It's not about intelligence, more laziness I think. Sometimes people think it's cooler to spell things arse about or make their own spelling up. That is an ignorance thing.
After this thread i have started to take notice of what i say, and even my gf picked me up on it. I know its written, i write written to, but out of my aussie slang i tend to say ridden, i know exactly what im trying to say and so do most people anyway.
People say lots of different things, dig out my old spelling and grammar thread if you want. Lots of examples there.
I can handle that some people are either lazy or can't physically make words with their mouth properly but i don't get why they come in places like this and type it. Typing isn't hard! We overlook typo's and caps problems but to deliberately misspell a word is wanky.
as far as the grammar debacle goes - thats the interweb age for you, its all about speed. il be the first to admit that im a bit complacent when it comes to punctuation, grammar and even proper spelling sometimes over the net. it doesnt worry me though as i know i get it together for any formal work i have to type. i guess i like the opportunity to just type carefree as im usually on here doing reports/essays for uni :"(
Im the same, i get annoyed when i read things that are written in a form that people say is faster but can't be! like spelling like lyke, doesn't make life any quicker. Dumber maybe!