What's the name for three dots, like this ... and why is it a bad thing?

[Doodle2U]

I use this a lot in my posts. Say I'm talking about a conversation that crops up in our house, repeatedly.

I might type "again and again and again..."

to signify it's continual. I'm sure I read on here that this practice get's on Pedants' tits. Why does it?

[Tutter]

it's lazy construction ...

but i love it

[Slouchy]

ellipses

[thisisyesterday]

ellipses. I love them too. some pedants get a bee in their bonnet about all kinds of things, it's best to ignore them and carry on :D

[Doodle2U]

ellipses! I knew it had a name!

Ad infinitum means continually, doesn't it? I've wondered about typing that instead of the ellipseseseseses (what's the plural?!) but it seems a bit up it's own bottom.

[EffiePerine]

ellipsis?

ellipses presumably the plural

you should use spaces before and after though

[Heated]

Ellipsis

[ChacunaSonGout]

i overuse this ...

impresses it has a name!

[SorenLorensen]

It's ever so useful on MN though...because it mimics the rhythm of natural speech...like pausing...having a little think...then 'saying' the next bit...

And that's my justification for my wild over-use of ellipses on MN

[Tommy]

I didn't know it had a name either and I use them all the time!

In my head it is usually followed by a

(IYSWIM!)

[SorenLorensen]

Oh I can't be arsed using spaces in between...

[Twiglett]

I use 2 dots to break up my speech because I'm a renegade pedant

[Twiglett]

mwahahahahahaahahhaahahahaaaa

[regularlyoverwhelmed]

ellipses rock...

[Twiglett]

do pedants not like ellipsis? Why have I not been informed of this fact?

[SorenLorensen]

I think you're just bone idle...

[Twiglett]

Nah I'm Zorro

[specialmagiclady]

I tend to use them as a sort of replacement for the exclamation mark. You know how one might - in casual written "conversation" - use an exclamation mark to indicate "joke"? I use it to indicate irony.

eg. You caught your husband wanking on your keyboard again? He sounds like a charmer...

I give not a toss whether it is correct. I wouldn't use it in an essay... (see?)

[SorenLorensen]

Swish...swish...swish.

When dh and his brother were kids they had swords with chalk mounted into the ends so they could do that swish, swish, swish Zorro thing.

[Twiglett]

god that's a cool idea

[GrimmaTheNome]

I like ellipses too in emails/posts, though not in proper writing unless it is being used in some suspenseful situation.

Now then, for anyone who didn't listen to My Fry on the radio this morning, guess the name given by typesetters to the (now rarely used) construct :-

[Doodle2U]

I can't remember why the Peds don't like them. I just have a vague recollection that some of them were a bit sneary about them but dunno why ...

(They don't suit me wit that space in!)

[SorenLorensen]

Well :- looks a bit like a willy to me, but that might just be my dirty mind.

[Doodle2U]

Grimma - I don't understand the question!

Do you mean, what's the name for this

:-

?

[Twiglett]

I have never used an ellipsis offline.

I like my abidged version of them tbh.

And that sign :- is a pointer isn't it?

[SorenLorensen]

I used to use :- loads when I was at school but I would never use it now. Hadn't thought of that before...

And there's another damn ellipsis!