People who overuse exclamation marks!

Allexie

cpu wrote:

.......but it seems that people don't realise that overuse of the old exclamation mark has a similar effect, (unless of course it's obvious that the whole tone of the post is light hearted).

I thought they were mostly being used in a lighthearted way on the boards

Edinburghlass_2

Spendless wrote:

And me!! Nut i promise to stop once i've worked out how to use smileys!!!!!

Look here for the Site A-Z, complete with pictures to guide you through!!

cpu

To the posters who have felt it necessary to comment about my grammar and punctuation, don't you think you're missing the point slightly?

My post wasn't about general puctuation, it was purely about the effect that overuse of the exclamation mark had to the tone of a post.

I wanted to know if people realised how their posts sounded if they used this mark often. It wasn't about if it was used in the correct context of if their grammar was correct.

tullula_2

Are you a teacher?

IvanOpinion

cpu wrote:

To the posters who have felt it necessary to comment about my grammar and punctuation, don't you think you're missing the point slightly?

My post wasn't about general puctuation, it was purely about the effect that overuse of the exclamation mark had to the tone of a post.

I wanted to know if people realised how their posts sounded if they used this mark often. It wasn't about if it was used in the correct context of if their grammar was correct.

I vote for 2 grammatical and 2 spelling mistakes

Chill out cpu. only winding you up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What does it matter? You will always gets loads of '!', loads of '....', loads of smilies and loads of abbreviations such as ROTFLMAO, BTW etc. Most people (me included) probably do not even know the correct places when an exclamation mark should be used!

Ivan

cpu

Lol, tullula, no - I most definately am not. I'm sure the mistakes I make would be proof of that.

IvanOpinion: Yes, I probably do need to chill out. I got annoyed about this after reading several posts by a particular poster who used an exclamation mark constantly and was quite harsh in a reply to another member. There was no need for a reply like that, the op had only asked a question. I thought it wasn't very nice and it started me wondering whether they meant to come across like that or if they didn't realise their tone was so snippy.

It doesn't matter at all if the whole tone is light, but in a post where there is no humour and is purely factual the overuse of an exclamation mark can mean the difference between simply emphasising the meaning or being snippy, curt and just downright unpleasant.

elvis_bloggs

cpu wrote:

I've been reading threads on this site for a long, long time now although I haven't been registered since the start and I haven't posted much.

Maybe as a 'hardly posted' relative newbie I shouldn't complain, but I'm really surprised at the amount of exclamation marks people use in their posts.

It really bugs me and puts me off posting a reply that I might have considered posting otherwise.

Why do people do this? I always thought an exclamation mark was to be used for emphasis but there are posts where this particular punctuation mark is used practically at the end of every sentence. Do people not realise how harsh that makes their post seem? Is it really necessary to force home a point by constant use of an exclamation mark?

I do wonder if those who use this mark a lot in their posts have bullying tendancies in real life!

Ooooo Errrrr !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ..... who got out of the wrong side of the bed then.???????????

garysletters

I use them too often as well!! (oops). I also put brackets in most of my posts where I could use hyphens - rather like this - but hey, i was never any good at grammar (or spelling, or anything to do with English at school)

sunflower_2

cpu wrote:

Sunflower: can I ask why you use so many? (Look nickinoo......it's a question. - I am just joking here, don't take offence.) I'm not for one minute saying you are a bully Sunflower, lol, but I really would like to know why people use this mark so often. My old English teacher always reinforced the point that an exclamation mark was only to be used to emphasise a particular point and that overuse conveyed a 'shouting angry' tone which only served to overshadow the point the person was trying to make.

i was only joking cpu - didnt mean to sound as though i was having a pop.
perhaps all the exclamation marks made u think that i was ?

dunno why i use them a lot really...
... but i do think it has something to do with trying to get a point across

my teacher used to say that also - but was then hillarious when she used to snap her chalk when doing the dot on the blackboard when "in a one" !!!

see there i go again - and as u can see its not meant in any confrontational form - just an amusing statement?!

so thats blown my theory...

... so i really dont know

perhaps i need counselling !

tullula_2

:beer: :beer:

Hi cpu. Do you ever go to the pub?

There's some good tips for crazy smilies and how to colour write. I'm having so much fun.