Are full stops passive aggressive?

Only at the very end of the message. Of course you use full stops in the body of the message, when it's more than one sentence!

No, in answer to@Samas's question.

Regarding exclamation marks, I don't understand exclamation marks when people use more than one (!) after a comment. I find !!! or !!!!!!! confusing, I wish they'd use their words.

Is it only p.a if you end the text with a full stop or are full stops no longer allowed in any part of a text?

If so, how the hell are you supposed to make sense of any message that is longer than a couple of sentence?

i used to get messages from someone who would leave a space, then put a full stop then start the next sentence without leaving a space. No idea what that was about!

Today I got messages from a new colleague who ended every sentence with two full stops. I wasn't sure how to interpret this, especially as she's older than me.

If I'm typing a text or a whatsapp message I will very frequently not end it on a full stop. I will write a paragraph on there and use proper punctuation but frequently would not end with a full stop. If I was just sending a short reply I wouldn't. Like if a friend messaged me and said, "are you free for a drink?" I wouldn't reply "No." or "Yes." I'd say, "Oh yes, when?" or "Sorry, can't tonight" but I'd not use full stops. I do think it seems passive aggressive sometimes but it does really depend on context.

In work emails or anything work related I don't think of it as passive aggressive. I'm not crying in the corner if I read proper punctuation.

For context, I am in my late 30s, not "gen z" or whatever everyone is complaining about.

I do find it funny when there is zero nuance with conversations like this. Apparently everyone is just PC and woke and can't handle a full stop. I mean, it really isn't that serious. Just anything to bash younger people and call everyone a melt I guess.

If i finish a text message to my DP with a full stop, he phones me to see why im cross with him

This is ridiculous. How does this man cope with life?

Then he's a twat, frankly. Younger people need to get a feckin' GRIP.

Sadly, I think you’ve missed my point. It is exactly because people are starving that I cannot see any reason why. Should be garnering so much attention. Young people are the ones who need to grow a spine and stop being so easily offended. They will never cope with adult life ever. Causes so much distress. Hunger, war and genuine hurt or what matters.

I see what you did there saraclara.

I find the fact that they are using hyphens instead of full stops really distracts me from following their meaning. It's like they are trying too hard not to use a full stop to prove them unnecessary ro the point that they have proved the absolute opposite.

I agree with PP that intention is important and so is context and meaning.

I agree with PP that in a casual text with family or friends using a full stop at the end of a text can appear unfriendly/censorious if it is chosen rather than a kiss, a heart emoji or similar.

In a work context, however, none of those other options would be appropriate and an email requires a different level of formality than a text. I think of if as being more similar to a letter than a text so I would be using full stops in my work emails wherever grammatically correct.

IMO anyone who interprets that as passive aggressive is confusing the grammar and punctuation suitable for formal, work emails with what they are familiar with in casual texting.

I would try to explain this to them gently.

I would also forewarn them that other workers over the age of 40 may habitually follow the grammatically conventions of their youth, full stops and all, without meaning anything other than that they are conscientious in their written communication. It's not unlike having to remember that when Granny says 'wireless' she means 'radio.'

Younger people are always going to take a new twist on things, but they'll also be able to realise some things are generational or cultural. I don't add kisses to my text, even to DH, but everyone knows I'm very fond of them because they know me as a person, even if they usually do kisses.

This is something that was very heavily reported by the media a year or two back. I expect your colleague was just telling you as an interesting thing they'd read about the younger generation.

It relates to messaging and not other forms of writing. I don't think Gen Z think full stops are hostile when used in formal letters or magazine articles. People get very excited about it for no real reason.

I've been browsing other threads in AIBU to gather anecdotal data on full stop usage. It's not good. So brace yourselves, because the habit of dropping the final full stop on short comments is spreading to Mumsnet.

I really dislike bad punctuation (and spelling). It makes me despair at how people got to adulthood and still don't know how to use commas and full stops.

As an English graduate, it hurts my head to read things without proper punctuation.

Starving people and punctuation aren't even remotely connected.

Maybe for those who are not literate. Please note full stop.

They'll grow out of it. Otherwise I can imagine a lot of elderly people in care homes in 2090 getting upset about full stops.

I know now that young people may infer something that was never meant to be implied, but that’s on them - are they really unaware that older people don’t follow and adopt their latest trend which may or may not persist?
’lol’ was probably invented by one set of ‘young people’ before being derided by the next.🤷‍♀️

@ErrolTheDinosaur , but now you do know!

I'm not making a moral judgement on the lack of use of full stops by The Young People (most unlike me, I assure you!) because it's a system that works for them.

They express their snark through punctuation, I roll my eyes and move on.

It’s not a useful development of language for people to read huge meaning into a small item of punctuation which may be used or omitted quite randomly in informal communications. It’s certainly not useful if a subsection of the population don’t realise that another subsection (in this case young people vs older ones) aren’t following their new code and indeed are unlikely to even know about it.

Communication customs change. We don't send work emails with the same formal layout as a business letter of 1975, for example, so we all accept that new norms are created.

Exactly.

You can use them if you like, of course. But you need to get over the fact that this development in the use of language and structure is as valid as all the developments that have gone before, and which have contributed to what you consider the 'right' way.

Your title and OP are badly worded and leading to knee jerk reactions throughout this thread. There is no vendetta on full stops in general. Of course they're needed to separate sentences, and continue to be used most of the time in messaging. They're only omitted at the end of a message.

This is classic mountain out of a molehill stuff, with added misinformation.