topic Re: I had no idea.... in Community Chat

I had no idea....

millieshops — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 16:59:09 GMT

that using a period at the end of a text message sentence can be seen as passive aggressive.

Apparently one of the ways our language is changing in ways no one is telling me.

Re: I had no idea....

Annabellethecat66 — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 17:02:32 GMT

Maybe to some that's true. I never pay attention to things like that.

I figure anyone I was texting would know I'm not an aggressive person.

Mostly, though, the people in my life I text would have never bothered or cared about something so insignificant.

Re: I had no idea....

Laura14 — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 17:02:52 GMT

The only time a period is passive aggressive is between the ages of puberty and menopause.

Someone please tell the young ones, not everything, including inanimate objects, is about them.

Re: I had no idea....

Justholdingon — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 17:03:51 GMT

then I guess i'm passive aggressive. 😂😂

Re: I had no idea....

Sooner — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 17:10:30 GMT

@millieshops wrote:
that using a period at the end of a text message sentence can be seen as passive aggressive.

Apparently one of the ways our language is changing in ways no one is telling me.

Oh please. If someone thinks that they are looking for something to be peeved about.

Re: I had no idea....

mamaslittlepotato — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 17:11:29 GMT

@millieshops Just an idea.....Do you possibly mean at the end of any word such as “Please.leave.me.alone.” This is common and could be seen as passive aggressive but not a period at the end of a normal sentence.

Re: I had no idea....

mamaslittlepotato — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 17:14:05 GMT

Don’t most people use periods at the end of a sentence? I think I was taught that in first grade. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Re: I had no idea....

sunshine45 — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 17:15:45 GMT

where did you read this?.....or did someone just tell you?

have never heard that using a period at the end of a text sentence was passive aggressive. i use them sometimes, i dont use them sometimes in texts. believe me, if it was true, my kids would have told me. LOL

i have done what @mamaslittlepotato noted and meant it to be passive agressive. for example..... ABSOLUTELY.DO.NOT.CARE.

Re: I had no idea....

millieshops — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 17:20:31 GMT

@mamaslittlepotato In the article on my NPR news channel, the example given was a mother texting for her son (maybe high school or college - sorry I forget which) and her last message before signing off as somethhing like "See you later."

The young man came home all upset - wanted to know why she was angry with him. She wasn't, but the period made him think she was.

Apparently there's a whole language change going on in texting and elsewhere in the virtual world. Since the vast majority of my life is with much older people, I have not even thought that I need to learn what's new about language. Obviously if I'm sending messages I didn't intend to send, I need to.

Re: I had no idea....

Cakers3 — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 17:22:45 GMT

For the love of all that is holy-now we have the text police dictating how to punctuate our texts.

I've seen this analogy before and it means nothing.

Yes, our language changes but punctuation is punctuation.

Next it will be quotation marks, commas, semi-colons, and colons.

Because we have to have something to complain about and heaven forbid we go through life without being offended at everything.

First, "passive-aggressive" is so over-used and not understood.

Second, a period at the end of a sentence is simple punctuation-which apparently is not taught anymore.

What, pray tell, is the difference between using a period in my post and using one in my text??

Nothing. Period.

Re: I had no idea....

proudlyfromNJ — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 17:25:41 GMT

@mamaslittlepotato wrote:
Don’t most people use periods at the end of a sentence? I think I was taught that in first grade. 🤷🏻‍♀️

@mamaslittlepotato I don't all the time. When I text I abbreviate everything to make it as short as possible. I am usually having a conversation when I text and want to make it short and to the point so the other person isn't waiting on me. Now email is different although I don't use it anymore.

Re: I had no idea....

goldensrbest — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 17:28:24 GMT

NOT IMPORTANT

Re: I had no idea....

ajsidney12 — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 17:30:29 GMT

I had no idea about this texting "rule" but will not change my texting. I gew up with computers in the 80s at home and in school, and emailing and the internet of the 90s. But having rules about texting; how long a text should be, or punctuation, caps is yelling, etc, if you know me you deal with my lack of caring about such things. Frankly, far larger issues in the world than if I used a period or wrote something in caps. Stay well be safe everyone.

Re: I had no idea....

Suziepeach — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 17:33:17 GMT

Hmm guess I'm in that category as well and I was also taught to use a period at the end of a sentence. grrrrr LOL

Re: I had no idea....

rms1954 — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 17:38:49 GMT

A period is a period ... period. End of sentence.

Re: I had no idea....

FiddleDeeDee — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 17:44:51 GMT

Thankfully, the people I text with know it's correct punctuation.

Re: I had no idea....

Krimpette — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 18:01:07 GMT

I text just as I'm talking. In fact, I even dictate my texts because sometimes they're a tad long. They'd be impossible to read without proper punctuation! I never thought to make my texts brief either. Unless it's appropriate for the "conversation".

Re: I had no idea....

noodleann — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 18:02:30 GMT

This is idiotic, and NPR is abusing its mandate by giving things like this airtime.

The way to stop gotcha culture from ruling your life is to ignore its demands, or better yet, laugh at them. If you don't, you'll be subject to the tyranny of self-absorbed people like this child insisting that you bend to their demands. Just say no.

I stand with punctuation.

Re: I had no idea....

millieshops — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 18:05:51 GMT

@Annabellethecat66 No one in my life has ever objected to any of my text messages, but having spent 60 years of my life learning and teaching language, I'm always interested in what movements have changed English.

As for the Internet and texting - there's probably a whole language and etiquette that even the kids who address me as Great Great Aunt Millie know and use themselves but they're too polite to ever object to my language,

Re: I had no idea....

haddon9 — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 18:08:10 GMT

@Krimpette wrote:
I text just as I'm talking. In fact, I even dictate my texts because sometimes they're a tad long. They'd be impossible to read without proper punctuation! I never thought to make my texts brief either. Unless it's appropriate for the "conversation".

This is what I do. I speak to dictate what I'm texting. It's faster & easier. I'll also speak the word "period", "question mark" or "exclaimation point" to the end of a sentence. I can't imagine not using a period.

Are we all supposed to have very long run on sentences now with no punctuation of any kind because someone might get offended like this so is a question mark okay I know that lots of exclamation points shows excitment