Tim Bray reviews two books on internet language: 'Because Internet' by Gretchen McCulloch (2019), a linguist's historical look at how the internet transformed informal writing, and 'Algospeak' by Adam Aleksic (2025), which examines how social media algorithms shape and distort language. McCulloch's insights on informal writing and emojis as gestures are highlighted positively. Aleksic's book, while entertaining and educational about modern slang, makes Bray angry because it reveals how corporate algorithms force users to constantly dodge content moderation through linguistic workarounds like 'unalive'. Bray ends with a note of hope about decentralized social media (Fediverse, Bluesky) as spaces where language can evolve freely without algorithmic pressure.
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