Using a full stop could be a sign of passive aggression

The BBC reports that Internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch ponders "The problem comes when you have a positive message with the seriousness of the full stop. It's the juxtaposition of those things which creates that sense of passive aggression."

I do get the examples stated behind this thinking, but strawberry-float.

Or, just in case that comes across as being aggressive:

I do get the examples stated behind this thinking, but strawberry-float

Tl;dr Don't use a full stop when messaging "young" people 'cos that could be perceived as aggression

Last edited by Peter Crisp on Thu Aug 01, 2019 12:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Wow, how easily offended do you need to be to have a problem with a bloody full stop?
How else are they supposed to denote the end of a sentence and is it worth talking to them anyway as I'm most likely going to say something like "Hello" which will make them gooseberry fool themselves in terror at my godlike aggression.

I'm glad I don't use social media and have to put up with gooseberry fool like this.

Full stops.

.

People that get mad at full stops are going to be mentally crushed when they actually get a job and get actual feedback from real people.

I think you're a strawberry floating arshole.

HOW'S THAT FOR PASSIVE AGGRESSION, BABES xxx

KK wrote:I think you're a strawberry floating arshole.

HOW'S THAT FOR PASSIVE AGGRESSION, BABES xxx

WAHHHHH THE FULLSTOPS HURT ME

banana split.

We all know that u ok huns use words to end their sentences because that is just the way it is end of

Incredible that GRcade is now collectively old and lame enough to be going through its "young people these days don't speak English properly!" phase.

Yes, using standard grammar can sometimes be perceived as stern / formal in media where relaxed grammar is expected. The horror!

It’s fine as long as you do a double space after the full stop.

Peter Crisp wrote:Wow, how easily offended do you need to be to have a problem with a bloody full stop?
How else are they supposed to denote the end of a sentence and is it worth talking to them anyway as I'm most likely going to say something like "Hello" which will make them gooseberry fool themselves in terror at my godlike aggression.

I'm glad I don't use social media and have to put up with gooseberry fool like this.

I don't think it's necessarily people getting offended by a full stop, it's just how they're being used. It depends on the context but it can definitely elevate the seriousness of a text. For example, "I'm not talking to you anymore." is worse than "I'm not talking to you anymore".

It's just a way in which communication via text messaging has evolved.

Karl_ wrote:Incredible that GRcade is now collectively old and lame enough to be going through its "young people these days don't speak English properly!" phase.

Yes, using standard grammar can sometimes be perceived as stern / formal in media where relaxed grammar is expected. The horror!

Well, you would say that wouldn't you GRcade's own Pater Pan as you'll be forever 12 :shifty:

.
Lucky bastard

.

Karl_ wrote:Incredible that GRcade is now collectively old and lame enough to be going through its "young people these days don't speak English properly!" phase.

Karl is so aggressive ban pls

It's all a bit silly but there you go.

Karl_ wrote:Yes, using standard grammar can sometimes be perceived as stern / formal in media where relaxed grammar is expected. The horror!

But it's a communication tool, surely the determining factor in whether someone is being stern with you or not should be based on who you are talking to and what they are actually communicating, not the tool that is used?

If I'm Whapping (the verb kids use to describe use of WhatsApp just FYI

) with younger folk who take a more relaxed attitude to punctuation on the platform then a closing "." may concern me, but if it comes from my parents I'll know it means nothing. The individual context and participants are a more important factor in determining tone.

Likewise if a friend says to me that the're "a bit disappointed" by something I'd done I'll know it's probably nothing major, whereas if my mum said that to me I would know she is furious! :lol:

My ex use to get really worried about context when sending a text message, I found it fairly annoying. This article is about a fairly specific situation using messaging apps. That said I always try to use proper pronunciation and spelling in text messages because I need the practice.

It's just text based communication evolving. For example, if my missus is away, and we've had an argument, I would text "Goodnight." to communicate I am annoyed. It invites a response of "WTF is wrong with you, why so dry". If all was good, I'd message "Goodnight xxx" which would invite a similar response and end the conversation.

captain red dog wrote:...I'd message "Goodnight xxx"...

I guess the three x's would indicate that you're furiously annoyed, crd? xx

I can understand why people who mostly use messaging apps might see it like this in those apps, where full stops at the end of a messages aren't typically used.

captain red dog wrote:It's just text based communication evolving. For example, if my missus is away, and we've had an argument, I would text "Goodnight." to communicate I am annoyed. It invites a response of "WTF is wrong with you, why so dry". If all was good, I'd message "Goodnight xxx" which would invite a similar response and end the conversation.

But again it's all about context and knowledge of the participants in the conversation - that's just how that example plays in your scenario.

Conversely for another couple "Goodnight" might just mean goodnight, where "Goodnight xxx" might indicate that the person sending it has done something wrong and is trying to get back in the others good books.

Context is the key - hard rules like "full-stop = agressive" just can't exist in such a varied space.

Using a full stop could be a sign of passive aggression

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