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Original poster

Are full stops passive aggressive?

288 replies

Samas · 07/09/2025 22:16

Are full stops really passive-aggressive now? According to my colleague they are, especially in text messages. Apparently, ending a sentence correctly is no longer “neutral” but somehow comes across as cold or hostile.

yabu= full stops are indeed PA
yanbu= of course they’re not

OP posts:
NoWordForFluffy · 07/09/2025 23:40

My mum used to put a + between each word as she hadn't found the space bar on her phone. 🙈🤣

murasaki · 07/09/2025 23:39

AstonUniversityPotholeDepartment · 07/09/2025 23:37

Not the point I was making.

Now answer the question with a yes or a no.

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Yes, of course. But the use of a full stop was not the indicator of annoyance, the content was.

GleisZwei · 07/09/2025 23:38

bumblingbovine49 · 07/09/2025 23:36

But those full stops just sometimes appear by mistake when I am typing on my phone, because - well fat fingers and all that.

I usually correct them but the occasional one slips through. It really is nothing to do.with being passive aggressive. I just am shit at typing on my phone

And yes the one above was completely by mistake but I thought I'd leave it as an example.

Hmm, maybe that is passive aggressive. 🤔

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The odd rogue one or two in a long message isn't the same as deliberately.punctuating.every.word.
I'm sure you're fine. 😀

AllrightNowBaby · 07/09/2025 23:38

Oh please God give me strength………

Worralorra · 07/09/2025 23:38

Is your friend’s name Humpty Dumpty?
No - the only time that PA can be inferred is in something like this: No. Means. No.
She needs to go back to Primary School and re-learn about punctuation!

AstonUniversityPotholeDepartment · 07/09/2025 23:37

murasaki · 07/09/2025 23:32

It's the words that are important and chosen for their powers not the full stop. Christ on a bike.

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Not the point I was making.

Now answer the question with a yes or a no.

Rightandwrong · 07/09/2025 23:37

GleisZwei · 07/09/2025 23:33

I've just confirmed that my DC's age group (late teens) don't use full stops with each other, but DC does with me. DC's friends would wonder why one was used.
DC has very good writing, spelling and punctuation otherwise though.

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Well it shows your DC is a sheep if he doesn't use punctuation just because his friends don't.
If he knows the correct way to communicate is to use punctuation why lower himself to the level of illiterate people who don't?

bumblingbovine49 · 07/09/2025 23:36

GleisZwei · 07/09/2025 22:29

Full stops in the correct place are not passive aggressive.
Full.stops.in.the.wrong.place.are.passive.aggressive (though are those technically full stops?).
Short sentences can be seen as rude in some scenarios.

But those full stops just sometimes appear by mistake when I am typing on my phone, because - well fat fingers and all that.

I usually correct them but the occasional one slips through. It really is nothing to do.with being passive aggressive. I just am shit at typing on my phone

And yes the one above was completely by mistake but I thought I'd leave it as an example.

Hmm, maybe that is passive aggressive. 🤔

NoWordForFluffy · 07/09/2025 23:35

Who made this rule up then? And successfully spread it round so people actually follow it? Maybe they could put their persuasive powers to better use and promote world peace instead!

BionicEar · 07/09/2025 23:35

My teen DC moan at me for using punctuations and tells me no one uses them anymore. I tell them that all my peers do, and they would think it’s odd if I didn’t.

The DC weren’t amused when I added that at least if they ever get a text from me that didn’t use punctuation then it was either a spam fraud text, or l was in trouble and need their help. 😂

GleisZwei · 07/09/2025 23:35

HevenlyMeS · 07/09/2025 23:32

Why do you insist on splitting hairs? You must be really unhappy with your life, to consistently nit pick!

Nobody is doing either of those things.

Someone2025 · 07/09/2025 23:34

Samas · 07/09/2025 22:16

Are full stops really passive-aggressive now? According to my colleague they are, especially in text messages. Apparently, ending a sentence correctly is no longer “neutral” but somehow comes across as cold or hostile.

yabu= full stops are indeed PA
yanbu= of course they’re not

In text messages they can be, in e-mails no, all e-mails should end in a full stop, especially in a business / work context

LeftieRightsHoarder · 07/09/2025 23:34

HevenlyMeS · 07/09/2025 22:51

Yes, I know it might seem ott but sometimes, in some circumstances, they can be used to get the last word or abruptly end a sentence
I know from my own personal experience, an old friend does only put fullstops when she's offended or insistent on having the last word
Of course everyone is different, it depends on what the norm is for each individual
We need to take into account, what is the norm for each individual 💚

But the whole point if a language is that we all understand the meaning of a word, or in written language a punctuation mark! When people make up their own rules, they limit their ability to communicate, except with others in the know.

