I don't get what the big deal is with people putting some or part of their posts in all caps. So what if the posts show they are frustrated and seem to be yelling.  Why do certain people take it so personally.  At times I have put things in caps to get a point across.  Guess I don't see what the big deal is. I do get tired of reading posts wasting time and space that says "don't yell or "why are you posting things in all caps".  It is better than the person's post expressing it in  bad language all over the place. Wouldn't it be better GETTING  down to the business of trying to help solve the problem  and not always bring attention to what has been posted in caps. It is harmless in my book. I am a moderator on another computer forum.  I came here in the hopes of learning more about what I don't know which I openly admit could fill volumes. I agree some people go over the top a little with it. If it's a first time poster I simply assume they don't know better and somewhere in my response I mention it's the online equivalent of shouting. What bothers me a bit is people who "correct" the poster but don't try to help.
It's all down to etiquette and social protocols. For those of us who spend a lot of time hanging out in cyberspace, messages written in all capital letters are reminiscent of trying to hold a conversation in which one person is shouting every word while others are speaking at a normal volume.
Also, a message written in all capitals is harder to read. In blocks of text rendered in all capitals, words lose their "shape" because they are all the same height. Each word becomes a uniform rectangle. Most people read and quickly recognize words by looking at their overall shape. We do not read by visualizing words one letter at a time. Capital letters are best left for their intended usage and, sparingly, to emphasize a particular word or phrase.
If you are new to the ways of the Internet, this restriction on the use of capital letters might seem silly and you might dismiss it as unimportant. However, using all capitals in your messages will adversely affect how people perceive you online.
Some good points here... I hope I am not one of the people ALLAN refers to that correct but do not help... Many people, particularly older ones, still read books, and it is a typographical convention that (for example) dialogue ("dialog") written ALL IN CAPITALS represents words spoken in a raised voice or shouted. Also in written material such as notes, instructions, etc, material that is meant to be particularly noticed and attended to is written in all caps. Make sure the switch is in the OFF position before opening the cover. In SHORT, we are talking about emphasis. Grabbing attention. It isn't just the shapes the words make, although reddevilggg makes a good point, it is also the perceived attitude and intention of the writer which influences peoples reactions. In forums, attempts to jump the queue and grab attention often get a negative reaction. It's human nature. Answers in forums such as this one are written by unpaid volunteers who answer the questions that they feel like answering. People who choose to make subject lines like URGENT NEED HELP ASAP!!!!!!!!! can torpedo their chances before they have even started. Many people won't even read such threads. I might as well add a personal pet hate of mine: multiple QUESTION and exclamation marks. Is my motherboard broken?? OMG my computer crashed!!!!! They just add an overheated, hysterical air that can be very offputting, but I am grimly resigned to the fact that the text message generation is set to inherit the world.

One thought that has crossed my mind is that some posters don't live in a country where the Western (Roman) alphabet is the standard one, and it is possible that some are not completely aware of the difference between upper and lower case. I remember a poster on here who Insisted On Capitalising The First Letter Of Each Word. Like This. I could never tell (I tried asking!) whether he was being annoying on purpose or whether he thought that it was obligatory. Personally, I am happy with complete sentences and words spelled correctly( or at least close to their spelling) not text shortcuts that I have to wade through or  whole words completely missing.  I am guilty of whole words missing sometimes so I know how it can happen.  If it is peeves that we are addressing here (certainly NOT earth shaking) but what annoys me are the posters that subject their posts with something the equivalent of  i am freaking out--or i desperately need help and that's it. Those of us that try to help others should be governed by our knowledge of the issue and limit our comments to those subjects we feel we have something of value to contribute. When i see a subject that often determines whether i read it or not (just as there are parts of the CH forums i rarely if ever go to because i feel i lack the knowledge to be of any help). If you have a specific problem state it specifically in the subject. This is not addressed at anyone in particular it is only given as an example of how postings can be improved.truenorthI don't respond to Posts in caps...

But that's just me.If I had the benefit of the computer knowledge of what most of you have,  I would attempt to answer as many as I could. Right now I look at them all and answer as best I can.  Even at the risk of looking and sounding stupid.  Posts with misspellings and incomplete answers make it harder for me to understand. Which is  why they are not my preference. But I would make the effort. Some posts I just have to decline because I don't have the experience as yet.  I was an IT beginner starting in a forum once. I guess I empathize with those who don't get it most of the time and feel overwhelmed and frazzled.  Most days I still feel like a beginner.  My first intro to a computer forum I had never even looked inside a computer now I take them apart, put them back together and have built my own. For me, if a post, or even any significant portion of the post (or the title) is in all caps, I will simply not open the thread, or promptly click the back button. If the entire post is in caps I will make a post suggesting they NOT use caps, though. As if they don't know it's a problem they can't rightly CURE it. On to why I skip such posts. Several reasons. The main one being that the posts are a pain to read. words formed with only CAPITAL LETTERS quite literally take more effort to read. Thing is, it takes more effort to produce them, so the way I see it the person posting in all-caps is purposely making the task of understanding them difficult. I personally see no reason to help such people as there are plenty of others who are willing to write using proper punctuation and lettering. Another point to be made is punctuation. Posts often lack it. I skip those, always.

 A lot of posts lack a lot of technical information and instead opt to tell us their life story. I tend to skip posts like "Oh no my computer crashed, I got it 2 years ago from my cousin Bob, he traded it for a six-pack LOL but now when it starts it says like ANLR is missing press a key to restart! I need this computer for my work OMG HELP!" Because in my experience it often takes more time to just get the proper information about the question than it does to help a half dozen other people who could be bothered to provide relevant information.

Quote from: IowaMrs on December 24, 2011, 12:55:36 PM

Wouldn't it be better getting  down to the business of trying to help solve the problem  and not always bring attention to what has been posted in caps.

I am a moderator on another computer forum.

learning more about what I don't know which I openly admit could fill volumes.

If I had the benefit of the computer knowledge of what most of you have,  I would attempt to answer as many as I could. Right now I look at them all and answer as best I can. 

Well, bully for you.

There's no need for that. She was making a point that is relevant to her original post. 

And yes, Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate the Holiday . In that spirit, let's keep it civil, shall we?

I don't get what the big deal is with people putting some or part of their posts in all caps. So what if the posts show they are frustrated and seem to be yelling.  Why do certain people take it so personally.

At times I have put things in caps to get a point across.