E-mail etiquette
Whoever came up with the idea that all e-mails are informal, and thus, can be excused from any spelling or grammatical errors should be ostracized from the community.
For those who work in a corporate environment, I’d guess about 90% of communication with co-workers is done via e-mail. So, if you’re a lazy e-mailer, you come across as an idiot 90% of the time.
Come to think of it, why does “informal” mean you get to stop caring how to spell? Shouldn’t spelling something properly be a natural occurrence? I’ve heard a few people blame their usage of words like “differance” on it being “just an e-mail,” but really… everyone knows the truth.
Whenever people claim that the medium excuses incoherence, misspelling, or semantic imprecision -in general, linguistic sloppiness- I always wonder what they think makes a written medium less important than a spoken one.
Do people who lament that on the Internet or in email they shouldn’t have to write or spell correctly feel that ‘informal’ speech should be allowed in non-performative interactions?
For example, if I were speaking to someone and mispronounced names and words, called Macs “Apples” and described Arabs as “Muslims,” said, “I doesn’t think your gonna do that,” or otherwise erred in constructing words, sentences, and concepts, could I get a pass by whining about how much I hate “Language Nazis”?
I know we move between modes of expression, and I don’t personally judge people on their spelling or grammar; typos, casual words, vernacular, and so on all have a role. But there’s no reason to classify entire media as “lazy writing” zones.