# What's the intended use of the strike-out feature **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 3, 2009, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-intended-use-of-the-strike-out-feature/505179 "2009-08-03T16:49:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-intended-use-of-the-strike-out-feature/505179/41 "2009-08-07T14:51:27Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > You’ve obviously never gotten a letter from my grandmother. I can’t say that I have, but I _have_ come across similar missives, and usually they are written by people who seem mentally unstable–which is not, in any way, to imply any thing, about your dear grandmother. Rather, I imagine it’s a mode of writing used by those who don’t “trust” the ability of writing conventions to convey their sentiments. In a way, it could be the same thing all around. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Actually I agree that message board “conversations” are a third form, between prose and speech, with some of the characteristics of each. Yes, definitely. And as other forms of communications have evolved, it will too–culture is continually shaping language as language is continually shaping culture. So I don’t mean to “belittle” any thread so much as to opt out of participating in them on most occasions, more out of frustration than anything. And while communications adapt to niches, communications also cause niches to adapt. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-intended-use-of-the-strike-out-feature/505179/42 "2009-08-07T23:50:42Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > I can’t say that I have, but I _have_ come across similar missives, and usually they are written by people who seem mentally unstable–which is not, in any way, to imply any thing, about your dear grandmother. Rather, I imagine it’s a mode of writing used by those who don’t “trust” the ability of writing conventions to convey their sentiments. . . . Yes, Grandma did have, shall we say, an unstoppable urge for drama. And I like your comment about not trusting plane prose. That sounds true. Plain prose might be interpreted, well, plainly. And she was always going for dramatics, because she CARED!!!. ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-intended-use-of-the-strike-out-feature/505179/43 "2009-08-08T00:54:56Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > It appears to me this board seems to think that snark, in general, is a bad thing. Yet thats about all I see the strike-out function used for (well, that and humor). Not complaining just curious, why is this feature enabled? :o :o :o Well, fortunately, PlainJain, very few _ **individual** _s here use the strike-out for snark with any frequency here. > [@Yllaria](#): > > You’ve obviously never gotten a letter from my grandmother. She wanted to bring the experience of reading one of her letters as close to the experience of her talking to you as possible. Underlines, multi-underlines, wavy underlines, CAPS, varying letter size, exclamation marks (of various shapes and sizes - she wasn’t typing, this was all handwritten), as well as hearts and smiley faces. And drawings of flowers or musical notes from time to time. > > This was all going on WAY before the internet, way before computers… My personal opinion is that people like THAT!!! either have \*serious issues \* :smack: or are [del]revolting, decrepid _ **bitches** _[/del] sweet old dears like the wonderful lady in question! … But it could be worse. I knew of one character 😉 who \*\*\*UNTIL RECENTLY \*\*\*could barely restrain himself from a flamboyant, redundant SIG! * * * * * * True Blue Jack\*\*\* [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-intended-use-of-the-strike-out-feature/505179.md?page=2)