Metropol

Our local PSNI teams have very successful Facebook pages on which they update everyone on what's going on. It's an excellent example of involving the community in the policing of their own areas. They've won awards for it, and deservedly so.

But - like the BBC News Facebook pages - people can post whatever they like as comments. Some of the comments will be removed, but I'm not complaining here about the content... but the fact that there appears to be a generation appearing which thinks it's perfectly ok to write this down in an open forum that everyone in their community can read:

PSNI Bangor: We reported a car stolen on Saturday, turned out the owner forgot where they parked it. That's 3 different ones in the last 2 weeks.
Lynda Durno: N wot sort of shape r these ppl in wen they park their cars?

Ryan Buster Johnston: i didnt no the police wer alowed to sit in a chinese and eat while on duty?

And my favourite of the morning...

Jessica Williamson > PSNI Ards: I thinks it quite sad also that u fine 16 year olds who r in full time eduguashion how they supper to pay it all over a cig but ?

I could go on. I genuinely have to stop myself also replying to the posts. Is it just me?

I wonder if it is more a case of us being able to now see the inner thoughts of other people.

For example, I knew someone as a work friend of a friend, seemed perfectly normal until the day his bebo was delved into by me and friend. Said Bebo contained a child like blog listing all the mundane details his exceptionally dull college placement as if it was the best thing since sliced bread. You then start to think "is so and so actually a bit thick?"

jus my opinyon tho, no need 2 b nasti about it

At first I thought these posts generally came from stupid 15-year-olds, and some do, though that's no excuse.

But actually they mostly seem to come from people in their 20s, and the profile pics attached often show them with their kids.

What chance do the kids have?

Didn't know you were a friend of Tumble's, Pete.

Nick Harvey wrote:Didn't know you were a friend of Tumble's, Pete.

Twas not to that extreme.

Sadly, the post-modern allergy to correct spelling, grammar and punctuation pervades all walks of life. Many years ago I shared a house with a social worker who had studied at one of the top 20 universities in the UK. She was very bright and possessed a finely tuned sense of awareness, which is why I was so bemused when, after three months of thinking I knew her, she sent me a text message that looked something like this:

Hez gon 2 venice for da wknd. will af 2 tk abt it wen he gtz bak.

Ah, but that kind of speech is accepted as a valid kind of shorthand, like it or not. Within that framework, what she said is fairly well-written!

Sput wrote:Ah, but that kind of speech is accepted as a valid kind of shorthand, like it or not. Within that framework, what she said is fairly well-written!

indeed, within a text message this is perfectly acceptable.

Not when it pollutes my inbox, it isn't.

Well then, perhaps you should be more picky about what you receive.

This thread has descended into obscenity since the last time I looked at it!!