Texting Isn’t Writing

“We think something has gone wrong, but what is going on is a kind of emergent complexity.”

I don’t think that’s a new message for this crowd, but you may enjoy the article.

In my experience (polishes glasses) the use of “lol” other than to signify humour is not all that common, but there is a certain kind of person who does it all the time.

In my experience (polishes glasses) the use of “lol” other than to signify humour is not all that common, but there is a certain kind of person who does it all the time.

The twenty-somethings of my acquaintance do this all the time. One young woman recently texted me to ask when her paycheck would be cut. “lol When do you think the check will be in the mail?”

Oecolampadius - 02 March 2013 08:52 PM

One young woman recently texted me to ask when her paycheck would be cut. “lol When do you think the check will be in the mail?”

Does “the check is in the mail” still carry any hint of irony?

Maybe I text a better quality of people (polishes glasses again ... how do they get so smudgy?)

Actually, I threw you a curve. That’s not the way she said it. She said something like “lol, when do you think we will get it” (meaning the check). It does have a hint of irony in the way I wrote it.

LOL people still mail payroll checks?  <-- I try to use caps because the second L is for Loud, after all.

In my experience (polishes glasses) the use of “lol” other than to signify humour is not all that common, but there is a certain kind of person who does it all the time.

There surely is.

Oh dear.

I’ve heard of other cases of people (especially those who didn’t grow up with texting) thinking “LOL” stood for “lots of love”, including a case where a texter closed a message of condolence for the death of a relative with the acronym.

including a case where a texter closed a message of condolence for the death of a relative with the acronym.

LOL!