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We all don’t like people who write ALL CAPS. Luckily, internet
”netiquette” has spread wide enough that we don’t see these folks so often. However, I would like to rant about the CAPS haters. I am talking about people who are so insecure and sensitive about CAPS that they feel people are YELLING and SHOUTING at them whenever they see it.
The other day at work, there was an email thread about discussing the next meeting date. There were some back-and-forth and some mistaken labeling of the days (i.e. someone saying 2/27 was Tuesday, rather than Wednesday). There was finally a day we could all agree on, so I wrote back, “OK, we will have the meeting on THURSDAY at 2:30PM.”
Then, one of the recipients writes back, “WHICH THURSDAY DID YOU WANT TO HAVE THE MEETING?? We all read English, there is no need for the caps.” Upon approaching him and inquiring, he replies, “You did offend me with your caps. I don't think it was necessary to SCREAM the date.”
First of all, this has nothing to do with being able to read English. Secondly, isn’t it obvious that the caps in this case was meant for clarification instead of screaming? Some people are just too damn sensitive about netiquette these days, they take things way too literally. I know it is hard to pickup insinuation from emails and these rules help, but this is getting ridiculous. In fact, isn’t using the caps the grammatically correct way to add emphasis?
A week later, I saw this same dude in middle of a busy street pounding, with a golf club, the heck out of a store sign. The sign read, “BURGER KING - DRIVE THRU”. It’s a crazy world out there. Be good, everyone.
Readers have left 4 comments.  1. maverickI have to admit, I probably would be offended by the caps as well in that case. I think it's because it seems like you don't actually trust the person to read it. You feel that you have to emphasize it or else they'll skip over it. Why not just trust the person to read your mail? If they don't bother, then it's on them. But emphasizing it does seem a bit condescending, and perhaps a tad unprofessional. 2. Guest User Some people really go overboard on stuff like that. Big deal, he used caps. Why throw a hissy fit about it? Better to be clear than add more confusion.
What I find kind of funny is that nowadays everyone uses an email reader that's capable of rendering bold or italic text, yet caps has really remained as the standard way of emphasizing a point. 3. joe bob Here's the thing: when I read email in my head, caps literally sounds like screaming. Yes, I hear voices screaming in my head. Is that not normal? 4. bones next time use italics like someone said. its softer. some people are very caps-sensitive. you are lucky he didn't come through the internets and beat you up. |
