Although I’m against an English only policy on most expat boards, I would expect English only on an ESL board.

Besides, the use of pinyin just shows that you are too intellectually challenged to learn characters really. It is also tricky to read, as we instinctively read anything in the latin Alphabet as our native language whether that be English, French, German etc.

Also pinyin doesn’t really convey the meaning as ‘shi’ for example: icould mean ‘it is’, lion, time, stone etc. It is hard to distinguish between them without characters.

Regardless, those who write in pinyin just remind me of the sad losers in bars in China, who think that their basic vocabulary of bastardised Chinese is really impressing the cheap whores in the bar. Classics such as:

Neeow (pronounced like a cat with a meowing problem -it is supposed to be: Ni Hao, haha. No more translations into standard pinyin from hereon)
Pee Jew (or better yet Sing Tao Pee Jew) - they don’t know how to order anything else, why would they?
Jigger - Because items in China, don’t have names, they just have pictures?
Washer Meigua ren/ Woe she Meigua ren (Those that have actually heard this, there are some beautiful melons going around).
She She (A patronising false gesture of thanks from a loser laowai)
Boocheedow (An expression of confusion, not knowing something such as the basics of the Chinese language).
Woe She Wan Nee / Woe eyenee - Real chat up lines are never needed when you are paying to sleep with a girl anyway.