"OK," "Ok," "Okay," "k," or "kk?"

[ThatMaestroGuy]

Howdy, everyone!

So my friend and I constantly bash heads when it comes to this very simple matter: Which of the words in this topic's title are appropriate to use?

Personally, I've nothing wrong with OK, Ok, and okay. To me, they're all fine and dandy any way one looks at them. However, she is highly bothered by Ok and actually regards its usage as a remark of one's education. Likewise, I find the usage of k to be an insincere sendoff and have both used it and had it used on me when annoyed/someone is annoyed at me. She, too, has used k while being annoyed with me, but she also claims it can also be used as an abbreviation for "kay," which I agree with, but most people I've run into who use a simple k do not use it as an abbreviation for "kay." As for kk, it's considered to be an enthusiastic approval or affirmation.

And so I ask you, my fellow RPG Maker users: how do you see the usage of these words? Are you offended when someone replies to you with "k?" Do any of the spellings for this confirmatory word bother you in the slightest? It's a rather simple matter, in my honest opinion, but I'd like to know how others stand on this word and its usage.

Thanks for your time!

 

[Monkeysnow55 The Cookie]

OK kinda bugs me because when EVERYTHING IS IN CAPLOCKS it's like your yelling. Ok mh. Okay is what I always write "K" is just a lazy version. kk is another lazy version.

 

[zacheatscrackers]

k and kk are the most natural and understanding variants imo. 'ok' and 'okay' just make you sound more disappointed, which makes me feel guilty whenever people use them.

 

[Solistra]

k and kk are the most natural and understanding variants imo. 'ok' and 'okay' just make you sound more disappointed, which makes me feel guilty whenever people use them.

Okay.


(By the way, that's my answer to the topic in general as well. I don't use any other variant.)

 

[Sharm]

I usually spell it out but they're all slang so I'm not too bothered by it being used differently.

 

[Ms Littlefish]

Much is lost over typed message that as long as you know the person it's very unlikely they mean any offense when they type to you. Now, it's true that receiving a message with just "k" (or any variation for that matter) rarely adds to a conversation. If someone does not want to talk to me right now, well that's fine too. But, if we're just relaying information I have no issue. I personally tend to use "kk" for the reason you mentioned. It sounds upbeat and enthusiastic. And I am a pretty bubbly person.

 

[seita]

I personally don't like the different subtleties around these terms that arose from online PM and texting, so I always use "alright" instead.

 

[Rieker]

OK, sounds like you're yelling

k, i usually use when I'm not happy about something but go along with it anyway

kk, is what i would use if i was confirming something

Other than that i would use ok, and not bother to capitalize it at all, since i'm lazy

 

[Solistra]

I personally don't like the different subtleties around these terms that arose from online PM and texting, so I always use "alright" instead.

"Alright" is just as much colloquial slang as "okay" and its variants are. Just saying.


Edit: What I mean by that is that there is a considerable amount of debate over whether or not "alright" is actually a word, and if "all right" is actually the correct phrase to use.

 

[ThatMaestroGuy]

"Alright" is just as much colloquial slang as "okay" and its variants are. Just saying.

Edit: What I mean by that is that there is a considerable amount of debate over whether or not "alright" is actually a word, and if "all right" is actually the correct phrase to use.

Agreed. I personally have nothing against either variant, but this friend I speak of gets all bent out of shape anytime someone uses alright instead of all right.

 

[Mouser]

IIRC, kk goes back to telnet when doubled characters did something or other, or maybe it was ok didn't work.

There was technical reason for it though, and the usage has hung around ever since.

 

[mlogan]

I don't like k or kk because to me they are just results of texting slang, which for the most part drives me batty. The others I am all okay with.

 

[Solistra]

Agreed. I personally have nothing against either variant, but this friend I speak of gets all bent out of shape anytime someone uses alright instead of all right.

I don't really care what other people use in any case. As long as I can understand someone, I'm generally fine with how they choose to present themselves. Personally, I always use "okay" and "all right," but that's really due more to my obsessive-compulsive presentation than anything else.

 

[Kaelan]

Personally I think it's silly to be wasting energy getting stressed by trivial things like that. Intended meaning is more important than word choice.

But that's just me, mkay?

 

[Zane]

I don't like any of the terms except when it needs to be applied in a sentence. If someone texts me any of the abbreviations, I'll just ignore them for the rest of the day. Sometimes it sounds insulating, for example, you right a long paragraph and your reply is a simple "k" or "ok" then I would loose all motivation in trying to talk to you.

 

[Chaneque]

In formal writing, "okay". 

In private chats, I use "ok", "k", "kk" and a weird mix of 'oh' and 'okay', "ohk". I'll never use them in formal writing, though.

 

[seita]

should have seen this coming~ I use it to avoid the 'emotional subtleties' of the variants of okay since it doesn't come with the same load of crap. At one point I was annoyed by people using it considering it wasn't a real word. Then I realized, yeah I actually don't care. Not to mention, it seems to have been added to the various online dictionaries as a real word.

"Alright" is just as much colloquial slang as "okay" and its variants are. Just saying.

Edit: What I mean by that is that there is a considerable amount of debate over whether or not "alright" is actually a word, and if "all right" is actually the correct phrase to use.

 

[Solistra]

True, unless you're dealing with pedants like me -- I just thought that was worth pointing out.

 

[Touchfuzzy]

I generally use Okay.


k is reserved for texting people back when I'm already busy doing something else and can't be arsed to write a real text. Especially if someone is sending me walls and walls of texts and I'm trying to do something.

 

[TheRiotInside]

The funny thing about this topic is that it is very subjective how you view these different abbreviations and spellings. Someone early on in this thread mentioned that "k" and "kk" were normal, while "okay" meant that somebody was upset. I view it totally opposite. "Okay" sounds like a calm, neutral response, while seeing a "k" text, in my mind, sounds like the person is agitated and being short with me.

The thing with texting and messaging is that it is a raw and extremely incomplete form of communication. I don't recall the statistic, but only something like 7% of communication is verbal, the rest is mostly tone and body language. So when communicating in just words, the reader's mind sets the tone and feel of what is being said, leading to these radically different views we are already seeing here.