So I notice this when it happens here and there? Last week though, apparently everyone was doing it more than normal? Often, someone has a question to ask or is asking for help but instead of forming the sentence as a question, he or she will just tack a question mark at the end? This looks odd to me though? They’re not really questions but there’s that interrogative inflection added to the end? It’s not really a pet peeve but I sure do notice it and I do find it mildly distracting? It could be worse though, it could be all exclamation marks or in all caps?
One possibility: people are using characters that cannot be interpreted by the email client you are using. Happens to me with emoticons; people type up their emails, include something like Colon-RightParenthesis for a smiley face, and their email client converts the characters to a smiley-face automatically. They send, and my email client can’t parse the smiley face, and shows ‘?’ in place of the smiley-face character.
Or maybe the people you email are weird and annoying.
I see this a lot. The writer wants to ask a question, or ask for help, but just blurts out some statement and appends a question mark - I suppose just to express general puzzlement.
For example.
*My screen has gone all yellow and I don’t know what to do?
The order is going to get to the customer later than they expected and there doesn’t seem to be a contact number?*
Yes, this is exactly it. Great examples. I want to reply “Are you asking me this?” but I restrain myself when I see them.
I was trying to find my latest example and I did a search for ? in Outlook but there were too many results to list.
People in Minnesota talk like that? like they’re just making sure you’re paying attention? Perhaps they’re dictating their emails?
I have a friend whose phone has some kind of quirk that inserts question marks instead of periods.
The writers are probably Australian? Or Valley Girls?
I wonder if she’s the type of person who puts two spaces after every period? Like my phone automatically adds a period if I put two spaces. No question mark but maybe hers does.
I do this occasionally with “I wonder” statements:
I wonder if maybe the cable got unplugged?
It’s easier than typing, say,
I wonder: “Did the cable get unplugged?”
That’s always been how I’ve read it; basically the writer is indicating they need assistance/guidance/input/more information rather than making a statement.
That’s how I use it. I suggest something but put a question mark implying that I welcome correction or a better idea from the people I am copying. I use an ellipsis and then a question mark. I’m sure it drives some people nuts. :o
But you’re not writing a question…? 