Dear Mel. . .

Though I may be getting a bit long in the tooth I find that my staff are sending me incomprehensible text and e-mail messages using a strange language and mixtures of symbols. They call it 'txt msging'. What is it and will it help me in my job?

L, SX.

Thanx 4 u r NkwIrE. I no it mA B hrd 2 s10d this replI. Text msgs UUU a mix of a brEVAshns, pix, %etix & funE spLing. U can UUU thM 4 ! msgs in a dishun. Bcoz of ths thA R IDL 4 4mal memOO & u the messijs. U have 2 B carefl not UU E pix 4 they R verE small & can B hRd to C.

%etix UUU KKK. on the other h& a brEVAshns UUU frAzz which U have 2 no UU. 4 ins QQ IMHO n mI humbl O ¦yn LOL J out U & SYM shut yr , plEEE nOt tht onlE Mr Mlbrn is a UUU that 1. 1+1=2 '' the %etix can B longr than the OridgeinL word. bt if U no wot u r @ & ' then yr msgs will B ? dlE & will go a M& evrE1 will think ur a t.Translation Thanks for your enquiry. I know it may be hard to understand this reply. Text messages use a mix of abbreviations, pictures, phonetics and funny spelling. You can use them for web messages in addition. Because of this, they are ideal for formal memos and other messages.

You have to be careful not to use too many pictures, for they are very small and can be hard to see. Phonetics use upper case. On the other hand, abbreviations use phrases which you have to know to use. For instance (you could use 4 ins1010 if the tents won t print properly) IMHO In My Humble Opinion LOL Why not let Mel help solve your problem?

E-mail her, in the strictest confidence, at: Mdestrange@ healthcare. emap. co. uk