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So apparently full stops in texts are 'passive agressive' now. What other unwritten rules for texting have changed over the last couple of decades? (lemmy.world)
submitted 8 months ago by [M] to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world
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[–] 19 points 8 months ago (4 children)

So "full stop" means a Period, right? A period is a period, PERIOD. That's all it is. It ends a sentence, so you start a new one. It doesn't contain any emotional ammunition. It certainly isnt passive aggressive, that's just stupid.

What's next? Are we going to start debating the tyranny of the comma, or the righteous indignation of the semi-colon?

Or maybe we should be debating the infiltration of our written communications by Big Emoji? They're obviously behind all of this, trying to encourage more emoji use, to stuff their coffers with that sweet emoji revenue.

Calm the fuck down, people.

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  • [–] 7 points 8 months ago (2 children)

    Looking at the responses. This post is ragebait lnao

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  • [–] 5 points 8 months ago (3 children)

    It's really only a "full stop" when it's the last or only sentence, not just any sentence with a period. It's related to phones only adding the period if you hit space twice. So by default, single sentences never have it because you don't continue typing. So actually putting it in is intentional for many people and they are in fact making a statement akin to "this is my final word on the matter".

    It's the difference between

    "Can you help me with this?" "No"

    And

    "Can you help me with this?" "No."

    That extra "." after "No" wasn't strictly necessary, so by including it on purpose, you're making a statement. That's the general thought process going on with people who find it passive aggressive.

    You can also go back even further to T9 typing and texting shorthand and see that punctuation was largely ignored due to message size limitations and difficulties typing on a phone in general. It's something that has evolved over time due to the medium. The main issue is people who have gone through this transition see it one way, and people who are used to more formal writing suddenly joining the internet see it another way. I would say it's more like regional accents. Both are correct depending on context.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    Nope, you end a sentence with period. Period. That's just basic punctuation, like starting a sentence with a capital letter.

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  • [–] 3 points 8 months ago* (1 child)

    Look, I explained how it developed and why it's used that way. I also explained the difference between a "full stop" and a "period". If your reading comprehension is that terrible, maybe don't get involved in discussions about linguistics because it clearly went right over your simple minded little head.

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  • [–] 0 points 8 months ago* (2 children)

    I have excellent reading comprehension skills, and I understand everything you wrote, and I stand by my response.

    And I said it without being a prick, too.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago* (1 child)

    No, you were a prick who talked past them.

    They very clearly and calmly explained the dynamics of both sides of this debate, and you responded by inanely reiterating your original point which they obviously already understood.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago (1 child)

    I'm not "talking past" anyone, I was simply reiterating my basic point, which is all that needs to be said. He can talk all he wants, and it still doesn't change the basic fact that a sentence should always ends with a Period (or some other punctuation), no matter what common usage at the time.

    And more importantly, the idea that a Period carries emotional baggage like Passive Aggression is silly, and self-indulgent. Nobody should have to think about you that much that they should worry whether you'll be offended by a period. If you require that much emotional maintenance that it extends to punctuation, then you are just a giant pain in the ass to everyone around you, and you need to grow up and get a life.

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  • [–] 0 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    Lmao, you keep acting like other people perceiving you as an asshole is a them problem when it is literally just a you problem.

    It's been 30 fucking years, learn how to text.

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  • [–] -1 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    Don't care. I don't live my life to please others, and I'm not going to stop using periods because some linguistically ignorant doofus thinks texting is the proper arena to create new language rules. Texting is supposed to be casual and fast, and likes to use single numbers, single letters, and emojis to communicate, as well. It's fun, but it shouldn't be influencing the language enough that it becomes acceptable in literature, instructional manuals, legal documents, news reports, etc. Now you want to apply a whole new slew of grammar rules to something that was supposed to be NOT THAT.

    Too bad if your precious feelings are hurt by a Passive Aggressive Period, or a Snooty Question Mark. Grow the fuck up.

