I think it's funny you think the ellipsis abuse was something the older folks picked up from your generation.
Sorry I'm not claiming it was something completely new, I'm simply stating that it's usage in informal speak has seemed to pick up the same usage it was originally when the younger generation started using it for informal communication channels like texting. But as it has adapted for the younger crowd it has remained the same (highly anecdotal) among those I interact with who are older.
The ellipses are actually a really old form of informal sentence-separator. If you dig up old postcards from the '40s, they're packed with ellipses.
When you're writing small, short sentences, there is something off putting about periods. It's just part of the how text based communication has become. Emojis are good because words can be interpreted with a tone that was unintended, and can lead to all sorts of communication problems. It's small and simple, but an appropriate emoji helps convey our emotions in a way that is more difficult to in short, text based me…
I always attempt to write, even on Slack or other chat programs, in such a way that no unintended tone comes across. To me it feels like I have failed in communicating if an emoji is necessary to convey a message. I honestly cannot think of anywhere I could use them to make a message clearer. But, I will be asking a few folks if there is an issue with my communication, and if I can be more clear in any way. Including…
Just remember that beyond words, our expressions, gestures, and tone, are all important parts of effective human communication, and text lacks all of that. Subtlety in meaning or intent can change while still using the same words. Slack isn't formal writing, it's more casual communication between humans, and emojis just make it all a little less ambiguous. I certainly agree that you should try to be as clear as possible, and that overuse of emojis can be tiresome, but there are definitely situations where a simple emoji or two can make all the difference in how your words are perceived.
Clarity 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 consum…
the original article confuses clarity with formality
you can be perfectly clear in lowercase and with sparse punctuation
acronyms can be ambiguous, but to say then that we should all write formally is a huge leap
frankly anyone who can't write clearly like this is a poor writer
i also doubt it really excludes non-native speakers unless you're using a lot of slang/abbreviations
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).
> I feel like people complaining about this didn't grow up in the IRC/IM era. At one time most written language didn't put spaces between words (some still do), and many languages don't write vowels. That's not a good reason for doing the same in your informal English Slack messages. You can write an informal message and still use punctuation.
General chat: Proper punctuation. Keep sentences terse. Reply promptly. Leave no room for ambiguity.
Direct message: Often if a matter takes place outside of a public channel, it is because a duty or responsibility is being delegated to you or a sensitive subject is involved. One should take extra precaution to speak forthrightly to ease the recipient, but also take measures to be prompt and present.
Makes a world of difference.
The most important thing I've learned about online tone is that it's less about what you say and more about how you tell others to speak to you.
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 shoul…
no
you hear pauses, which can be communicated in more than one way
This post is confusing to me. It's titled "Or, a case for using punctuation in Slack", and then spends almost the rest of the post discussing the issue with acronyms/initialisms/shorthand.
I totally agree about shorthand. It can be unnecessarily ambiguous. But punctuation isn't related to acronyms, I don't think? As others have pointed out, punctuation over instant-messaging services can add meaning you don't intend. I generally don't capitalize the first letter of sentences or end messages with periods in IM applications.
If they had just named it "A case for avoiding use of shorthand in Slack", I'd 100% agree.
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.
I think coldness/warmth of the messaging style is much more dependent on emoji use, at least in Slack. I couldn't imagine writing without at least attempting to use proper grammar. Especially in German where ignoring capitalization makes a difference of night and day. My reasoning has been similar to the one of the author, but more on a "positivity" than a plain productivity level. If it's easy for others to read my…
I've been on the internet 16 hours a day from a young age, and I've never used smilies/emojis/emoticons, except very ironically in some rare cases. I don't think they're necessary, and I find use of "informal IM style" (eliding capitalization and final periods) to be much more telling of tone, personally, especially among young people.
Periods + capitalization (when writing in English) over IM comes across as "cold" to me, whether or not someone's using emoji; unless they're above a certain age, of course.
Once multiple sentences are on the table, it matters a lot less. The real significant line is between "zero periods; none needed" and "one redundant period at the end."
OP here, I was very much referring to the last period, not periods in general.
The message beyond the HN title actually has potential. However, the author focuses in some odd places for me. As far as punctuation, ending periods actually have negative emotion in text vernacular now for younger audiences and should almost never be used in 1-1 messaging. Exclamation points, commas, and question marks, great! For abbreviations, it's simply know your audience. You should use them when everyone in th…
I guess that is how I know I am getting old? I have never even heard of anyone thinking a sentence ending in a period is anything but normal. And I actually detest the use of exclamation points. They are almost always unnecessary. And I probably read too much into them, as opposed to others doing the same on periods. It is interesting though. Looking back at chat history. If I am not writing multiple sentences, and e…
I feel that negative emotion from periods on the last sentence (especially for messages that are only one sentence). So if you’re wondering what age range feels that way, you can consider 30 years old your upper bound :)
I disagree about receiving multiple messages in a row. To me, composing longer messages (especially with multiple paragraphs) feels much more formal; it’s like writing an email or a letter rather than having a conversation. I do sometimes write like that, but only on the rare occasion that I need to be particularly formal.