Apr 29, 2005

Crack"pot" PUNCTUATION!!!!!

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the loonier the correspondent, the more, um, unorthodox the punctuation. Take it from someone who edited the letters to the editor at a weekly newspaper.

As Jonah Goldberg points out in response to an email, "It would be cool!!!!!!! if (!!!!) exclamation points (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) automatically made you right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Another technique is the "random" use of quotation "marks." Not "scare quotes"--or "inverted commas" as our British friends would say--just "assorted" quotation marks. "Possibly" their "intent" is to "underline" or "emphasize" a certain point. Who "knows"?

AND DON'T "FORGET" CAPITAL LETTERS. WHEN YOU RECEIVE A LETTER THAT'S ALL CAPS--JUST THROW IT AWAY.

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