Punctuation!

[angieh]

I've been thinking - is there a particular punctuation mark that you
(a) like;
(b) dislike;
(c) think you or others use too much;
(d) wish yourself or others would use more;
(e) never use.
Or any other comments to do with punctuation you would like to make!!!!!!

[Fran]

Yes, I think the exclamation mark!! is very over used by some members and I am guilty of this too. The thing that really bugs me and makes people sound so uneducated in my view is those people that add 'lol' to more-or-less everything they post

[yola]

I'm a bit of a stickler for punctuation (having studied typopgrahy as part of my design course and also now being a copywriter), but admit I use the exclaimation mark far too much, infact I'm making a conscious effort to reduce it. I also have a nasty habit of breaking a sentence with a hyphen (-) rather than comma or full stop which I'm also addressing

I absoutely adore the semi colon; I use it when I can. It is a much misunderstood and underused punctuation mark

I also think that ( . . . ) if used correctly, can be good at helping interpret the spoken word into the written word.

As for ones I dislike, I don't have any I particularly dislike but I abhor text speak and sentences written exclusively in lower case. Funnily enough, I don't have an issue with LOL; that and PMSL I think are the two text phrases that work exceptionally well as they really communicate an emotion effectively!

As an aside, who's read 'Eats, Shoots & Leaves?' The ultimate grammar/punctuation book. If you haven't I'd thoroughly recommend it - intelligent, funny and perceptive and had me nodding furiously in agreement on almost every page.

[babycakes]

Through working with children who have learning difficulties and barriers to learning I have come to understand how isolating it is not to be intelligent. Their daily life creates barriers to learning and being able to chat through text speak has made them feel 'included'. So I feel if people come together through a 'love' of something, or a common interest then how that is communicated is perfectly acceptable and I don't have hang ups over other people's spelling in particular.
That said I constantly correct my own spelling and if there is no spell check ,like on Catsey, then I struggle.
I do over use the punctuation mark but I feel it adds emphasis to what I am saying. The beuaty of punctuation is that many a written text can be read wrong without the use of punctuation.
I dislike ' (apostrophe) being using incorrectly and indicating that something is shortened from is instead of just being plural.

[Erin]

[quote=babycakes;465281]Through working with children who have learning difficulties and barriers to learning I have come to understand how isolating it is not to be intelligent. Their daily life creates barriers to learning and being able to chat through text speak has made them feel 'included'. So I feel if people come together through a 'love' of something, or a common interest then how that is communicated is perfectly acceptable and I don't have hang ups over other people's spelling in particular.
QUOTE]

BC that is so true,I think most people who work with children/adults with learning disabilities think pretty the same way.I have grown up with a sister with learning disabilities so my way of thinking is exactly like yours

I dont really have any punctuation mark that I dislike,I like the explanation mark and I am also guilty for using it alot on the forum.

LOL etc do not bother me at all and I am again guilty of using them alot on this forum,I dont think they make people sound uneducated at all,its just the same as when people use IMO,TBH etc.

[dandysmom]

I tend to use the exclamation point and the .....

a bit too much. Other than that, I have no problems with the LOL, PMSL, etc. I also dislike sentences in lower caps and ones that run on with no punctuation whatsoever.
Yola: I adored Runs, Shoots !!! (exclamation points on purpose)
BC: Catsey does have a spell check; it was mentioned in a thread of Angie's. I'll look it up and post a link: Tom explains how to get it working.

[dandysmom]

BC, here's the link about spell check...this is for Firefox users. I don't know about Explorer; maybe PM Tom, he's sure to know.

http://www.catsey.com/showthread.php?t=26636

[Mags]

I too use the exclamation mark and the ........ a lot. I like all punctuation and would rather see it overused than not at all.

I do not like to see posts in all lower case and with no punctuation or capitals....I find the writing needs to be read a few times to make sense of it.

I certainly don't agree that using lol etc. makes people sound uneducated, I think that's a bit harsh, after all this is a forum not a formal piece of writing. I interpret it the same way as using the smilies here.

[Erin]

Can I please just appologise to you all,Im guilty of not always using capitals but I do have a valid reson for this
My capital locks button(and a few others) is broke from choc jumping on my laptop and it only chooses to work at times sorry guys,hope I havnt been driving you all to crazy all this time

[Fran]

I think you have misunderstood me or I didn't explain well enough what I was trying to say. I don't have a problem with 'lol' as such and I do use it occasionally myself, I just find it very irritating when it's attached to the end of every sentence or every post. I personally don't like text speak as I don't understand it. My children use it all the time and I haven't got a clue what they are trying to tell me When I was at school elocution lessons were compulsory, so I guess old habits die hard really. I can see the benefits of text language for children/people with learning difficulties though