4 ms·

Related: a lot of people I talk to on Slack/text/etc seem to think most sentences should end in ellipses

Freak_NL 10y ago
You mean like this? > Ellipses have their place, but they are also abused a lot… This is a vague, non-committal statement. It looks as if the writer is afraid of the consequences of having an opinion! Now the same sentence again, without the ellipses: > Ellipses have their place, but they are also abused a lot. A firm statement that shows you where the writer stands on the topic. Much better. An ellipse in or at the end of a sentence means something is omitted, but it is also (unconsciously?) abused to try to make utterances less direct. Have you ever received a paragraph or two of text littered with those ellipses of avoidance? If you are well-read this likely conjures an image of some bored teen responding to a neighbour inquiring after the whereabouts of their parents: > Yeah they're probably at home… I guess… Maybe not… Dunno… …whereupon they promptly return their attention to their smartphone. Only it isn't a teenager; it is an adult colleague (not quite) giving their opinion on some topic.
- telotortium 10y ago
  Language does not have the sole purpose of making direct statements of fact though. Indirectness, in reasonable portions, is perfectly legitimate, especially because you often have to feel out your interlocutor's response to each line in your conversation - arguably, this is a more sophisticated use of language than straightforward statements or questions. In its natural environment, the trailing ellipsis serves a valuable role in signaling a willingness to change your mind, or at least a sensitivity to the other party's reactions and positions. I agree that a lot of people overuse them - in most cases, you should be able to get away with just using it after your thesis, so to speak.
  - Freak_NL 10y ago
    > Ellipses have their place, but they seem to be abused a lot. > Ellipses have their place, but I get the impression that they are also abused a lot. > Ellipses have their place, but aren't they also abused a lot? > Ellipses have their place, but maybe they are abused a bit too much. I agree, sometimes a statement needs to be softened to indicate uncertainty or just to be diplomatic, but there are many ways to do that without resorting to ambiguity. Perhaps, maybe, seemingly, ostensibly, surely, evidently; there are so many words that can help soften (or harden!) a statement, and each carries a different connotation. The ellipse on the other hand simple conveys its meaning of omission — but there is no indication of what it was that was omitted (uncertainty? rolling-my-eyes sarcasm? fatigue?). It can come across as laziness on the writer's part — as if they couldn't be bothered to formulate their thoughts.
    - JoeAltmaier 10y ago
      I sometimes soften a criticism here on HN simply by putting a question mark at the end?
vurpo 10y ago
I've noticed that I tend to avoid the period/full stop when writing instant messages like that. Like, exclamation marks and question marks go just fine, but a period will make it sound very weird in my head when it's in an IM conversation, for some reason. I will even start a new sentence on a new line without a period after the last sentence if I need to write multiple sentences in one message (which doesn't happen that often though). I don't know why.
- Diederich 10y ago
  My first thought is that it's a way to encourage a response. The ellipsis also seems to soften the tone compared to a regular period.

You mean like this? > Ellipses have their place, but they are also abused a lot… This is a vague, non-committal statement. It looks as if the writer is afraid of the consequences of having an opinion! Now the same sentence again, without the ellipses: > Ellipses have their place, but they are also abused a lot. A firm statement that shows you where the writer stands on the topic. Much better. An ellipse in or at the end of a sentence means something is omitted, but it is also (unconsciously?) abused to try to make utterances less direct. Have you ever received a paragraph or two of text littered with those ellipses of avoidance? If you are well-read this likely conjures an image of some bored teen responding to a neighbour inquiring after the whereabouts of their parents: > Yeah they're probably at home… I guess… Maybe not… Dunno… …whereupon they promptly return their attention to their smartphone. Only it isn't a teenager; it is an adult colleague (not quite) giving their opinion on some topic.

telotortium 10y ago
Language does not have the sole purpose of making direct statements of fact though. Indirectness, in reasonable portions, is perfectly legitimate, especially because you often have to feel out your interlocutor's response to each line in your conversation - arguably, this is a more sophisticated use of language than straightforward statements or questions. In its natural environment, the trailing ellipsis serves a valuable role in signaling a willingness to change your mind, or at least a sensitivity to the other party's reactions and positions. I agree that a lot of people overuse them - in most cases, you should be able to get away with just using it after your thesis, so to speak.
- Freak_NL 10y ago
  > Ellipses have their place, but they seem to be abused a lot. > Ellipses have their place, but I get the impression that they are also abused a lot. > Ellipses have their place, but aren't they also abused a lot? > Ellipses have their place, but maybe they are abused a bit too much. I agree, sometimes a statement needs to be softened to indicate uncertainty or just to be diplomatic, but there are many ways to do that without resorting to ambiguity. Perhaps, maybe, seemingly, ostensibly, surely, evidently; there are so many words that can help soften (or harden!) a statement, and each carries a different connotation. The ellipse on the other hand simple conveys its meaning of omission — but there is no indication of what it was that was omitted (uncertainty? rolling-my-eyes sarcasm? fatigue?). It can come across as laziness on the writer's part — as if they couldn't be bothered to formulate their thoughts.
  - JoeAltmaier 10y ago
    I sometimes soften a criticism here on HN simply by putting a question mark at the end?

vurpo 10y ago

I've noticed that I tend to avoid the period/full stop when writing instant messages like that. Like, exclamation marks and question marks go just fine, but a period will make it sound very weird in my head when it's in an IM conversation, for some reason. I will even start a new sentence on a new line without a period after the last sentence if I need to write multiple sentences in one message (which doesn't happen that often though). I don't know why.

Diederich 10y ago
My first thought is that it's a way to encourage a response. The ellipsis also seems to soften the tone compared to a regular period.