to have feelings about @?

[ChaosTrulyReigns]

The little curly critter seems to be creeping its way into conversations on here.

I'm not sure whether anti-snail evolution is required, or whether shrugs and an acceptance of evolution of language is the way forward?

It just doesn't seem to scan right, or even really make sense to me but perhaps I am just a poster of little brain.

AIBU to ponder?

[MilkNoSugarPlease]

I hate it, it's not a word it's a symbol (Although I love &)!



Chaos! I feel like I haven't bumped into you in forever! How the devil ARE you?!

[Al0uiseG]

@Chaos - it's rather like # isn't it. It has it's place but I'm not convinced that is Mumsnet.

[ChaosTrulyReigns]

Hi Milky, I'm really great thanks, how are you?

That's strange Alouisr, someone doing it to you earlier was the prompt for this thread!

I agree, it has its place on Twitter and so on, but it just doesn't seem to fit on here really, and perhaps is extraneous really? Your post above would have made sense without it.

[ChaosTrulyReigns]

Sorry, Alouise.

Silly 'r's.

[thursday]

has it's role, but don't think mumsnet needs it. you can put people's names in bold so they know they're being spoken too - job done.

[Whatmeworry]

@Chaos it's the convention in many Internet chat systems to respond to one person and has also been adopted on Twitter. I have to consciously remember not to use it on MN as it is so usual elsewhere.

[KurriKurri]

It's very annoying, and is text speak bollocks.

Hate it in front of peoples names - I don't talk 'at' people, I talk to them.

E-mail addresses only is my feeling

[HighWolefsteem]

I prefer to bold names too. IMO @ is only useful as tumbleweed @@@@.

[smallandroid]

@chaos it's from twitter surely

[WhereYouLeftIt]

I don't use Twitter or other boards, so felt a bit confused when @s started turning up. I do like to put names in bold though.

[valiumredhead]

LOL@ this thread

[Thumbwitch]

It's stupid anyway - it's an e and an a written together, used to mean "each at" when discussing prices of items - annoyed me when it was used to mean "at" in email addresses but hey ho.

Really annoys me when it's used to address someone. Agree it has no place on MN, where you can bold/italicise or in fact just type the other poster's name to draw attention to the fact you are speaking to them directly.

[valiumredhead]

'No place on Mumsnet' - good grief!

[LadyWithNoManors]

Oh my lord there are much more annoying things to be found on Mumsnet than @!
Why is acceptable for Meh, norks, fanjo and all the other Mumsnetisms(?) but not @?? It's not in the same boat as hun surely?

[tethersend]

I'm getting my head round @, but forthe love of all that is holy, can someone explain # to me please?

[valiumredhead]

tethersens it means NUMBER I think - I am basing this on the fact that it's in my sister's address and she is in the States.

[Thumbwitch]

for number, tethers? I don't know that one, sorry.

[Thumbwitch]

blimey!

[tethersend]

No, no, I know it means number

I mean in the Twitter sense...

[valiumredhead]

Oh fuck knows then!

[Thumbwitch]

not a farking clue then Tethers. I don't "do" Twitter. It might be on that Wiki page I just linked to of course.

[tethersend]

Ooh, good point- I'll go and read it.

[Blatherskite]

Facebook uses @name too to notify the person who was mentioned. It's becoming more and more widespread. No need for it on here though.

tethers Twitter uses # for trending. While the Apprentice was on for example, lots of people would finish thier tweets #bbcapprentice, it was then possible to search for #bbcapprentice and see all the Apprentice related tweets if you were that bored. It's also sometimes used to sum up a tweet so things like "is it too early for a drink? #wineoclock" etc

[tethersend]

It says "On social networking sites such as Twitter, # is used to denote a metadata tag, or "hashtag"."

So that's cleared that up, then.