What People Think When You Type in All Caps
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People who type in all capital letters are often an irritant to others who are reading what they have written. This may not be fair but it’s the case. That’s because there are a lot of assumptions that people make about what it means that someone is typing in ALL CAPS. We don’t have the benefit of being able to read body language when reading something online so we have to do what we can to infer a person’s meaning based just on the words they’ve shared and the way that they’ve written them. We might be making the wrong inferences but there are some common things that we are likely to believe if someone has sent us a message in all caps.
Here are some of the assumptions that people will make when you send them an email (or write an article) that is entirely capitalized:
• People think a message in all caps means that the write is yelling at them. The traditional thing that “all caps” writing has come to mean on the Internet is that you are doing this because you want to convey a tone similar to yelling. A message or article that is written entirely in capital letters is jarring to look at because we don’t typically receive messages that look this way. This is comparable to hearing yelling when what we normally hear is quiet speech. The message that is sent in ALL CAPS comes across as yelling or threatening. This will often cause people to react to the message negatively out of a defensive posture even if the actual words that are in the message are not angry. The situation is exacerbated when the content of the written piece is negative or angry because this fuels the fire of “yelling” that appears to be going on here.
• People assume that the writer is trying to demand attention. Even if the message of an ALL CAPS piece of writing isn’t considered to be received in a manner similar to yelling, it does tend to create the feeling that the person who has written it really wants to get some attention. This is mainly due to the fact that the writing is different from the norm. The same would be true if the writing were in a very strange font, a much larger size than normal or a color other than black. Often, in writing, we will use bold or ALL CAPS lettering to make a particular point stand out. If we use bold or ALL CAPS writing for the entire piece then we are sending the message that the entire piece should stand out. This can irritate someone who doesn’t understand why you are demanding their attention to this piece of writing.
• People may assume that you have a lack of skill with technology. The standard method of writing online these days is through the traditional use of a combination of lower case and capital letters. If you choose not to conform to this method then the people who read what you are writing may assume that you are not familiar with the standard etiquette of the technology that you are using. If you write in all lower case letters or ALL CAPS then people may think that you don’t really know how to use a computer properly even if that’s not the case at all.
• People may assume that you are an immature writer. In addition to believing that you may not use technology properly, people reading your work may assume that you don’t know the proper methods of capitalization and that this is why you choose to write in ALL CAPS. This can be damaging if you are interested in building up a reputation for your writing. People may fail to take the content of your writing seriously because they believe that you don’t know how to write.
• People may assume that you are lazy. Another reason that someone might choose to write in all caps is that they don’t want to bother with changing back and forth between lower case and capital letters. This can be viewed as lazy by the person that is reading your message.
• People may wonder if you are trying to be a rebel. This is just one of those issues of non-conformity. When you opt to do things in a way that other people are not doing them, you draw attention to yourself. Some of this will be negative attention from people who do not understand why you will not conform to the way that things are done. If you don’t want to be seen as someone who breaks the rules or ignores convention then you shouldn’t write in all capital letters.
Many of these assumptions are probably not actually the case for most people who are writing in ALL CAPS. There may be any number of reasons that you would choose to write in ALL CAPS including simply that you find it more aesthetically pleasing. However, it is a fact that many people will make these negative assumptions about you if you do write emails and articles without using proper lower case and capitalization in your writing. As a result, it is probably best to drop the ALL CAPS writing and write in the traditional form in order to generate more positive online relationships with others. Plus this allows you to really make your point come through when you have something truly urgent to say and you want to say it with an ALL CAPS message.
- PlayFirst® - Why does my mom type in ALL CAPS? - PlayFirst Grapevine
- ALL CAPS - Encyclopedia Dramatica
- Rands In Repose: ALL CAPS Killed the Exclamation Point
- All caps - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Use All Caps with the Right Fonts - Rules of Desktop Publishing
Stop shouting. Online TYPING IN ALL CAPS is considered shouting and is frowned on in most cases. In print, shouting is never worse than when it is done with decorative or script typefaces. Its ugly. Its hard to read. Just dont do it, PLEASE!
