WHY IS ALL-CAPS SO OBNOXIOUS TO US?

[Lannis]

Was reading a thread on another motorcycle brand-related forum I frequent.   One of the posters there has decided (apparently) that he's going to use ALL CAPITAL LETTERS ALL THE TIME, for what reason I do not know.

Now, our brains are pretty flexible.  You can witre a stcennae wtih all the iretonir ltteres meixd up and it can siltl be raed esaliy; our brains compensate for us.

But I noticed that I've just stopped reading the guy's posts.   They're not ignorant and misspelled like the posts of a lot of people that use all caps, nor is he trying to "yell" or post garbage or nasty stuff.   It's just bike stuff.   

It's either too tiring, or obnoxious to my eyes, or whatever, but despite a reasonable effort to read them, I've just quit and don't worry about what it is he's trying to say.

Has the Internet convention that "capital letters are YELLING!" taken such hold of us in a few short years?    I mean, when I text someone (I used to do it all the time at work) I NEVER use "text abbreviations" like "lookin 4 u 2morrow", so I'm not but so vulnerable to convention, but I can't do all caps, or don't want to.

I don't think I'm the only one based on complaints that I see when someone somewhere does it ...

Lannis

[yogidozer]

ahem....it's not the caps 

[stormshearon]

It isn't just internet convention that all caps is 'yelling'. Heck, even dumb terminals could do upper and lower case - even typewriters. All caps is just annoying and lazy and generally gets ignored no matter what - at least from my viewpoint.

[Markcarovilli]

It isn't just internet convention that all caps is 'yelling'. Heck, even dumb terminals could do upper and lower case - even typewriters. All caps is just annoying and lazy and generally gets ignored no matter what - at least from my viewpoint.

Ahmen - whoops may be religion.....

Mark

[Lannis]

It isn't just internet convention that all caps is 'yelling'. Heck, even dumb terminals could do upper and lower case - even typewriters.

That's true - but there didn't seem to be the same reaction years ago to all-caps that there is today.

But maybe there was ....

Lannis

[guzzisteve]

I find it easier to read.

[Lannis]

I find it easier to read.

MOST PEOPLE DON'T, BUT I'LL DO MY BEST FOR THOSE WHO LIKE IT BETTER .... 

[Perazzimx14]

MAN IF YOUR GONNA GO ALL CAPS GO BIG OR GO HOME

[Kent in Upstate NY]

Never go full ALL CAPS. Tropic Thunder reference there. Hysterically funny movie.

[Guzzi Gal]

MAN IF YOUR GONNA GO ALL CAPS GO BIG OR GO HOME

[Sheepdog]

It�s hard enough to communicate accurately on a computer without removing a large portion of the interpretation tools. All caps belongs on blueprints, not prose.

On the other hand, ee cummings made a living using lower case only...and was revered.

[Perazzimx14]

Never go full ALL CAPS. Tropic Thunder reference there. Hysterically funny movie.

Unless you're a LEAD FARMER!

[Zoom Zoom]

MAN IF YOUR GONNA GO ALL CAPS GO BIG OR GO HOME

Now THAT is funny!!!

On another note, some who may be tech challenged might find it easier to simply use caps all the time. Most of us can generally determine the intent of the poster, so I don't fret over it too much.

John Henry

[Kev m]

I find it easier to read.

I actually think it might be harder to read, in larger volume. THE LETTERS BLEND TOGETHER MORE. AND YOU LOSE THE GRAMMATICAL REFERENCES OF CAPITALS AS PARTS OF SENTENCE BREAKS, OR THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PROPER NAMES ETC.

I can see where it might be useful in short bursts, but not in large volumes. At least that's my gut.

[LowRyter]

I read the title of the thread and thought, really?

Then I read the thread.  Confirmed.

[Turin]

never cared one way or another, but Kev m has a point. they do seem to blend together when used in bulk.

[wirespokes]

Good point! I think you're right - all caps isn't as easy to read. Punctuation and regular conventions makes it easier to digest.

I've noticed the same thing in music. We've got one of the best jazz stations in the country here in Portland OR, and I listen to it constantly. Some of the music they play is like jamming and there's no punctuation and it's all run-on sentences. REALLY IRRITATING STUFF! And some of it is like yelling, no fun either. I'm also not fond of the 'African Stampede' music either (sounds like a herd of stampeding elephants). But I love the jazz station. KMHD - you can stream it on-line.

[Tom H]

Interesting...

My thoughts...

For the subject of the post, cap the first letter of each word. Makes the subject stand out a bit, but do not cap all the letters.

Then compose the post as you were typing a letter or using a word processor to type a letter. Cap when needed, punctuate as required.

