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> As I was reading this chapter of Because Internet, Joe Biden announced his candidacy on Twitter. The tweet read: “The core values of this nation . . . our sta

> As I was reading this chapter of Because Internet, Joe Biden announced his candidacy on Twitter. The tweet read: “The core values of this nation . . . our standing in the world . . . our very democracy . . . everything that has made America—America—is at stake. That’s why today I’m announcing my candidacy for President of the United States. #Joe2020.” Those pauses! So pregnant, so stressful, so Semi Internet, I thought. More likely, it signaled the perilous record-skips in Biden’s own thought. As if we didn’t already know, this message was targeted at a certain demographic of Pre or Semi Internet people. I disagree that this is part of the evolution of internet speak. This is not lol vs LOL. I have done a fair bit of low level editing. The ellipse for pause is a generational thing that older (gray hair) types use who are otherwise bad at grammar. Commas work here, but I think it would be more internet-like to use whitespace like a newline or a gif to create tension and cadence.

ambicapter 7y ago
I don't know when ellipses started signalling an old person, I used to use ellipses in my teenage years all the time (25-38 demo here).
- dictum 7y ago
  I'm in the same demo, and I wasn't aware of ellipses being seen as an habit of old people. Biden's (or likely, his team's) usage is atypical; ellipses are usually only used when you're citing somebody, to indicate unintelligible segments or sentences that are not crucial to the thought being relayed, and when you're voicing some degree of surprise, doubt or reticence about the forthcoming sentence (e.g. "She thought I was ready... maybe I wasn't.") (If they ever come for my semicolon, I'll take up arms.)
  - homonculus1 7y ago
    The example is correct usage... not perceived as old at all... but when grandpa replaces all punctuation... peppered in between disjointed fragments of thought... LOL! Very difficult to read!
rathel 7y ago
My thoughts too. Whenever I see someone abuse ellipses I know reading the text is not worth my time - either the person is terrible at turning thoughts into type, or out of their mind, or both.
- erikpukinskis 7y ago
  That seems like one step too far.
Simon_says 7y ago
Commas would have been better. Ellipses are just weird.
- analog31 7y ago
  Ellipses,,,,, made from commas,,,, are the best of both worlds.
  - jjuhl 7y ago
    I really hate those.
  - dylan604 7y ago
    I just assumed someone was typing on a macbook pro with a butterfly keyboard when i see those
  - Jill_the_Pill 7y ago
    You are my kind of anarchist.
rdiddly 7y ago
They're just bad style. It comes back to basics. I believe basics/fundamentals still provide useful guidance, especially aesthetically. You notice ellipses because they're being misused and they stick out. It's an aesthetic thorn caught in a silk scarf. Taking the subsequent step of interpreting it and ascertaining what specific bad thing it means, and what kind of "old" the person is etc. is to some degree unnecessary: it's just bad style. Similar to how at work, both your boring story about your commute, and whatever sexist/discriminatory/offensive thing you were gonna say, are both non-work-related communication I don't want to hear. Or just like how most dangerous things you can do in traffic are also illegal. Just stick to best practices and you tend to avoid most of the pitfalls. By the way, I remember people in the 90s overusing ellipses, and I found those people insufferably trendy or trying-to-be-mystical or something. "Like wow man... my thoughts... so freeform... and hard to capture in the ... framework, I guess?... of grammar and shit." There was a character on SNL recently, played by Beck Bennett, that was this exact type. I imagine his lines being filled with ellipses. "I just think... differently." Note the definitely-not-accidental reference to Apple's self-consciously iconoclastic marketing strategy of that time. (Edit: namely the 90s, though obviously they've ridden that wave clear on through to today!)

ambicapter 7y ago

I don't know when ellipses started signalling an old person, I used to use ellipses in my teenage years all the time (25-38 demo here).

dictum 7y ago
I'm in the same demo, and I wasn't aware of ellipses being seen as an habit of old people. Biden's (or likely, his team's) usage is atypical; ellipses are usually only used when you're citing somebody, to indicate unintelligible segments or sentences that are not crucial to the thought being relayed, and when you're voicing some degree of surprise, doubt or reticence about the forthcoming sentence (e.g. "She thought I was ready... maybe I wasn't.") (If they ever come for my semicolon, I'll take up arms.)
- homonculus1 7y ago
  The example is correct usage... not perceived as old at all... but when grandpa replaces all punctuation... peppered in between disjointed fragments of thought... LOL! Very difficult to read!

rathel 7y ago

My thoughts too. Whenever I see someone abuse ellipses I know reading the text is not worth my time - either the person is terrible at turning thoughts into type, or out of their mind, or both.

erikpukinskis 7y ago
That seems like one step too far.

Simon_says 7y ago

Commas would have been better. Ellipses are just weird.

analog31 7y ago
Ellipses,,,,, made from commas,,,, are the best of both worlds.
- jjuhl 7y ago
  I really hate those.
- dylan604 7y ago
  I just assumed someone was typing on a macbook pro with a butterfly keyboard when i see those
- Jill_the_Pill 7y ago
  You are my kind of anarchist.

rdiddly 7y ago

They're just bad style. It comes back to basics. I believe basics/fundamentals still provide useful guidance, especially aesthetically. You notice ellipses because they're being misused and they stick out. It's an aesthetic thorn caught in a silk scarf. Taking the subsequent step of interpreting it and ascertaining what specific bad thing it means, and what kind of "old" the person is etc. is to some degree unnecessary: it's just bad style. Similar to how at work, both your boring story about your commute, and whatever sexist/discriminatory/offensive thing you were gonna say, are both non-work-related communication I don't want to hear. Or just like how most dangerous things you can do in traffic are also illegal. Just stick to best practices and you tend to avoid most of the pitfalls. By the way, I remember people in the 90s overusing ellipses, and I found those people insufferably trendy or trying-to-be-mystical or something. "Like wow man... my thoughts... so freeform... and hard to capture in the ... framework, I guess?... of grammar and shit." There was a character on SNL recently, played by Beck Bennett, that was this exact type. I imagine his lines being filled with ellipses. "I just think... differently." Note the definitely-not-accidental reference to Apple's self-consciously iconoclastic marketing strategy of that time. (Edit: namely the 90s, though obviously they've ridden that wave clear on through to today!)