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  • [–] -2 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    Lol I'm not, I just communicate easily with normal people, and know that when I read texts from ancient curmudgeons, I need to first filter out their poor communication skills.

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  • [–] 0 points 8 months ago (2 children)

    Nuanced writing, with carefully chosen structure, grammar,and vocabulary, constructed to clearly convey the meaning of the writer, hasn't been considered poor communication skills in previous generations.

    The issue is that younger generations have been poorly educated by MAGA educational policies, and they believe that it is preferable to write like they're still in kindergarten, and are insisting that the rest of the world dumb down their writing skills to appease poorly educated young citizens.

    Sorry, I'm not going to jettison proper writing skills because you aren't educated enough to understand proper English. You're going to have to level up your communication skills, until your English comprehension is properly calibrated, and a Period in a text no longer infuriates you as some sort of Passive-agressive message.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 child)

    Nuanced writing, with carefully chosen structure, grammar,and vocabulary, constructed to clearly convey the meaning of the writer, hasn't been considered poor communication skills in previous generations.

    I believe someone famous had feelings about brevity and wit and whether being pointlessly verbose was good writing.

    The issue is that younger generations have been poorly educated by MAGA educational policies, and they believe that it is preferable to write like they're still in kindergarten, and are insisting that the rest of the world dumb down their writing skills to appease poorly educated young citizens.

    So now we live in a world where America is the only country on earth?

    Sorry, I'm not going to jettison proper writing skills because you aren't educated enough to understand proper English. You're going to have to level up your communication skills, until your English comprehension is properly calibrated, and a Period in a text no longer infuriates you as some sort of Passive-agressive message.

    Again, no one here is furious, we just wonder why you haven't learned how to text in 30 years. The only anger seems to be from people like you who are upset about being misinterpreted but not upset enough to reflect or change

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  • [–] 0 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    I text every day, and I don't use single letters, digits, or emojis, because I have an education, and can write like a normal person. You don't have to communicate that way if you choose, I honestly don't care at all, but you don't have the right to insist that I wrote like an uneducated child, just so your weak mind can comprehend it.

    Again, no one here is furious,

    The ENTIRE debate began when someone received a follow-up text with "Great." instead of "Great!" and was offended that the sender wasn't more enthusiastic. So yes, there was a level of anger about it.

    I refuse to write stupider, you need to read smarter.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago* (1 child)

    Lololol. So you think the people who can communicate more effectively than you, across a broader spectrum of the population, are the ones who are dumber and less educated then you? Somehow you are success while failing to communicate?

    Gain some self awareness. You are being a curmudgeonly prick who is refusing to change.

    The rest of us have gradually adjusted our communications styles over the past 20 years as our communication habits and mediums have changed. We did it through high school, and university, and grad school, and our professional careers. You have been a stick in the mud who has accomplished nothing but being repeatedly misunderstood in that time.

    Grow. The. Fuck. Up.

    There's some emphatic period usage to get your dick hard.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago (1 child)

    Not matching your style (and vocabulary, and tone, and grammar, and basic word choices, and, and, and...) to your audience has always been bad communication.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago (1 child)

    WTF? Since when? Text is a quick message between two people. Now I'm expected to be a good enough writer to "match their style," or I'm a bad person? Why don't they have to match my style? Who chooses whose style to match? How many more questions do I have to ask before it's perfectly clear that this was a really dumb take on texting?

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago (1 child)

    Now I’m expected to be a good enough writer to “match their style,” or I’m a bad person?

    Nope. Just a bad communicator.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago (1 child)

    Interesting, since I've made my living as a professional writer throughout my life, and still do ALL the copyrighting for my business, which is nearly 20 years old, with hundreds of clients, all of who responded to my written marketing and sales communications.

    I'm a good enough writer to raise a family on a single income, but by all means continue to take writing advice from people who think 👁️♥️U is a full sentence.

    Done with Dolts; Dusvedanya Dipshits!

