Where's my cricket bat?

Why do some people feel compelled to write without using capital letters? I see quite a few blogs these days that do this, and I can't understand it. Either it's just laziness or pretentiousness. Text without capitals is harder to read, so a writer who can't muster the effort to work the shift key occcassionally doesn't inspire me to muster the energy to read their blog. This goes double for people who can't even bother to press the space key after a period. Perhaps these writers just think they are being "intimate" or "unconventional," but what they really do is just make their words less accessable to their audience. Why not pick a low contrast colors too? Or make your font absurdly small?

I view writing, much like sex, to be an act which connects people. When I write, I do it with the express purpose of communicating. If I were writing for only me, why would I put it on the web? I suppose some self-indulgent bloggers don't care if their sites are hard to read. Then it changes the nature of the act of writing to a masturbatory one. Perhaps this is just a stylistic difference, and a matter of preference. I'm certainly not telling anyone they shouldn't blog. I'm just saying what makes me choose to follow one blog over the other.

On a more idealistic level, though, I do think there is bad writing and good writing. Good writing is effective. It communicates. When author can evoke ideas and images in the mind of the reader, that is good writing. A good writer writes with a goal in mind, and is considerate and careful with the reader. An ineffective writer has no clear intent, and disregards the audience entirely. Of course, any one may write whatever they wish, and the only way to improve writing is to practice, practice, practice. But I'll choose to read those who craft words with skill over those who continually write like they are in a chat room any day.


My kingdom for a link

James mentions Oberin in his journal, and from the context it sounds like a new online RPG. Of course, the slovenly knight neglects to link to anything, and a Google search yields nothing. I suppose he assumes everyone knows what that is, but not all of us trawl the newsgroups any more. Any one have a link to more information?
posted 10:30 AM | link |