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I know a man, a very talented artist, who always uses ALL CAPS. It is much easier for him because he has a spinal cord injury with no use of his right hand, or most of his body and only limited use of his left. I have to remember that he is not shouting.
WHAT ARE YOU ALL WRITING OVER THERE? I CAN NOT UNDERSTAND A WORD OF IT... I DO NOT HEAR VERY WELL YOU KNOW... LOL
Sorry for this little joke but some times I get to know people who use ALL CAPS every time they want to express something in a way that others can feel they enthusiasm. Personally I don´t like it - I think it´s rude. But if I had to choose between two texts, I rather read the one which it´s better written even if it´s ALL CAPS. I am going to send them this hub though... They might learn something.
AMEN!!!!!
Cheers,
Chef Jeff
I USE CAPS ALL THE TIME AND HAVE bEEN FOR OVER FIVE YEARS bECUASE ITS THE WAY I WRITE AND I FIND IT TO LOOK bETTER TO ME. SINCE I LOOK AT MY WORK THE MOST I LIKE IT TO bE PRESENTAbLE TO ME. NOT TO SAY I WRITE IN ALL CAPS WHEN DOING A REPORT OR AN ESSAY, bUT FOR PERSONAL REASONS I FIND IT bETTER LOOKING. MY b'S ARE ALL LOWER CASED bECAUSE I HATE USING CAPITAL b'S. THEY ARE UGLY TO ME AND I CANT STAND IT bUT DONT CARE MUCH IF OTHERS USE THEM. NOT SURE WHY. bUT HOPEFULLY PREJUDICE AGAINST PEOPLE LIKE ME WHO JUST LOVE TYPING THIS WAY WILL SOON SUbSIDE.
I hate it when people use all capital letters when typing. I always feel attacked, even when the person is on my side of things. It makes me think they didn't really read my article or hub and they are just shouting their opinion.
I also dislike when people write HaLf AnD hAlF. I also find ThIs, very annoying and hard to read.
I admit when I am hand writing I tend to write more in caps than lower case, but I know I also have very neat hand-writing and I don't think people think I am yelling at them, but who knows.
Good hub, maybe it will persuade some people to stop that habit! Tayler!
Yes, I couldn't agree more. We have developed a means for common courtesy when we write online in emails or blogs. We use the dreadful exclamation point too often, but we want to show enthusiasm in our comments and compliments for each others' work, so I can forgive that. But common courtesy dictates that we not use all caps. when writing. Not only is it rude and difficult to read, not only do we feel that we are being attacked or even insulted, but it also is simply uncouth, in the same way that chewing food with one's mouth open is uncouth.
I know a few people who type in all caps, due to eyesight problems. They expect you to reply to them in the same manner. At the same time I know many who type in caps just for the annoyance factor.
Wow, such an in depth article on a topic I thought to be rudimentary--sure proved me wrong!
Thanks for the good read :)
I have now decided to not write in caps any more. I wouldn't want people thinking this way about me. I'm a very simple person and read only for the words and not how it was typed but i can't possibly expect everyone else on the net to be the same.
EYES: I appreciate your individuality-- but I think you have made a wise decision. You can confom to prevailing thought and still be an individual.
(My former last name had a capital B -- that's the part I don't understand.)
Eyes ahve you lost weight, hair cut...you look different...i can't quite put my FINGER on it...whatever it is i like it! lol
Eyes -- typing in the same manner as everyone else is not mindless conformity. Now: if you typed the same words in the same order, that would indeed be mindless conformity, and it would be very disappointing, as I'm looking forward to reading your views and ideas.
Rochelle: Yea I have no idea why i don't like capital b's. Maybe it's because my dirty mind often thinks too much of it looking like a butt or boobs or balls lol. They just don't appeal to me is all. Haven't for years. Who knows, i can be a weird creature sometimes.
Pest: Ha ha ha...is my typing now making me hotter!? Lol.
Teresa: Yea I've come to a point in my life where i def take others into concideration a sh** load more. Little at a time ha ha. And yes, come check out some of my stuff if you'de like. My poetry shares a lot of my opinions on nature, if your into that.
