I applaud you for writing this, I was smiling and nodding the whole way through. Their, they're and there... Why do people muddle them up so frequently!

I even send text messages to people in English... Text speak confuses me too much, haha!

You are completely right about that. The internet takes over our lives, and our language. I even found my sister saying things like "LOL" and "ROFL" in normal everyday conversation. Boy, did that drive me nuts.
Still, I can't help but sneak the occasional "LOL" or "WTF" into a chat conversation. It makes it more interesting, you know?

Just remember: Every time you type ‘lol’, one of your English teachers dies.

That's probably true. Sadly.

I agree with this... but I also use some of those horrible internet conventions. Like "lol" and "wtf." But I try to use those only when I'm being silly or not very serious, and I only misspell stuff when I'm really being stupid. And don't get me started on 'icic.'

I'm too far integrated into the internet culture to give up on my lolspeaking ways, I'm afraid.

When someone first said "brb" to me, I thought they had not spelled "burp" properly. Hahahaha...

My basic thoughts on it are more or less the same as Shin's. In some situations, as long as it's still comprehensible, then I'm OK with it, and use it myself. However, for others, it is just not the right thing to do.

But it is very true, as Tally Solleni said. Language changes. Our current change is nothing different. I'm positive this exact essay (within reason) has been written by many others through the past hundreds of years. Just replace the "proper" word/phrase with the new "improper" one. We are nothing special. This has happened, and shall continue to happen.

The whole point of language is to be able to communicate, and if one is communicating, regardless of how "traditionally proper" they are doing it, then they are achieving what languages are attempting. More power to them.

@Tally Solleni:

I was hoping people would logically conclude that I don't discriminate against those learning English, as that is something I quite understand. However, when one is, it is usually quite obvious that they are, as they are making a full effort to communicate to the best of their ability. I was the same when learning German, and tried my best to blend in when making comments at German-language sites. There's a different feel to a phrase when somebody who knows the language is simply being lazy to when somebody who is learning is trying their best but still doesn't know everything.

I'm obviously friends with people who use common net-etiquette. I wrote this not as a true representation for my feelings, but as a way to fully fulfill the English assignment. XD

Nnn...I partially agree with you, and partially disagree.
Yes, it's true that a lot of chatspeak can be annoying or hard to understand, but I don't have any problem with abbreviations such as "lol". I don't use them, but I don't think it's a crime against the language when others use them. After all, no one complains when someone calls for a "taxi" rather than a "taximeter cabriolet". Abbreviating common words is simply something that happens when a language is used. Language is not immutable; we've gone through about three different Englishes by now, after all. I'm sure that some scholars in Chaucer's time complained about the death of the English language then, as well.
I guess the important point is that spelling and grammar exist solely to help people understand each other. They are not sacred, and they are by no means perfect. They are guidelines, not laws. In general, I only complain about incorrect grammar when it could lead to confusion or inaccuracy. It doesn't bother me so much if someone ends a sentence with a preposition or splits an infinitive, because those rules actually strike me as utterly unnecessary. It's through discarding useless rules and coining useful ones that a language evolves to begin with.
As an aside, I was actually quite offended that you used "still learning English" as an insult, and followed it with a statement that anyone learning English is therefore below the age of ten. Um, NO. As it happens, English is not the only language in the world. Some people grow up speaking the language most common in their country, and then learn English when they're older. This does not mean that they are stupid, uneducated, or childish. I'm sorry, but your comment struck me as extremely nationalistic.

The only time I don't capitalize the "I" is when I'm using IM because my enter key is the same size of my shift key and I tend to mess them up... Anyway, I too don't get why people use "leet speak" on a regular basis, maybe it's out of laziness...

Lol.

*is shot many, many times*

If it's restricted to chat rooms/instant messaging, then I don't have that much of an issue with Net Speak. I liken it to slang people use in everyday conversation -- it's not the "proper" way to speak, but people don't always speak properly, anyway (I sure as hell do not speak in a grammatically correct way). And at least in chats, people aren't normally throwing walls of text at you, which means it's not too difficult to read.

In more formal areas, though, I definitely do not care for it. If you are writing a blog post, for instance, then you are communicating ideas, and you want people to understand those ideas. Big blobs of Net Speak are horribly messy and difficult to read, which makes communication much tougher. Punctuation exists for a reason. Plus, of course, proper writing is just more professional and much more likely to be taken seriously.

FYI (lol): It's "capital" rather than "capitol" in the second-to-last paragraph. Unless you are talking legislature, that is. :P

I think my biggest problem is not putting the apostrophe into my contractions. I make a concious effort to not appear to be an idiot at large in the electronic forum.

I was actually about to post a similar rant on the Watercooler regarding all of the new "member introductions".

Lots of "luvs", "wuts", "ppls", and other mindless "Txt Spk" that is now making the majority of today's youth seem uneducated.

This is a very nicely constructed little rant you have going Kat.

Kudos

Yeah, I too was quite confused when I first encountered internet-speak. I had no idea what lol, rofl, and brb meant. Even now, if I use any of those, it's more for the sake of amusement than actually using them for consistent communication.

It's much better to continue talking in complete sentences, which leads to much less confusion. It's also sad when you here that internet-speak has also begun to creep in to everyday use, that kids use them in school in essays and other assignments.

Just remember: Every time you type ‘lol’, one of your English teachers dies.

This makes me laugh, but at the same time it's sad. I'm sure the great writers of the English language would also roll in their graves.