Ron Seybold wrote:

> It appears the shift key is broken on the new Web site.
>
> As somebody who's made his living using the English language for the
> last 20-plus years, I'm pretty unimpressed with this new corporate
> standard.

I concur!  However, let me add some insight into what might be going on.
There seems to be a major influx into the corporate world of young people
who have grown up knowing the Internet.  Many of these "kids" are chatroom
savvy.  If you have ever been in a chatroom on involved in an instant
message setting with most of the younger techies, you would notice that the
idea of having to use the shift key is a foreign concept.  It is also
difficult for them to understand and appreciate the correct use of
punctuation.  I am afraid that what we are seeing is the dumbing down of
corporate America.  This process has been going on (and accepted) in our
classrooms for several years now.

Mind you, I have some friends on the "other side of the pond" who have
stated that they are seeing the same phenomenon occurring in other languages
too.  Formality is slipping away now even in the written word.  It's a
shame.

Glenn J. Koster, Sr.
Quintessential School Systems
Developers of QWEBS (see www.qss.com)
* Watch for QWEBS - The Next Generation... coming soon to an HP e3000 near
you*

The opinions expressed are solely mine and do not represent the opinions of
my employer.