Language of the Digiphiles

i keep hearing the jokes about kids actually speaking in "texting talk," "phone-lingo," or for those really confused by it: "computer code," "what the huh," or "goddamn-uneducated-and-rude-'i-can't-speak-proper-english'-baby-garble." i also hear these, and other, various improper names for txting (originaly called 1337 speak, now txt, or texting, etc. there are actually a few proper names for it these days) being abased, abused, assaulted, aspersed, and any number of other a-words indicating people are scared and confused by something so they have decided to hate it and grab the proverbial pitchforks. this is for them..., buuuuuuut it's also for those 'kids' they were talking about at the beginning of this paragraph. the ones that sadly do speak in it (not just to their friends or as a joke). the ones that think it all began in their bling riddled cells (i shouldn't talk, i have dangles on mine bought online from japan ><).

"txting" is an electronics, gaming, and internet language form, as well as the current slang. it is The digital language for humans, as much as 10* is for the digital devices themselves.

as a language the basics of it are understood internationally. this is mostly visible in mmos (massive multiplayer onlines, online games) where a variety of languages may be spoken and typed on any given server. the high end games will provide some auto-translated words, but for the most part you're on you're own for communicating what needs to be done, relaying strategies, or even simply having a friendly 'convo' after a boss fight. this is then solved, or at least aided, through the use of txting. a simple "woot! gj, ty. gtg gl!" (hooray/alright/exclamation-of-joy! good job, [and] thank you [for having me]. got to go...good luck [on what you do next]!) leaves the party in a respectful, appreciative way that makes you someone worth joining up with again.

many people worry or downright get angry about txting being disrespectful, lazy, confusing, or even anti-social. as i just demonstrated it can actually facilitate respect, but like any language it can be used rudely or kindly depending on the user. as for being due to simple laziness there is a degree of that in any language much less one that is also being used as a type of slang. txting originated as 1337 speak (leet speak, or elite speaking) in gaming and online, even in K-12 before the internet ever began (where, believe me, the less typing you had to wait for it to send the happier you were). the fact that a generation growing up in a digitally influenced, and electronics happy world, has appropriated it as their slang is not surprising. they have actually added to its vocabulary, which has proven beneficial to its origins and its international quality. due to this it has become an even stronger agency of socializing and communication, furthering its standing as a language.

all forms of communication have their place though. i wouldn't fill out an english form in mandarin, write prescription instructions in chemical reactions formulas, nor use txting for class essays. i also, however, would not use standard english and standard capitalization (yes i have purposefully not capitalized sentence beginnings, and HAVE capitalized things i mean to emphasize) on my cell phone, in a game, nor throughout the majority of the internet. it would simply be inappropriate. it would also be insulting, confusing, or just down-right funny to those who see it being done. txting is not for use when formal or standard writing is being used or required. at the same time a person using standard or, even worse, formal language in a phone text or on a non-literary forum is considered uninformed, condescending, or disrespectful.

a little respect goes a long way no matter who you are, but the willingness to explain things to those who are confused or ignorant is also needed. ignorance is not a crime so long as it doesn't come bearing those selfsame pitchforks. Neither is using something new mean a person is being disrespectful, nor does it give you the right to impose the newness in places where choices have already been made and ways are established. then again maybe i'm a goddamn-uneducated-and-rude-'can't-speak-proper-english'-baby-garbler. may b im clt & 1337 is just gtfo 4 u, but imho wtf 2 ur oldskool convo & get ur head out teh wc long enough 2 c wth we made...or maybe i use partial 1337 because the world is all just a game in my head.

- <3 & ttyl



p.s.
i wonder if we could give it new proper names combining gamers and messagers? How about; digiphilese, digipilian (because digiphilan sounds like flan gone wrong), or maybe digiphilish! i like that...it sorta rolls off the tongue. "dij-i-fill-iiiiish" yup, like it. gonna use it. maybe on facebook. that seems disturbing and appropriate!

Twitter My Thumbs

twit·ter

v. twit·tered, twit·ter·ing, twit·ters

v.intr.

1. To utter a succession of light chirping or tremulous sounds; chirrup.

2.

a. To speak rapidly and in a tremulous manner: twittering over office gossip.

b. To giggle nervously; titter.

