Ok, ok, three things:
1) I'm not advocating replacing text and speech with annoying abbreviations at all. Linguists call switching to different dialects, vocabulary, and speech patterns in different social contexts "code switching." Many French people actually communicate with these abbreviations
in certain settings. A student of French should be able to code switch when appropriate. There's a time and place for being complete and formal, and a time and place for being short and informal. I certainly believe that there is academic value in at least being aware of these abbreviations... for example, if you chose to visit francophone Alizée forums, you're bound to come across a number of these.
2) Part of being able to use these abbreviations appropriately is also learning how to put the correct French between them to be understood. So I thought it would be a different and fun way to continue studying proper French. Plus I think they provide interesting insight into how French people visualize the phonemic character of their own language as well as cultural insights... what other culture would have internet slang for "I've bought some wine" (ght2v1 = J'ai acheté du vin)?
3) The point of including some of the French slang in the body of the original post was so that you would see an example of what I'm talking about, and you could go to the page I linked to a look them up. It's like someone giving you a quiz and the answer sheet at the same time... shouldn't be that difficult; in fact, I thought people might have fun "decoding" the "cryptic message"
