Informality, modern messaging, and editing

Question

The "acceptable" modes of messaging and exchange of information are constantly evolving. A forum such as this one was unimaginable* just twenty years ago, yet today it can seem positively antiquated when compared to other platforms.

I present as an example today's the difference between anyway and anyways also a lot and a lots ?

I was tempted immediately to edit this question in several ways so that it might conform to... to what? The question as it is would be unexceptional if received in my messaging app!

Will it be wise to accept without revision questions formatted and presented as if in a messaging app? Since many new learners are much more accustomed to these platforms that to our stodgy web-based model, is accommodating them the best way to make them feel at home? Or should we instead expect learners to dispense with the near-dialect of English that constitutes, for many of them, their first experience of the language, and expect instead that they conform to a minimum standard of "proper" usage? How might we accomplish this without alienating them, or presenting ourselves as a bunch of hidebound troglodytes?

A tangent: when editing a question, I often wish it were possible to use the editing itself as a tool with which to promote progress in punctuation, spelling and grammar, but I haven't come up with a way to bring the quærent's attention to an edit in commentary without distracting from the content of the question. Do experienced hands have any tips?

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*_{I except USENET, with which our presentation has something in common, because the majority of "regular folks" never knew of it, and still don't.}

Answer 1

I'm expressing my opinion about editing posts on ELL. I am aware correcting other people's posts is a thorny issue, but I'll try to explain my approach, and the rationale behind it.

Edit

Whenever a post contains solecisms that risk receiving a negative response; typos, missing capital letters, ungrammatical phrases, poor formatting, etc. if it offers something to ‘chew on’, it should be edited for clarity.

Why?

I think everyone will agree it is a strain to read a long wall of text filled with typos. Would anyone object if a user applied common sense and edited the post? Adding paragraphs, fixing typos, replacing CAPS with lower case letters (minuscule), and using correct punctuation marks not only helps the OP, it also helps readers and non native speakers alike. As long as the edit does not alter the OP's query, edits should aim to improve legibility. That type of edit should be encouraged, why should a shorter post be treated any differently?

To reiterate, an edit by a community user should, above all, be seen as an act of courtesy towards readers; and secondly, as a gesture of kindness.

Textese: Why the rush?

Textese fulfills an important communicative function on mobile phones, but ELL is not a cell phone device.

In my very humble opinion, a question written entirely in textese on an English language site is bordering on rudeness. It shows laziness, slackness, and disrespect. Furthermore, not everyone understands these abbreviations, it definitely alienates the more mature users among us — ahem, cough — and possibly not every non-native speaker will be familiar with their meanings.

Weak writing ≠ textese

guys, i have noticed that in a movie he said anyways and also have lots of time so why he didn't say a lot instead of lots ?

IMHO the above is not textese, the above is neither an example of today's orthographic trends pioneered by the millennial and Z generation; the above was clearly written by a young non native speaker.

Since the OP posted his question, it has been edited and it is more comprehensible.