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> The use of em-dashes, which on most keyboard require a special key-combination that most people don’t know Most people probably don't know, but I think on HN
by f311a 9mo ago
> The use of em-dashes, which on most keyboard require a special key-combination that most people don’t know
Most people probably don't know, but I think on HN at least half of the users know how to do it.
It sucks to do this on Windows, but at least on Mac it's super easy and the shortcut makes perfect sense.
- bakugo 9mo agoNow I'm actually curious to see statistics regarding the usage of em-dashes on HN before and after AI took over. The data is public, right? I'd do it myself, but unfortunately I'm lazy.
- dang 9mo agoSomeone did just that! Show HN: Hacker News em dash user leaderboard pre-ChatGPT - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45071722 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45071722 - Aug 2025 (266 comments) ... which I'm proud to say originated here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45046883 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45046883.
- JKCalhoun 9mo agoHa ha, my first use of an em-dash on HN was 2016 which was the year I started my account. I'm safe. It must be one of you that are the LLM! (Hey, I'm #21 on the leaderboard!).
- chao- 9mo agoI don't have strong negative feelings about the era of LLM writing, but I resent that it has taken the em-dash from me. I have long used them as a strong disjunctive pause, stronger than a semicolon. I have gone back to semicolons after many instances of my comments or writing being dismissed as AI. I will still sometimes use a pair of them for an abrupt appositive that stands out more than commas, as this seems to trigger people's AI radar less?
- deleted 9mo ago[deleted]
- kelseydh 9mo agoOne way to use em-dash and look human is to write it incorrectly with two hyphens: --
- myself248 9mo agoAt this point I almost look forward to some idiot calling me AI because they don't like what I said. I should start keeping score.
- JKCalhoun 9mo agoI still use 'em. Fuck what everybody else thinks.
- charcoalhobo 9mo agoThere's always the 3-em dash⸻a dastardly long strike.
- chao- 9mo agoThat is fantastic.
- d4rkp4ttern 9mo agoFirst time I’m hearing about a shortcut for this. I always use 2 hyphens. Is that not considered an em-dash ?
- FridayoLeary 9mo agoYou are absolutely right — most internet users don't know the specific keyboard combination to make an em dash and substitute it with two hyphens. On some websites it is automatically converted into an em dash. If you would like to know more about this important punctuation symbol and it's significance in identitifying ai writing, please let me know.
- d4rkp4ttern 9mo agoWow thanks for the enlightenment. I dug into this a bit and found out: Hyphen (-) — the one on your keyboard. For compound words like “well-known.” En dash (–) — medium length, for ranges like 2020–2024. Mac: Option + hyphen. Windows: Alt + 0150. Em dash (—) — the long one, for breaks in thought. Mac: Option + Shift + hyphen. Windows: Alt + 0151. And now I also understand why having plenty of actual em-dashes (not double hyphens) is an “AI tell”.
- FridayoLeary 9mo agoThanks for that. I had no idea either. I'm genuinely surprised Windows buries such a crucial thing like this. Or why they even bothered adding it in the first place when it's so complicated.
- jsheard 9mo agoThe Windows version is an escape hatch for keying in any arbitrary character code, hence why it's so convoluted. You need to know which code you're after.
- semilin 9mo agoTo be fair, the alt-input is a generalized system for inputting Unicode characters outside the set keyboard layout. So it's not like they added this input specifically. Still, the em dash really should have an easier input method given how crucial a symbol it is.
- rsch 9mo agoI can’t be the only one who has ever read https://practicaltypography.com/hyphens-and-dashes.html https://practicaltypography.com/hyphens-and-dashes.html
- kelseydh 9mo agoThis would have been very helpful three years ago, before I permanently stopped using em-dashes to not have my writing confused with LLM's.
- numpad0 9mo agoI've been left wondering when is the world going to find out about Input Method Editor. It lets users type all sorts of ‡s, (*´ڡ`●)s, 2026/01/19s, by name, on Windows, Mac, Linux, through pc101, standard dvorak, your custom qmk config, anywhere without much prior knowledge. All it takes is to have a little proto-AI that can range from floppy sizes to at most few hundred MBs in size, rewriting your input somewhere between the physical keyboard and text input API. If I wanted em–dashes, I can do just that instantly – I'm on Windows and I don't know what are the key combinations. Doesn't matter. I say "emdash" and here be an em-dash. There should be the equivalent to this thing for everybody.