Well, let's be honest folks: the media have been increasingly pandering to "Knuckle-draggers" for 20-odd years or so :P

Also, like it or not, language isn't stationery, it changes over time.
I often cause problems because I don't want to use English in the damn boring, craptastic way we were forced to regurgitate it's mouldy bones! If you can't THINK about what someone has written in multiple levels of meaning and possible insight, then bugger off and wake up to what being a Human Being is really about! ;)

Legibility is important when trying to convey information, but language is NOT bloody simple arithmetic!
One reason I use smilies so much is that emotional content, intent, is an absolutely vital part of the process. I can infer a dozen different possible meanings for a simple phrase with tone, expression and gesture, hence it's vital for people to add some clue to true intent on message boards, as a simple sentence can sound like a vile insult under the wrong circumstances.

:)

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