I think to some extent the capitalisation is useful, at least online, but it's hardly necessary. And when the pronouns start getting it, and the W/we stuff, that just makes reading things hard, and that ain't useful.
I have never seen an online BDSM forum in which it was in the slightest bit useful. All of the ones I read respond to capitalisation/pronoun abuse with some variant on, "You know, that's really not necessary." Except the snark community, which mostly points and laughs.
It's my understanding that it's a chatroom protocol; maybe it's useful as some sort of display of generosubmission or something to the denizens of a chatroom. But I'm not a generosubmissive, and I don't have any interest in online BDSM roleplay, so maybe I'm missing some nuance that might actually make me not want to claw someone's eyes out.
I've never been really involved with any of the online BDSM, and, while I understand it's an important outlet if you're geographically isolated or something, it seems like a poor substitute for live kink community and practice. When I see someone get all persnickety about capitalization, I think that ALL of their BDSM "experience" has been online, and I immediately begin to take their opinions with a grain of salt. (I have the same reaction when someone pronounces "domme" "dom-MAY".)
My big wince, grimace, screaming nightmare is when people refer to themselves as 'Me'. Many say that in the days before less protocoly communities were alive, that was the status quo so they got used to it.
Occasionally I attempt to read the boards on theslaveregister.com, but it really does get tiresome to read.
But even I have used dom/me on forums. Otherwise people start saying 'dom' is sexist. Why do women need the extra 'me'?
Capitalisation is useful in online/text-based situations where it is used to signal orientation (i.e. capitalisation of real nouns like online nicks) and in that sense, it can also be useful for a switch if he or she wants to signal a change in preferred interaction, simply by changing the case of the first letter of his or her nick. It is also useful for some people, so I've been told, in that it helps them enter into the right sort of mind space - but since that tends to involve pronoun capitalisation, that starts to bother me, too.
My view is that I have nothing against it until it starts making text difficult to read, and if it helps some people, then fine. It starts to affect readability when you get pronouns capitalised and becomes a lot worse when you get "W/we" type formations cropping up all over.
trinity - he's going to design something fabulous for this blog when he gets back from the big smoke (if we all approve it, of course!) and hopefully write some stuff too. Eventually we could even stick this blog into a proper 'domain'.
pepper - welcome! I just took a look at your blog and I'm adding it to the blogroll.
The capitalization thing totally drives me nuts, I think because it is so entirely unnecessary. But I try not to be snarky, and so far have succeeded.
ReplyDeleteBut every time I see "W/we", I just want to scream: "Real dominants don't need capital letters to feel secure!"
I'm a freelance copyeditor.
ReplyDeleteNobody whose kink does not include getting stabbed with red and blue pencils should pull that nonsense on me.
I think to some extent the capitalisation is useful, at least online, but it's hardly necessary. And when the pronouns start getting it, and the W/we stuff, that just makes reading things hard, and that ain't useful.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen an online BDSM forum in which it was in the slightest bit useful. All of the ones I read respond to capitalisation/pronoun abuse with some variant on, "You know, that's really not necessary." Except the snark community, which mostly points and laughs.
ReplyDeleteIt's my understanding that it's a chatroom protocol; maybe it's useful as some sort of display of generosubmission or something to the denizens of a chatroom. But I'm not a generosubmissive, and I don't have any interest in online BDSM roleplay, so maybe I'm missing some nuance that might actually make me not want to claw someone's eyes out.
I've never been really involved with any of the online BDSM, and, while I understand it's an important outlet if you're geographically isolated or something, it seems like a poor substitute for live kink community and practice. When I see someone get all persnickety about capitalization, I think that ALL of their BDSM "experience" has been online, and I immediately begin to take their opinions with a grain of salt. (I have the same reaction when someone pronounces "domme" "dom-MAY".)
ReplyDeletedon't have any interest in online BDSM roleplay, so maybe I'm missing some nuance that might actually make me not want to claw someone's eyes out.
ReplyDeleteditto.
My big wince, grimace, screaming nightmare is when people refer to themselves as 'Me'. Many say that in the days before less protocoly communities were alive, that was the status quo so they got used to it.
ReplyDeleteOccasionally I attempt to read the boards on theslaveregister.com, but it really does get tiresome to read.
But even I have used dom/me on forums. Otherwise people start saying 'dom' is sexist. Why do women need the extra 'me'?
Oh, and another pet hate?
ReplyDeleteWhen people call me 'vurtay'. Like 'dommay'. Lovely.
Capitalisation is useful in online/text-based situations where it is used to signal orientation (i.e. capitalisation of real nouns like online nicks) and in that sense, it can also be useful for a switch if he or she wants to signal a change in preferred interaction, simply by changing the case of the first letter of his or her nick. It is also useful for some people, so I've been told, in that it helps them enter into the right sort of mind space - but since that tends to involve pronoun capitalisation, that starts to bother me, too.
ReplyDeleteMy view is that I have nothing against it until it starts making text difficult to read, and if it helps some people, then fine. It starts to affect readability when you get pronouns capitalised and becomes a lot worse when you get "W/we" type formations cropping up all over.
That is totally awesome.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have absolutely nothing against capped or lowercased nicknames in a chatroom, on a forum, etc.
ReplyDeleteIt's the pronouns and the slashouts that get me.
trinity - he's going to design something fabulous for this blog when he gets back from the big smoke (if we all approve it, of course!) and hopefully write some stuff too. Eventually we could even stick this blog into a proper 'domain'.
ReplyDeletepepper - welcome! I just took a look at your blog and I'm adding it to the blogroll.
verte: Thanks! In the next couple weeks I'm hoping to post something good on the relationship between BDSM, power, and resistance.
ReplyDelete*wants*
ReplyDeleteIt is just ugly.
The worst one I have seen is this
E/everyone.
I mean, either you mean everyone or you don't. How can there be two kinds of everyone?
This won't actually have effect, I suppose like this.
ReplyDelete