I’m no fan of the exclamation point. It wasn’t always so, but its omnipresence has come to tyrannize me.
I know it won’t stop. I should just deal.
Alas, questions persist. Here are a few:
- Why does everyone under the age of 30 feel the need to put exclamation points after EVERY sentence?
- Why, when I don’t use ‘!’ after every sentence, do people under the age of 30 think me a mean old curmudgeon?
- When did the exclamation mark’s rise to ubiquity begin?
- Did it coincide with the rise to ubiquity of other tyrannical bastards like Putin and Chavez?
- Are the aforementioned two pricks responsible? Might Castro also be involved?
- Why does anyone over 30 insist on using exclamations after every sentence?
- Do they view the exclamation as the grammatical equivalent of the Fountain of Youth?
- Someone once wrote me an email that said, “It is time for the weekly middle management meeting!” How could anyone think a middle management meeting (or any meeting really) merited an exclamation point?
- What’s worse, the pressure to put exclamation points at the end of every sentence or the pressure to put a frikkin smiley face – 🙂 – all over communications?
You’re insightful. You must have the answers. HELP!!!
I share your loathsome view on exclamation marks. I once worked for a real estate publication, and I must say realtors are one of the most exclamation-happy (no pun intended) group of people I have ever encountered. A typical email to one of our designers went like this:
“Hi Mable! The wording for my latest ad is as follows:
2-story bungalow in beautiful NW neighbourhood! Boasts country kitchen and open main floor!!! 2 acres!!!! Great for kids, young family and plenty of space for animals!!!! Only $1.5 million!!!!!…
You get the idea.
Ange,
That sounds painful. I’ll keep this in mind when I next deal with a realtor. It seems we’ve entered an era where anything that is not followed by an exclamation point is deemed ‘deadpan’ or ‘serious’.
Thanks for stopping by.