members of this community, while others find it beautifully flowing. This is very interesting to me, and I think it is to do with the manner in which it is read. If the reader is following the line of thought accurately, in agreement as it were, just like following a team-mate's light-cycle trail, then there is a smooth progression of thought. If the reader is being critical in their reading, just like following an enemy's light-cycle trail, this can be a fretful experience since we don't know if the enemy is going to corner us at any time.

Forgive the allusion to the game. It is intended to be amusing rather than insightful.

Haven't we dealt with this topic before?

z-man:
i stuck your name down in the ladle
since you said you make your server available for tournaments

if you'd rather not
please do inform me
and i can replace it with one of the other stable servers

Post by **Lucifer** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 9:57 am

2020 wrote:This style of writing, with capital letters and full stops for example, is a matter of historic accident, evolving through hundreds of years to compensate for advances in technology, guttenberg press etc.

err, no it's not.

It evolved from the spoken language. Every writing format I'm thinking of derived from the spoken language. Even stream of consciousness, poetry, and that annoying 5 paragraph essay format we're all taught in school. The bottom line is that conversational writing is the easiest writing for anyone to understand. When someone genuinely writes the same way they speak, anyone can understand it, provided they speak clearly. If they don't speak clearly, well, that's a different problem.

There's a reason you should read out loud to yourself or have someone read out loud to you everything you write.

Try reading one of your posts out loud. I generally find the thoughts lack structure and organization, they are difficult to skim, and therefore I don't read them. It's nothing personal, just that the writing is so difficult to read when it doesn't have to be that I don't do it.

On a side note, I write exactly the way I talk. Can you just imagine what an annoying conversationalist I am?

(it's from years of practice, it is true that most people have a hard time writing conversationally the first few times, and it takes practice, and sadly most people don't get the practice it takes)

Post by **Tank Program** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 10:26 am

Kind of funny, but when I read 2020's prowse, it comes out sounding how I read his not prowse anyway, so... To me it doesn't matter.

2020 · Post by **2020** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 10:37 am

heheh
interesting...

I agree with lucifer, which is strange if you disagree with me, don't you think. I am a verbal person, I communicate better in word of mouth, and find the constraints of the the written form... well... constraining.

The spoken word is not a word at all. Words don't exist, they are devices of analysis to understand how we communicate at all. Words evolved when we started writing. My conjecture is, before writing, we monkeys kind of just sang to one another. There was no self-reflection on the fact that we were doing what we were doing. It just happened. Like a dog barking at another dog, they just do, they don't think about it, they don't think about what kind of communication they are participating in, distinguishing one bark from another -- even though they can functionally. Like my computer can parse various strings, or the processessor flip-flop bits or whatever; it just does, without any awareness of what it is doing.

As soon as you have writing, you have the external concretising of this fluid thing of talking. And you have the split of oriental-character or western-alphabet.

this form of writing
is attempting to get closer to the character style
where phrases make sense in larger units
and each new line ends a single character
as it were

and then you have a paragraph space
to indicate a substiantially different thought
much like paragraph breaks in normal punctuation

communication is much more complex than this list of words
and certainly a few punctuation marks
is paying lip service to the gaps
the gestures we make
the timbre and modulation of our voices

whatever...
eehehe

DrJoeTr0n · Post by **DrJoeTr0n** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 7:49 pm

When I read your posts, all I can picture is you panting while trying to force words out. Like you just ran a 3 miles and are trying to give some sort of speech. Or that you are constantly forgetting what you are trying to write. You say speech is so complex, but the idea is not to make it even more complex by hitting enter every three words.

Writting like
this
doesn't really work
out very
well

ID RADDER HAS U TLK LIK DIS ROFL. @ LEEST DIS ISS ALL TOGEDDER RADDER

DAN

ALL SPASED
OUT

ROFL

god I sound like those stupid dwh guys.

Post by **Tank Program** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 8:12 pm

DrJoeTr0n wrote:Writting like
this
doesn't really work
out very
well

It still communicates something.

DrJoeTr0n wrote:ID RADDER HAS U TLK LIK DIS ROFL. @ LEEST DIS ISS ALL TOGEDDER RADDER

DAN

ALL SPASED
OUT

ROFL

Communicates zip.

Jonathan · Post by **Jonathan** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 9:44 pm

DrJoeTr0n wrote:Writting like
this
doesn't really work
out very
well

Indeed. You didn't get the point.

DrJoeTr0n wrote:ID RADDER HAS U TLK LIK DIS ROFL. @ LEEST DIS ISS ALL TOGEDDER RADDER

DAN

ALL SPASED
OUT

ROFL

…

There's more to 2020's writing style than you might think, and it's pretty crucial for readability.

Conventional: can skim
2020: can read
Most 2020 emulations: choking

Did anyone ever wonder how this started, psychologically?

2020 · Post by **2020** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 10:12 pm

hehheeh
way back in the dusts of time
hehhe

Your_mom · Post by **Your_mom** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 10:34 pm

If Jonathan and sealab 2021 both find it easier to read ...well i cant really argue about what they find easy to read. However, i do find it difficult to read and it looks horrible on my screen resolution. Mabey you could find some kind of middle ground in your writing style, just as a favor to people like me?

Tank can you split up this thread so people truly interested in 2021's tournament dont have to sift through comments about different styles of writing.

Jonathan · Post by **Jonathan** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 11:19 pm

2020: I meant in a much broader sense, and not specific to you.

Your_mom: skimming is faster than 'standard' reading.

Post by **Tank Program** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 2:24 am

split...

Post by **Lucifer** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 2:52 am

Splitting is a good way to kill a thread.