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago (1 child)

    Making a living as a professional writer isn't as impressive as you're trying to make it sound, but good for you if it makes you feel accomplished.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago (1 child)

    Not trying to impress, just demonstrating that I'm good enough to survive by my writing, which is a lot more than nearly anybody arguing with me can say. That's a stronger argument than "Nuh-uh."

    Goodbye children, I have shit to do. Go write the Emoji Dictionary.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago (1 child)

    You still think being a professional writer is a flex. It really isn't. You're probably lying about your experience. There's a lot of us out here. Lemmy isn't a secret club for CS majors.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago

    You know they're exactly the same thing right ? Only north americans use the term "period".

    Old English used stops liberally, they were used in place of commas and semi-colons as well, it was called a full stop at the end of the sentence.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 child)

    The only reason your phone doesn't add the punctuation in for you like it does the automatic capitalization of the first letter is because it can't tell when you've finished your complete thought.

    I'll never let lazy cunts tell me I'm being passive aggressive for using goddamn proper punctuation. I'll be actively aggressive about that.

    edit:

    Can anybody in this thread who actively omits periods in texts specifically because of the negative connotations explain to me why they think that having that be a normal convention is actually good?

    Like, why would anybody want an option to sign off their texts with a passive aggressive slant? I can't wrap my head around it.

    The firm believers in the whole "language is constantly evolving and has no rules" thing would probably not like it if future generations decided fuck using punctuation altogether. No commas, no questions marks, no paragraph breaks. It's easier for them because they normally communicate in five dimensional haptic virtual reality where punctuation is an anachronistic holdover. How come you aren't on board with their wacky language rules?

    I don't give a shit if you don't use punctuation in texts or not, that's entirely on you and I don't judge people for using shortcuts, but fuck if I'm going to let someone tell me using a period to end my sentences indicates anything other than "I have finished my thought / I have finished speaking.".

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago* (1 child)

    Because it can signal annoyance? It's almost like having more possible meanings adds depth to conversation. The end of a text is already final enough, so a period doesn't add any functionality that way unless you somehow believe someone got raptured mid sentence and still hit send.

    It's like if you asked someone, "How are you?" And they said "I'm fine" or "I'm fine." or "I'm fine!" or "I'm fine?" or "I'm fine..."

    It signals different connotations and tones for all five. Period is no longer default since they aren't required, so they have taken on additional meaning

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago

    The end of a text is already final enough, so a period doesn’t add any functionality that way unless you somehow believe someone got raptured mid sentence and still hit send.

    Sure it does. It disambiguates sentences from questions.

    If you received a text that read "Buy bread", there are multiple ways to interpret that. If I assume the lack of a period is a statement, then I would assume the person is instructing me to buy some bread at the store. But if there were a question mark at the end, the meaning changes - they are asking if they need to buy bread, or perhaps asking if I have already bought bread or am planning to buy bread.

    Now, if you are familiar with the person on the other end of the text, you might already have the necessary context to parse it out without the need for formal punctuation, but if it's someone you maybe don't text very often or a complete stranger, wouldn't it be nice to know for sure if they were making a statement or asking a question, definitively and clearly?

    Adding an intentional period removes any doubt that it might have been a question. It eliminates the possibility that the person on the other end simply forgot to add a question mark while typing out a hasty text at the grocery store.

    You might argue that period or no, the message got across just fine, and that assuming no punctuation is the same as having a period, but that's not the point. The point is that the period does add functionality, it just isn't functionality that you deem useful.

    I certainly wouldn't want to replace the effectiveness of proper punctuation in favor of having the period be reduced to a means of signing off my messages in a passive aggressive manner. I can do that all by myself, thank you very much.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago

    So "full stop" means a Period, right? A period is a period, PERIOD. That's all it is. It ends a sentence, so you start a new one. It doesn't contain any emotional ammunition. It certainly isnt passive aggressive, that's just stupid.

    .Spoiler: I agree with you.

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