# Exclamation Marks! Lots of them! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 17, 2022, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exclamation-marks-lots-of-them/962973 "2022-04-17T22:43:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exclamation-marks-lots-of-them/962973/22 "2022-04-19T00:15:17Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > > [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > > > Every bang receives 10 seconds of contemplation > > You and your girlfriend have some serious issues. Much more consideration is given to interrobangs. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exclamation-marks-lots-of-them/962973/23 "2022-04-19T01:47:41Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Dot,space,dotdot,spacedotspace and later just Dotspacedotdot, then Spacedotdotdotspacedotspacedot. Maybe it’s Morse? ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exclamation-marks-lots-of-them/962973/24 "2022-04-19T01:51:26Z")
Are sure they aren’t factorials? (Double factorial is a thing [Double factorial - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_factorial)) Brian ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exclamation-marks-lots-of-them/962973/25 "2022-04-19T03:14:25Z")
It’s deliberate! I mean, of course I made gentle fun of this habit! Wouldn’t you?! Yes! Answer? People like the exclamation marks!!! ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exclamation-marks-lots-of-them/962973/26 "2022-04-19T06:12:30Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > Much more consideration is given to **interrobangs**. Is that something necrophiliacs do? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exclamation-marks-lots-of-them/962973/27 "2022-04-19T06:34:34Z")
At least they aren’t using emoji-based exclamation marks ❗❗❗ But could it get worse ❓❓❓ It could ❣❣❣ ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exclamation-marks-lots-of-them/962973/28 "2022-04-19T07:40:17Z")
I do believe that over-utilization of exclamation marks is just another symptom of living in an internet world, an increasingly fast and loose society where getting your point across as quickly as possible is the primary goal. Flowing prose and proper grammar are antiquated relics of the pre-internet age. It’s jarring for those of us who grew up in the days of snail mail, but necessary if you wish to be listened to. In the world of websites, email and social media, if your message doesn’t load and grab attention within ~3 seconds, you get clicked away. Corn-fielded. Tomorrow it will be 2 seconds; 1 second the day after… Consider love letters. As a young person, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I wrote and received long, flowing love letters with decorative prose and conservative punctuation (perhaps one exclamation mark per letter, e.g. _“my heart yearns to beat near yours!”_), written longhand with proper grammar. If I felt particularly romantic, perhaps I would include a sketch of two hearts entwined before a sunrise, or some such insipid dreck. And, compared to letters from bygone centuries, these would be considered brief and boring. Decades later, after divorce and now living in an internet world, I decided to take the plunge and try online dating (I enjoy the company of my cats, but one can’t thrive on feline love alone). I quickly learned that the new _“love letter style”_ is more along the lines of _wham bam, thank you ma’am_—short correspondences sprinkled with “lols”, copious abbreviations, sloppy grammar and genital pics selfies. Don’t fight the new way of speed writing. It’s only going to get worse. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exclamation-marks-lots-of-them/962973/29 "2022-04-19T07:42:59Z")
[![](https://emojipedia-us.s3.amazonaws.com/source/skype/289/exclamation-mark_2757.png) ](https://emojipedia-us.s3.amazonaws.com/source/skype/289/exclamation-mark_2757.png) ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exclamation-marks-lots-of-them/962973/30 "2022-04-19T07:53:06Z")
There’s a loudmouth in every group! Lol. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exclamation-marks-lots-of-them/962973/31 "2022-04-19T14:11:10Z")
Hey! It’s Mr. Musk! Glad you could make it! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exclamation-marks-lots-of-them/962973.md?page=1)