The point is that people do not view it as poor language, they understand that it's a protocol for communication and as such it evolves/shifts across time and particularly across generations (Emojis are a great example of this), and view people that look down upon others for relatively benign infractions upon the timeless holy grail that is The Way The English Language Should Be Used as rather pedantic idiots who often bring more disruption to a conversation than clarity.

There is no race to the top or the bottom. There is no race at all. Looking down on someone for their preferred set of words and the way they use them will only make you look bad and at the end of the day prevents you from communicating effectively with other members of your species.

You should work on that.

No I think I’ll continue to judge people for their behavior. I also look down on people when they use “ain’t” instead of “aren’t” or when they don’t correctly conjugate their verbs. Being prevented from communicating with people who fail to speak proper English has little practical downsides and many upsides. Looking bad to those who fail to speak proper English is probably more of an upside as well. An apparent failure to speak English well is indistinguishable from an inability to speak English well.

Demonizing intolerance of poor English does not help to improve anyone’s ability to communicate precisely and efficiently, it just seems to make people feel better about themselves. There’s nothing wrong with setting high standards for people unless you dislike excellence.

If you want to be guided on that lonely and cold road by nothing but a false sense of superiority then it ain't on me to stop you. Just don't be surprised when, or fail to realise why, people judge you right back for your behaviour.

> people judge you right back for your behaviour.

If certain people judge me back for promoting proper English then it’s highly likely their association with me is undesirable in the first place. I prefer to surround myself with people who value excellence, your opinion of what is excellence notwithstanding.

Btw non-native speakers are perfectly capable of speaking proper English and in no way does having a high bar for language exclude them. It is not uncommon for a non-native speaker to speak English better than a native speaker either.

In reality, people can and will always be judged not only for the content of the message but also for their presentation. It’s important that young people learn and accept this to maximize their chances of success.

And excellence is only achieved by having a thoroughbred grasp of the english language? Damn. Sucks to be a non-native speaker then!

I would also add that the truly excellent people in this world would probably not want to surround themselves with you at the first sign of your rather patronizing language superiority complex.

You should judge people for the content of their message, not the exact method of delivery. And in that regard most people will find you severely lacking despite your Flawless Usage Of The Proper Way To Speak English.

Huh? I bet I could come up with a few words and a few different ways of using them that you'd look down on me for. I could probably do it in one word and one usage.

Even deliberately corrupting language can be joyous.

My friends were all telling each other "chillax motherfuton" for awhile because of how it made another friend rage. :D

"relatively benign infractions" is the key part of my reply.

You're doing the same thing that other dude is doing; you just think you're better.

What's wrong with this particular drift though? Presumably you don't hold that all linguistic drift is regrettable?

I’ve made no claim about “linguistic drift,” and I’ve explained many times in this thread why “performant” is in poor taste.