3. To tremble with nervous agitation or excitement.

v.tr.

To utter or say with a twitter: twittered a greeting.

n.

1.

a. The light chirping sound made by certain birds.

b. A similar sound, especially light, tremulous speech or laughter.

2. Agitation or excitement; flutter.

[Middle English twiteren, ultimately of imitative origin.]


I'm not entirely sure what this word has to do with 2-liner commentaries on www.twitter.com, yet that is what they choose to call it. I actually hate to think that my random insanities are considered chirping, fluttering, or 'god-help-us' giggling. Maybe it's referencing a cheerleaderesque inability to think more than one poorly constructed sentence at a time. Maybe it alludes to the a.d.d. mentality of modern mankind.

Personally I find it to be a great place for those random comments/thoughts that you just feel the need to present aloud. You know the ones: those statements non right-brainers open their mouth to blurt out only to realize the cat is the only one in the room with them, and it is already looking at said left-brainer like they're an idiot just for trying to have a thought worth hearing. The right-brainers of course simply blurt it out already having come to terms with their cat, and are just happy that it can't actually respond in English. There are those of us that will say such thoughts to any 'ole inanimate object just as readily as to the cat, dog, starving plant, or well displayed action figure.

There is also the amusement factor. Whether from an educational institution, famous actor, professional comedian, disturbing mom's-basement-xeno-nerd, busy/tired worker, or just your friends that like typing long blogs about as much as cleaning their toilet, there is a consistent flow of funny and informative commentary to be found on twitter. The odd set up of replies aside, and the generally non user friendly formatting aside, 20 seconds on your keyboard and your 'followers' (i do like that term....brings to mind minions, and minions are always good) will have a candid moment in your shoes. Well....in your cyber shoes I guess. They may or may not smell better.

Actual blogs are wonderful rantings, full of everything form diamonds to the stank on shit. The same range exists in twitters, but in smaller doses. Good for quick amusement. Admittedly lazier and clearly less involved I am still amused and occasionally enlightened by these chirps and flutters. Maybe I like the idea of people being able to read the things that I would otherwise only spew silently to the cosmos. I do have a tendency to leave similar kinds of commentary to offline friends on messengers and cell txts though. Maybe my inner thoughts are made of tremulous and successive blips. I may have been bored or beaten into the U.S. attention debt, with no life but to tell the internet what i had for breakfast. My mind may be amused because its only other use is to fertilize my hair. Maybe all of these horrors are true.....or maybe I'm just agitated and like to giggle in my head.



P.S.
My Twitter: @Caerigna

P.P.S.
lol changed pic 4/10/2009, couldn't resist teh funneh.

The Enduring One

TAURUS- The Enduring One (April 20 - May 20) Charming but aggressive. Can come off as boring, but they are not. Hard workers. Warm-hearted. Strong, has endurance. Solid beings that are stable and secure in their ways. Not looking for shortcuts. Take pride and interest in beauty. Patient and reliable. Make great friends and give good advice. Loving and kind. Loves hard - passionate. Express themselves emotionally. Prone to ferocious temper-tantrums. Determined. Indulge themselves often. Very generous.

sounds about right, though i should prolly work on personal beauty and generosity a bit. those two always need work though, so... :P old ways and old words do suit me best. i respect working for what you get, and learning rather than letting others do everything for you. i am admittedly lazy, but only in that everything is worth a certain amount of effort. if the goal is not worth the effort required to achieve it i forego the goal until it is less effortful or more dire/worthy.

the enduring one....that's a title i fit all too well. i'm guessing most would think it sounds awesome and a great title to have. that i'm a bit self righteous or pretentious in giving it to myself. yet, as i am daily reminded, most do not understand things so much as know them.

Let me explain that a bit before returning to the title i have taken claim of. knowing and understanding are far from the same thing. you can read this blog in english, obviously, so you know the words. understanding the words is a whole separate level to the language. i would say that then usage of the language is yet a separate level again, but that is getting into philosophizing. I'll save the complete set of those thoughts for another day or another forum. (i'm saying this all in general, not to the 2 ppl that might, when bored of watching paint peel, read this.)

