why typing like this is sometimes okay.
Overview
Tom Scott makes a short descriptivist argument that language keeps changing and that casual internet writing conventions, like lowercase typing and dropped full stops, are legitimate. It is part of his Language Files series, written with Gretchen McCulloch.
On Hacker News
HN commenters cite it in discussions of punctuation, tone and emoji in chat as a short intro to how internet writing norms developed.
Topics
Sources
Video by Tom Scott, played through YouTube.
Data and selection notes
HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.
HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.
Views, duration and playback status refresh separately from the published catalog. When an update fails, existing data remains visible.
Selection checks
- SaaS & AI candidates: Topic keywords do not match
- Editor-approved picks: Editorial review is required
What people said