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> early 90s IRC and MUD cultures It goes back before that. There were well known Usenet folks who adhered to the style. The 1970s-and-earlier Arpanet was bef

> early 90s IRC and MUD cultures It goes back before that. There were well known Usenet folks who adhered to the style. The 1970s-and-earlier Arpanet was before my time, but I'm sure it existed then too ;).

stickfigure 9mo ago
You whippersnappers! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._E._Cummings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._E._Cummings
- antonvs 9mo ago
  Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. It’s like watching a discussion about who invented orcs, Terry Brooks or Terry Pratchett.
  - quesera 9mo ago
    I don't mean to imply invention, just community ubiquity. Obviously e.e. is the o.g. :)
quesera 9mo ago
You know, I was trying to remember if anyone from Usenet did similarly, but I couldn't think of anyone. I was a bit post-Great Renaming into well post-Eternal September. And we may have followed different groups. The style arises spontaneously in isolated individuals and groups of course (at least since e. e. cummings!), but it was pervasive-to-universal on IRC and MUDs. I do wonder how it trickled into there though. The most boring answer is probably the correct one. it was slightly easier to type and kids are naturally flexible.
- ted_dunning 9mo ago
  I wrote in lower case on Usenet before the renaming. So there's one.
  - quesera 9mo ago
    I think I did too, but it may have varied by newsgroup, and I wasn't particularly prolific. I'm not sure whether I'm brave enough to search the archives for my own writing. :)