'enduring one' gives a sense of strength, solidity, perseverance. i would say, as have numerous others, that i have those qualities. there is another side to these very attributes though. there is...a cost. mmh yes....back to the 'is it worth the effort' factor of my being. one can be strong to a point naturally or thru various nurturings. yet to gain the title of enduring one something else is required. a massive amount of adversity and pain for each of these attributes, and i can plainly say i've had a shitload of that. that is not whining, it is strictly fact. It is enough to say that this is their cost.. still think its a cool title?

'enduring one' implies longevity and survival. excellent qualities to be proud of and respected in others. just how long is longevity though, and just how many forms can survival take? well therein lies the understanding of these qualities.

i have been told i'm old since my memories began. common saying by spiritual ppl? maybe. as i said old ways and old words. i've been told i was a friend 'from before' by more than one. i have confused both spiritual and reality laymen with my complete comfort with the combination of new ideas with ancient methods (and vice versa). assuming past lives exist, then longevity plays a more affecting roll. take the common character of a vampire. the very epitome of longevity. ooh ahh you hear some say. see i knew i wanted this title they say. yes...well, they don't know vampires very well do they? yay live forever, yay flying, yay change forms, yay...yay...yay. in fact, not so yay. unless of course you dig watching everyone/thing you've ever known and loved die, enjoy killing fully sentient beings in order to survive, and generally becoming a true form monster. i can see the appeal of these extra considerations. yet there is the overwhelming fact that they are damned whether figuratively or actually. they are damned, both in life and spirit. a curse with benefits (if you will) is still a curse. i wouldn't have to remember past lives to be affected by them. the very act of having them is affective, and the greater in number they are the more they weigh. having longevity makes you something else, something other than the you which eats, pees, and sleeps.

i was told i was something else once by a child as i sat waiting for the gym to clear at a graduation. "i see you for what you really are" she told me with no conversation in progress. disturbingly, with an entirely different expression than she had a moment before or after the phrase. simply a response from a child who had overheard someone talking about me? maybe. 'witchy women' my grandfather called us. 'creative and a thinker' has been stated any number of times. accused of 'solving the world's problems' while sitting in the elementary lunchroom. out and out trained by my grandmother to present oneself as is appropriate to the situation, and that a misdeed with cunning was far better (if still less than a good deed). survival is a skill, in fact it is a skill set for each situation. i have long reminded myself that there is always a way out if you are willing to pay the price. for the more pop-media inclined think of the jack sparrow quote "The only rules that really matter are these: what a man can do and what a man can't do." A rather good way of putting it really. in all situations there are options, though admittedly they are sometimes obnoxiously limited. every, and i mean e_v_e_r_y option has its cost. the costs you choose to pay, and the costs you choose to avoid make you what you are. not who, not how....what. if the enduring one's choices are those of survival, then what does that make me? Still want this title?

enduring one is a title i understand and claim. what is detailed above is the basis for how i understand. i take all connotations into consideration, and have explained why i claim it. this is just how i think, and the title came from a mere astrological definition. a western calendar one only, at that. (if your wondering i am also a chinese zodiac monkey and metal sign.) yet it caught me for a moment and i claimed it. i believe it a fitting title, and am confident i have good reason in understanding it. but maybe my thinking is too reasoning, too assuming. maybe i am pretentious and self righteous to claim it. maybe....it's just all in my head.

Deleted or Delusional?

So I had a Blogger blog. I remember writing in one. Well, two to be exact. Apparently they are gone now, though i had an account still. So either some variatiant combination of meaningfull text and ranting insanity has been lost to world, or.......I was dreaming I had a Blogger blog, and posting in my strange digital fantasy. I am rather peeved, to say the least, that this has happened. From what I can tell it is due to Google gaining a momentary god complex as they bought out or revamped Blogger. Thus requiring a vast flooding process wipping out the skeletons in their cyber-closet. I am sad to say folks that the unicorns of previous postings have gone the way of those in an old song none of you will know. Words of wisdom, amusing tales, angry rants, et al are lost and gone. I'm sure they were there once. No trace is left, no deleting weapon to be found. Raised to ruin in an a.d.d world.....or maybe they were all in my head.