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A case for using punctuation in Slack

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Re: A case for using punctuation in Slack

#21

Post by comeonseriously »

danenania wrote: post #18

I 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 ca…

>I think the other side of this is that some folks tend toward perfectionism in their writing...

People should go for the middle ground on Slack. If you miss a period, so what? But skipping all of them just to be "casual"? That induces a cognitive load on your reader that you shouldn't.

Re: A case for using punctuation in Slack

#22

Post by iamatworknow »

I've spent my whole life using punctuation and full sentences when typing. Does it make me seem cold? Maybe, but it'd take more conscious effort for me to change it at this point, which sorta defeats the purpose of some commenters here claiming that it would increase communication speed, at least for me. As far as reading what others write, I really don't care, and find it sort of bizarre that anyone would.

Re: A case for using punctuation in Slack

#23

Post by motohagiography »

There is a cargo-cult tech management trend where people use low-effort, sloppy messages and even rudeness as a status signal. I get that the simplest things are the important ones, and wall of text details are usually prevarication, but Slack isn't Tinder.

Like project managers think they're channelling Bezos with "?" messages. I can see how some people interpret "stupid" as "powerful," when that's their experience of authority and then they just imitate it, but it's worth being aware that it breeds contempt.

Re: A case for using punctuation in Slack

#24

Post by bszupnick »

Something the author didn't mention (or maybe it's simply a specific case but I think demands explicit mention) is that it lowers the barrier of entry for new employees.

I started a new job ~2 months ago and things that everyone thinks everyone understands I simply did not. These weren't documented acronyms but rather "socially understood" acronyms that meant each time I didn't understand something I had to message someone asking.

While onboarding the amount of times I message people asking for help is so much that it gets uncomfortable (for me, at least) so minimizing the acronyms would be super helpful.

As a counter-point, though, it could be that each culture/tribe needs their own language that only they can understand and it creates this feeling of comradery? Just a thought.

Re: A case for using punctuation in Slack

#25

Post by dqv »

closed wrote: post #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…

Right. Where I'm from, lack of punctuation and capitalization indicates less serious discussion, irony, sarcasm, etc. A non-serious "mood". If someone starts using correct grammar (e.g. I instead of i, periods, commas for introductory phrases and splices) it's an indication of the serious "mood" and to start a more thoughtful discussion.

It's probably a good idea to tell people this instead of just assuming everyone knows... but it's kind of engrained in the culture of the communities I'm in.

Re: A case for using punctuation in Slack

#26

Post by xxpor »

motohagiography wrote: post #23

There is a cargo-cult tech management trend where people use low-effort, sloppy messages and even rudeness as a status signal. I get that the simplest things are the important ones, and wall of text details are usually prevarication, but Slack isn't Tinder. Like project managers think they're channelling Bezos with "?" messages. I can see how some people interpret "stupid" as "powerful," when that's their experience…

>Slack isn't Tinder.

Heh, my Slack messages are way more casual than Tinder messages. I think the essential difference is I just met someone who I'm talking to on Tinder (hopefully :D), while on Slack I'm probably talking to someone I've known for years; it's fundamentally more casual.

Re: A case for using punctuation in Slack

#27

Post by swimfar »

saagarjha wrote: post #2

I 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.)

Could you explain this more because it's completely foreign to me. For me a period is the end of a sentence. It has nothing to do with ending the message I'm trying to get across. Is this a cultural or generational or professional field difference? I'd never heard of the idea that a period would be too formal in any context.

Re: A case for using punctuation in Slack

#28

Post by comeonseriously »

jasode wrote: post #19

I 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…

>listen to linguist McWhorter explaining that people should think of texting (or Slack) as "transcribed informal speech" -- instead of formal writing.[1]

I can't watch the video right now, but even in informal speech, I hear periods and commas. I think that those are necessary for communication. Not including them, as I mention in another comment above (or below?), induces a cognitive load on the reader. Nobody should be asking for perfection on Slack, but mostly correct should be the bar.

Re: A case for using punctuation in Slack

#29

Post by parliament32 »

I feel like people complaining about this didn't grow up in the IRC/IM era. It probably depends on your corp's culture as well, but for us, Slack is a very informal communcation mechanism. If you need to write something formal, you use an email. Slack is equivalent to shouting out to the room (as if you were there in person).
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