Have "intimidating full stops" been posted to the HN already?
A case for using punctuation in Slack
11–20 of 274 posts
Re: A case for using punctuation in Slack
#12I feel like (so, of course, this is how I use instant messaging) periods at the end of a message suggest the logical conclusion of a thought, and are far too formal to use with every message. Email, sure, but not chat. (I do use question marks and capitalize in general, but periods in particular seem strange to me.)
Same, but not sure why now that you mention it. I'm a stickler for grammar, oxford commas and all, but in messaging, periods feel...rude at times. I can't explain why, perhaps it is the 'conclusion in thought' aspect.
It really feels abrupt, to be honest.
Mostly because most chat messages are single sentences.
So I guess that people leave them out when they aren't part of a full paragraph of text.
Re: A case for using punctuation in Slack
#13I think this entire post can be distilled into the following: The time you spend composing a message should be proportional to the number of people in your intended audience.
this makes me feel bad about my hn comments
Re: A case for using punctuation in Slack
#14Unfortunately, text (or Slack) messages with a period at the end are also perceived as less sincere, and sometimes passive-aggressive:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2...
Re: A case for using punctuation in Slack
#15this seems like a strong case for not using initialisms or abbreviations (or at least for including a clarification in parens).
but this article claimed to provide justification for focusing on grammar and style in communication. i do not see that justification here.
i will continue to not capitalize my slack messages.
Re: A case for using punctuation in Slack
#16> The argument here is scoped to people who have some degree of mastery over the language but are being sloppy with their written communication, which is to say "careless and unsystematic; excessively casual".
I think there are some good points here for technical writing. But it's easy to forget how memorable playful communication can be.
E.g. a responding via haiku or something no-caps and full of enjambment, might be extremely memorable. (especially in a chat full of technical writing style).
Re: A case for using punctuation in Slack
#17Clarity in communication is undervalued. Things like punctuation are a great start, but we can go even further. Avoiding acronyms where possible is often good for this, particularly if you can build a culture where asking people to expand acronyms happens.
A tough side-effect of this I've seen though is the possibility of excluding some non-native English speakers, both in terms of making it harder for them to consume content because of it using a wider vocabulary, and making it harder for them to succeed (in things like interviews) because of higher communications standards.
I don't know where I fall on this, because it does allow for better communication, it just requires more from participants. In fact poor communicators would be excluded regardless of their native language.
Re: A case for using punctuation in Slack
#18I think the other side of this is that some folks tend toward perfectionism in their writing, so in an atmosphere where writing standards are perceived as very high, people can spend way too much time and energy trying to put things in just the right way, when they otherwise could have gotten their ideas across in a few seconds using a "stream-of-consciousness" style that is more similar to casual conversation. It can become a huge time sink.
Also, if people feel like casual or "sloppy" communication will be judged negatively, they might often choose to say nothing at all instead of sharing half-baked ideas, which probably reduces organic creativity and innovation, even if it leads to fewer interruptions.
So while I get the point this post is making, there are costs on both sides here. And some of the worst downsides of the casual style (interruptions, in particular) can be minimized by adding more structure around sync vs. async communication, protected focus time, and using different mediums when appropriate.
Re: A case for using punctuation in Slack
#19I can't debate what some perceive as costly because it's an honest reaction to reading some forms of text.
In my case, all lowercase and lack of punctuation don't bother me or slow me down. (I'll agree on uncommon acronyms hindering understanding.)
To reduce some frustrations... listen to linguist McWhorter explaining that people should think of texting (or Slack) as "transcribed informal speech" -- instead of formal writing.[1]
That said, the author Mitch Lee's bio says he's a cofounder of Penny. If you are employed by him and are communicating at his company via Slack, it's better for your career if you follow his guidelines.
Re: A case for using punctuation in Slack
#20I feel like (so, of course, this is how I use instant messaging) periods at the end of a message suggest the logical conclusion of a thought, and are far too formal to use with every message. Email, sure, but not chat. (I do use question marks and capitalize in general, but periods in particular seem strange to me.)
I feel like periods mark the end of a sentence. So I use them all the time, even in text messages. I've had people get actually angry with me for doing it.
Text/instant messages have evolved their own norms, as all language does. To many people, periods have a different meaning there. See e.g. https://www.npr.org/2020/09/05/909969004/before-texting-your...