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Undoubtedly there is a natural progression to spoken and written language. Try reading a book written 200 years ago, 500 years ago or 1,000 years ago.
But the issue here is one of communication. I hang around several professional forums where the posters are all over the world. At least 30% of the posters are not native English speakers. When someone comes along using abbreviations like those noted here, we politely ask them to use plain English. The reason is simple. If you want people to understand and answer your questions, they should be presented as clearly and concisely as possible. If the reader has to spend an extra few moments (or minuntes in some cases) understanding what the writer wrote, then the question will very likely go unanswered.
On the other hand, if the discussion board is less formal abbreviations are often not only permitted, but down right encouraged.
There really is a simple answer to this. Look at the other posts on the board. If people are using abbreviations, then go ahead and tdo the same. If not, then don't.
Don't forget the years of finger-pointing at us computer geeks for our TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms! :-) ). Use the appropriate language for the audience. Simple.
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