Writing Clearly

I discovered Reddit's page of reddiquette....how to behave yourself among the Reddit forums. There's a line here that I'd like to share with you, since I've never seen it said so succinctly before.

Intelligent discourse requires a standard system of communication.

Kinda a beautiful sentence if you think about it. It's both the reason why language exists at all, and why you should follow proper grammar, punctuation, and structure rules. To make yourself clear and understandable, you need to follow the expected system of communication. Capitalize letters when applicable, use punctuation in the correct place, spell words correctly, and structure your sentences with subjects, verbs, and objects.

It explains why we need writing classes in schools. With forums, emails, texts, comments, blogs, etc all over the internet, people need to know the standard rules of writing. What you write is potentially captured forever, or as long as your computer memory holds out. The standard system of communication is particularly true when you are conversing with someone you have never met. They don't know you, don't know your inflections of speech; you must follow the expected rules to make yourself clear.

Think of it this way. Common language is a way to unify us, to share ideas and opinions. If you don't conform to the system, you can't be a part of the conversation.