[EscAlaMike]

They're just representing their hometowns and their neighborhoods. In my opinion, it's alot better than tattooing skulls or naked women on your body. The only problem is, sometimes they change your area code. Growing up in Ormond Beach, we were always 904, then they changed it to 386.

[stars99]

Originally Posted by ♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥

Moderator cut: Unreadable

I thought we were talking abotu area codes, not "text speak"

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

Originally Posted by OrlandoRE_Miracle

I thought we were talking abotu area codes, not "text speak"

Area codes is the subject.

The Tampa vs Miami gangs rivalry is absurd, those cities are too far apart from each other. I know many people who have tattoos but they're not gangsters or anything like that. They just have them because they either like them or because they want to fit in and everybody else is having them.

I don't think they are dumb or don't have "critical thinking skills" Young generations are usually rebels, and they try hard to fit in within their own groups. It's not just now, it's always been like that for thousands of years. People just get older and when they don't understand the new generations they automatically think the world is gonna end and the new generation is hopeless. It's the same thing your parents thought about your generation. Rock & Roll, Hippies, Disco area, Rockers, Grunge, same old.

In other words, relax people. It's just a tattoo.

[faithfulFrank]

Just a reminder.......the Terms of Service we all agreed to when joining C-D states that we use plain English in our posts.

Please understand that any deviation from that will be deleted. Let's leave the letter/number thing to license plates.....

Frank

[Strel]

Originally Posted by ♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥

I don't think they are dumb or don't have "critical thinking skills" Young generations are usually rebels, and they try hard to fit in within their own groups. It's not just now, it's always been like that for thousands of years. People just get older and when they don't understand the new generations they automatically think the world is gonna end and the new generation is hopeless. It's the same thing your parents thought about your generation. Rock & Roll, Hippies, Disco area, Rockers, Grunge, same old.

In other words, relax people. It's just a tattoo.

Yes, believe it or not, I was once young. And it pains me to remember how stuff I thought was cool really was stupid once I got older.

This will happen to you as well. Count on it.

Perhaps "critical thinking skills" wasn't the right phrase. "Poor judgment" might have been better.

I interview young people all time, job interviews. I am frequently shocked at how few of them have a command of their own native language, how few can write effectively, and how few of them understand that tatoos and wild hairdoes don't really impress professional clients.

Here is the message I get, and the message my clients get, when someone has a visible tatoo:

a) they are low class; and,
b) they lack good judgment

Not exactly marketable material.

The textspeak business is just plain annoying, which is why is is banned on a lot of message boards.

[Moderate Guy]

Originally Posted by Strel

Yes, believe it or not, I was once young. And it pains me to remember how stuff I thought was cool really was stupid once I got older.

This will happen to you as well. Count on it.

Perhaps "critical thinking skills" wasn't the right phrase. "Poor judgment" might have been better.

I interview young people all time, job interviews. I am frequently shocked at how few of them have a command of their own native language, how few can write effectively, and how few of them understand that tatoos and wild hairdoes don't really impress professional clients.

Here is the message I get, and the message my clients get, when someone has a visible tatoo:

a) they are low class; and,
b) they lack good judgment

Not exactly marketable material.

The textspeak business is just plain annoying, which is why is is banned on a lot of message boards.

Agree with most of what you say here.

If one is not seeking employment, or if one is in a position where the referenced charcateristics aren't detrimental, perhaps the textspeak business doesn't matter that much to that person.

You are right, though, that there is a certain perception that is generally unfavorable to the population at large.

[Strel]

Originally Posted by Moderate Guy

Agree with most of what you say here.

If one is not seeking employment, or if one is in a position where the referenced charcateristics aren't detrimental, perhaps the textspeak business doesn't matter that much to that person.

You are right, though, that there is a certain perception that is generally unfavorable to the population at large.

I think young people do not quite understand how much appearances really do matter. They can call it shallow, they can call it unfair, they can call it "judging a book by its cover", whatever...

It's the way the real, grown-up world works. The message you want so desperately to send the world when you are a teenager finding your identity and learning how to assert yourself may not resonate well a few years later when you are trying to make a living. I think us adults would be remiss if we did not give them this warning.

Everyone's perception is their own reality, so be damn careful what kind of message you send to the world. "Fair" has nothing to do with it.

As for textspeak, I think it is a linguistic atrocity. It's nothing more than an annoying fad that I hope goes away sometime soon (but it won't). It's not just annoying because it is hard on the eyes and an imposition on the reader, it's annoying because at its heart just a silly, unnecessary affectation.

[Reptoid Humidian]

The shrinking of the human language. Whatever nationality that language might be. Reference George Orwell's 'Newspeak'.

[itsajourney]

Someday those hot, young bodies will start to age and that skin will start to sag, wrinkle, crinkle, and who knows what else. Those big bucks everybody paid to be a walking, talking billboard will cost even bigger bucks to try and erase the sad choices that were made during those rebellious years of youth....those years you all forgot to consider that this aint never going away...it's going to sag and fade and look like crap. Using a laser to try and remove the stuff is not cheap and as of now, it will not totally remove it. People who do those things to their body forget that they will not always be the same person, thinking the same things that they do right now--oops, too bad. You get to wear it forever. It's not a t-shirt that you change slogans on a daily basis..

[Reptoid Humidian]

If you (I mean anyone) are constantly updating your status or quotes on the forums you participate in, I think that should be a pretty good clue that you shouldn't ever consider a tatoo.