Re: OT: 'SHOUTING' in e-mail

wmoores@watervalley.net wrote:


Who decided that using all caps was shouting?
It is a convention that has developed as the internet came into its popularity. The world is full of conventions, from saying "please" to not exposing the sole of your shoe to a Saudi Prince unless you want to insult him, and many others inbetween. However, as we are trying to communicate to the reader, we have to be cognizant of how our words9and deeds) are going to be interpreted. We may not like the way something is treated, but if you want to get your point across, you have to speak in a language that is understood and carries your meaning with it.

Is there a rule against using all caps on iris-talk?


No, but we do ask people to follow conventional "nettiquette."
All of us should try to be aware that there are those among us who have physical challenges and be considerate of those conditions.

Certainly


Saying that the use of all caps is shouting is a bunch of hooey,


Unfortunately, it is convention.
and to deny the use of caps to print handicapped
people who want to use the computer is just not right.

So does that mean that we all should type in all caps all the time? I don't think that is reasonable.

There are other means that those with disadvantaged vision can deal with the problem. The creators ot the software programs we use to manage email (and other programs) have often provided a means for enlarging the print on the screen, or in the case of Apple Macs, enlarge the presentation of the entire screen. If this is available, the use of upper and lower case letters makes the written word much more readable. Additionally, it makes the majority of email (which most people create in normal text presentation) readable to those who are disadvantaged.

John | "There be dragons here"
| Annotation used by ancient cartographers
| to indicate the edge of the known world.

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