Now if I can only do as I say
Tom

[Huzo]

i SEE WHAT YOU MEAN. pROBABLY BETTER TO USE LOWER CASE AT THE BEGINNING AND CAPS FOR THE REST. aLTHOUGH IT LOOKS AWKWARD AT FIRST. yOU DO GET USED TO IT.

[flip]

It's just something else for people to be offended by...

[blackcat]

Just for reference, basically all caps are wrong in terms of proper grammar.


"Use capitals for proper nouns. In other words, capitalize the names of people, specific places, and things. For example: We don't capitalize the word "bridge" unless it starts a sentence, but we must capitalize Brooklyn Bridge because it is the name of a specific bridge."



https://www.scribendi.com/advice/capitalization.en.html

[Lannis]

It's just something else for people to be offended by...

Some people are offended, I suppose, if they feel like they're being yelled at.   I'm not offended, especially if there's nothing offensive being said.  It's just (as some have demonstrated) unnecessarily hard to read, and if you're reading for fun as we do, there's no reason to go to extra trouble to read through something if you don't have to.

Kevm's suggestion is probably right ... it looks jammed together and mixed up ...

[screamday]

Didn't there use to be a member here that posted in all caps? I think his reasoning was that he had poor vision and all caps made it easier for him to see what he was posting.

[Kev m]

Didn't there use to be a member here that posted in all caps? I think his reasoning was that he had poor vision and all caps made it easier for him to see what he was posting.

Except that he could have fixed that with the resolution or display settings on his laptop, monitor, or hand-held device.

[Wayne Orwig]

Didn't there use to be a member here that posted in all caps? I think his reasoning was that he had poor vision and all caps made it easier for him to see what he was posting.

I find it tiring. The all caps, or odd fonts, or off colors, that some people use constantly for their text.

Reminds me of the flatulent pipes people. They just want attention.

[Seventy One]

Probably the very first internet meme I seen was this response to someone using caps lock.

CAPS LOCK IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL.


Caps lock was hated back then too. I still use it on people now and again. 

[Toecutter]

I think it's more than just the ALL CAPS.

I think it's the fact that those that do write in all caps tend to have horrible punctuation, terrible grammar, and are often in an emotional brainfart tornado... hammering out their thoughts as they appear in their brain, unfiltered by logic or a desire to say something coherent.

The end result is something that is just too much effort to bother trying to interpret. So we give up.

[Nic in Western NYS]

Life's not a paragraph And death i think is no parenthesis

e e cummings

[bpreynolds]

Was reading a thread on another motorcycle brand-related forum I frequent.   One of the posters there has decided (apparently) that he's going to use ALL CAPITAL LETTERS ALL THE TIME, for what reason I do not know.

Now, our brains are pretty flexible.  You can witre a stcennae wtih all the iretonir ltteres meixd up and it can siltl be raed esaliy; our brains compensate for us.

But I noticed that I've just stopped reading the guy's posts.   They're not ignorant and misspelled like the posts of a lot of people that use all caps, nor is he trying to "yell" or post garbage or nasty stuff.   It's just bike stuff.   

It's either too tiring, or obnoxious to my eyes, or whatever, but despite a reasonable effort to read them, I've just quit and don't worry about what it is he's trying to say.

Has the Internet convention that "capital letters are YELLING!" taken such hold of us in a few short years?    I mean, when I text someone (I used to do it all the time at work) I NEVER use "text abbreviations" like "lookin 4 u 2morrow", so I'm not but so vulnerable to convention, but I can't do all caps, or don't want to.

I don't think I'm the only one based on complaints that I see when someone somewhere does it ...

Lannis

I love this thread, Lannis, and very observant of you to notice this and wonder. 

I actually think it might be harder to read, in larger volume. THE LETTERS BLEND TOGETHER MORE. AND YOU LOSE THE GRAMMATICAL REFERENCES OF CAPITALS AS PARTS OF SENTENCE BREAKS, OR THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PROPER NAMES ETC.

I can see where it might be useful in short bursts, but not in large volumes. At least that's my gut.

I think Kev here is right.  It's been proven that certain visual cues and grammar use can be - whether habit or natural physical response - more difficult to read and follow than standard use. 

For example, let me go ahead and turn this into an oil thread by introducing the recent two or one spaces between sentences.  Research has shown that only putting the one space between the sentence is more difficult for folks to read.  Thoughts?

Life's not a paragraph And death i think is no parenthesis

e e cummings

The Librarian in me is in awe of this quote.  Love it.

[Kev m]

The Librarian in me is in awe of this quote.  Love it.

The Necromonger in me warns you not to go back.

[pause]

But the Furyan in me... hopes you won't listen.