I agree with everything you've written - and I find it hard to read, too. So I usually don't bother.
Say what you will about all caps - it got us reading this hub and commenting :) Internet etiquette "says" all caps looks like yelling, so people shouldn't do it. I, personally, don't take it as "yelling". Still, all caps will lose me because it just seems as if the person can't be bothered "troubling his mind" with thinking about which letters should be capitalized. That then makes me think that using language doesn't come naturally to that person; which, in turn, makes me assume the material isn't worth reading.
On top of all that, while typing in all caps may be speedy; there is something I find nice about the sound of the rhythm of the keystrokes, complete with the frequent interspersing of the slightly different sounding shift key. If I think (even subconciously) that the writer/typist doesn't like hearing (even subconciously) the normal "clickety" of the keys, there's just something that strikes (pardon the pardon) me as "off" about that person's writing style.
Of course, I've been typing since the late sixties, so I have an emotional and time investment in believing that typing "the right way" matters.
Great Hub! Yes, traditionally all caps is akin to shouting or yelling. LondonGirl hit it right on the nose with hard to read. Writing in all caps does not flow and it makes it difficult to read, therefore inconveniencing the reader by having to slow down. I refuse to even 'try' to read anything that is typed in all caps!
You pretty much got it all. I hate it when people type in all caps. Makes it hard to read.
Hmmm...interesting...I don't like it when people type in all caps, either. Sometimes I do, if I want to show I am excited! Like, YAY!!! YIPPEE!!!!
Great hub - and yet, does it in any way date us? I hate the All Caps feel too - and all it stands for in my mind - or not! - but I wonder if that's my age showing! Are the young hampered by such connotations, I wonder?
My bruv's in his early 20s, and he hates it too (-:
I enjoyed this article. I shared it on twitter because some one there are ALL CAPPERS and I feel sorry for them when I see them doing it.
very critical type to all aps.but i don't like
I think this whole ALL-CAPITALS netiquette issue is a BUNCH OF CRAP. I don't see why people are so offended by letters being in all caps. It shouldn't make a difference. In fact, a lot of people these days type in ALL LOWER-CASE letters when texting or e-chatting; should that make the netiquette gweeb-list, too? What's more important is the context of the message: If it is a term paper or homework assignment, then use proper grammar, but if it's just incidental emails or memos at work or between friends, it shouldn't matter either way. If someone writes me in all caps, I don't even think twice about trying to infer some kind of "body language" with the lettering; I just read the message and move on. People need to stop pigeon-holing everyone into little corners of nerdiquette. It's worse than all the PC crap being shoved down our throats, especially if it's something that originated from Britain.
RELAX, WRITING IN ALL CAPS SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED SHOUTING. WHO MADE THAT RULE TO BEGIN WITH ANYWAY? I'M NOT SUBSCRIBING TO SOME GEEKOID'S LINE OF THINKING WHO THOUGHT THAT CAPS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED SHOUTING WAY BACK IN 1982. IT'S ABSOLUTELY ABSURD, SILLY, INANE, STUPID, AND OBNOXIOUS THAT THIS IS EVEN AN ISSUE.
Also, those that try to play the ALL-CAPS-IS-SHOUTING-GAME usually can't even write correctly no matter what case of letters they use (i.e. not using apostrophes in contracted words!)...
Marky
Communication is based on a gradually evolving consensus, not what some "geekoid" decides. You should have a look at linguistics, the science of language, to learn more about how language works. For what it's worth, capital letters have been taken to mean shouting for a very long time, long before the internet.
You know what thwey say about people who "assume" . . .
Paragraphs that are in ALL caps make me crazy. I have a friend who insists on sending mass emails about his music business to newsletter participants this way. I told him no one is reading it because it's way to annoying. Great story!
Patty Inglish, MS says:
9 months ago
Interesting Hub. A boss once typed in all caps, because he thought it looked mroe professional and he did not have to address capitalization if he did so. We found it hard to read.