Don't worry, LOL isn't an issue (indeed those are emoticon expressions with a long history in computer and board use along with FWIW or IMHO etc and some automatically translate on the board into emoticons!), it is writing whole posts using the same format someone would use if sending a text message.
RU getn d point?
In short I think if you are a person worried you might have accidentally been using such language here and there, this all doesn't apply to you.
I am really talking about where the majority of a post is in such language, R for are, U for you, wid for with, d for the, etc.
To some of us, English is not our first language. I can see where the text talking can get annoying but I don't feel the propensity for finding it super offensive.
Not everyone on this forum uses correct English 100% of the time and I think it would be a loss for everyone if all of a sudden the focus became grammar instead of information and sharing knowledge/experiences with others.
We have many people here whose first language is not English -- from Denmark, Italy, Finland, Turkey, Iceland, Spain, France, Japan, etc etc. Not speaking English as one's main language has nothing to do with anyone making posts as if someone is sending an SMS. None of our second language people has *ever* posted a single message in text language (because if English isn't your first language, text language is going to be even more difficult to understand! I can say that with confidence as someone who taught English as a second language to students over many years...
).
I do not care whether you or anyone else is grammatically correct in your sentences. I only care about people making posts that are mostly or entirely in the format used in text messages.
Examples of text language:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_language
http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp
I don't think it too much to ask people, for the sake of the majority of members, to use something other than sentences comprising lopped off words and abbreviations better suited to a mobile phone screen or Twitter (where they are appropriate in that context), or to add this to the very few rules on the board -- which is not a paid-for service, but my personal board which I make available to people for free; it is funded and maintained by me, and I consider it my own personal space (eg a virtual living room for chat)-- so I make whatever (minimal) rules I think work best
. These to date seem to have suited a large number of people, given the growth and size of the board. If this is an onerous request for anyone, there are many boards and discussion lists! However: from experience I think such posts will annoy just as many people in other places as they do here. :lol:
PS also realise those who use this type of language on boards never intended to be annoying and didn't realise it actually frustrates a lot of people trying to make sense of the posts.