Periods are not optional in readable English. Period. The rest, spelling, capitalization, are all there for the same reason -- readability. Seeing an unpunctua

Periods are not optional in readable English. Period. The rest, spelling, capitalization, are all there for the same reason -- readability. Seeing an unpunctuated piece of writing doesn't make me think "Gee, good thing they're not mad at me", it makes me think "Gee, they didn't care enough to make this readable". Which, for some circumstances, is probably fine. I apologize for the "uneducated" remark. You just write differently (albeit only in certain informal contexts apparently) than any literate person I know. The rest of the punctuation-emotion the short article described predates the internet and texting, like using question marks if you're unsure (I turn left here?), or exclamation points for emphasis (Yes!!). What I'm disputing is the "don't bother using a period if you're not angry" phenomenon. It's not my experience that literate adults do this. You and the article disagree. Fair enough. Learn something new everyday.