GleisZwei · 07/09/2025 23:33

murasaki · 07/09/2025 23:26

True. And it is totally ridiculous. Amusing, though, that anyone thinks a full stop is anything other than the end of a sentence.

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I've just confirmed that my DC's age group (late teens) don't use full stops with each other, but DC does with me. DC's friends would wonder why one was used.
DC has very good writing, spelling and punctuation otherwise though.

Rightandwrong · 07/09/2025 23:33

AstonUniversityPotholeDepartment · 07/09/2025 23:26

In spoken communication, we use the speaker's accompanying tone and body language to interpret mood.

Written communication is stripped of that, so both reader and writer use punctuation to communicate/gauge mood.

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Quite seriously no wonder there are so many people with mental health issues if simple text messages are a source of such angst.

HevenlyMeS · 07/09/2025 23:32

Why do you insist on splitting hairs? You must be really unhappy with your life, to consistently nit pick!

NoWordForFluffy · 07/09/2025 23:32

AstonUniversityPotholeDepartment · 07/09/2025 23:30

Have you never had a row with someone over text message? Never banged out an irate email?

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Yes. I use full stops in those communications in the same way I would in friendly messages. Because I use sentences and they need to be ended with punctuation!

Pebbles16 · 07/09/2025 23:32

Samas · 07/09/2025 22:26

According to this independent article some younger people find them rude

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/full-stop-end-texting-rude-b1876131.html

I despair.
I am a pedant, with full capacity of grammar. I try to "move with the times" - as much as it can fit in with a corporate role.
If someone on my team told me they found them offensive, they would be brought into my circle of pedantry via my "10 minute talk" on "Why Grammar Matters".
If they attempted to write a business report (for want of a better example) without a full stop, they would be subject to my full 30 minute diatribe work sanctioned training on "Why Communication Matters".
Clients expect proper communication. Communication without correct punctuation is word salad.

murasaki · 07/09/2025 23:32

AstonUniversityPotholeDepartment · 07/09/2025 23:30

Have you never had a row with someone over text message? Never banged out an irate email?

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It's the words that are important and chosen for their powers not the full stop. Christ on a bike.

NoWordForFluffy · 07/09/2025 23:31

NotAhotWeatherPerson · 07/09/2025 23:29

The key for young people then - if someone is over 30, don't fret about the full stop at the end of a message. If someone is under 30, the full stop means war!

I'm going to have to quiz my supervisees at work tomorrow to check if I've been upsetting them with full stops!

AstonUniversityPotholeDepartment · 07/09/2025 23:30

Rightandwrong · 07/09/2025 23:28

I will be wielding that full stop in the same way I would bang a door.

Please tell me this is a joke!
How can you possibly wield a full stop?
It's punctuation!

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Have you never had a row with someone over text message? Never banged out an irate email?

GleisZwei · 07/09/2025 23:30

HevenlyMeS · 07/09/2025 23:23

Yes & the question was, can fullstops be used when someone is being passive aggressive?

No, it was 'do full stops indicate passive aggression?'.

murasaki · 07/09/2025 23:30

I've been checking in with my sister re my niece and her use of full stops. Always uses them apparently.

However, this isn't helpful, as she is clever and goes to a good school, but is also a 14 year old girl, and therefore by default constantly passive aggressive.

So my paltry sample size of one has not produced a definitive result.

NoWordForFluffy · 07/09/2025 23:29

Now, if you put a full stop at the end of a message, it indicates that the conversation is over, you are forcefully bringing the dialogue to a close, instead of allowing the rolling, text-based conversation to continue.

Except it doesn't! It just means you're ending your sentence using a full stop as your punctuation of choice (rather than an exclamation mark).

NotAhotWeatherPerson · 07/09/2025 23:29

The key for young people then - if someone is over 30, don't fret about the full stop at the end of a message. If someone is under 30, the full stop means war!