i find that rules in english can be as meaningful when broken as they can be when obeyed.

for instance, capitalisation -- it's no laziness that compels me to leave out capitals when posting at places like this or on msn.

for instance, starting sentences with "and" or "but" -- sometimes, that's how it'll make the most sense, or how it'll best convey a point, or have the best flow. i'm very mindful of flow in my writing and more often than not it's very purposeful. i'm not going to sacrifice flow to obey rules that really don't have that much of a point.

the true masters of the english language master the mechanics and the rules and never have to sacrifice flow, tone or meaning. i might be that good some day, but i sure as hell aren't now.