Do you use ellipses?

[YouWereGr8InLittleMenstruators]

I absolutely bristle at ellipses.
I find it hard to see any justification for adults using these. Sure, there is a place for them in primary school suspense writing, but I fail to see how they in any way enhance adult written communication. At best, they leave something implied, rather than clearly expressed and suggest you have to 'figure it out'. At worst, they are passive aggressive.
I have a friend who uses them so weirdly, it makes everything seem like a subtle come-on: "Perhaps you could come over for a cup of tea..." or "I'm free all day tomorrow..." or "I'd go for the blue, it looks pretty on you..."
One parent on school SM group always seems to use them instead of full stops, each sentence punctuated by ellipses. Like a kind of stream of consciousness rather than actual communication: "Mr T mentioned it this morning... I think it could have been handled better... At least now, we'll all be on the same page... I'll see what George says about it later..."
I fail to see the appeal. Do you use them and if so, what do you think they add to what you are hoping to say?

Well... sometimes... but the punctuation I don't use is the interrobang.

Yes, I do.
I also teach other people how to use them. They're a useful style/metalanguage adjunct.

@MargaretThursday

Well... sometimes... but the punctuation I don't use is the interrobang.

I think we need a campaign for the poor and unloved interrobang. It's so lovely.

0blio, no way!

I don't mind the occasional one, to leave a thought hanging. What I do bloody hate is exclamation marks, and especially more than one. I had an aunt who finished every written sentence with one. It's a way of indicating "everything I'm saying is really important!". So less use of exclamation marks would be great, accompanied by a reintroduction of the semi colon, which is my favourite punctuation mark.

‽ I never know this was on my keypad, love it

I use them frequently in informal text and email chats but I'm probably using them incorrectly. Like a couple of others on the thread I think I use them to indicate a continuing chain of thought and to almost invite input from the other person into the chain of thought somehow. Full stops can seem so abrupt and final and almost impolite at times during text exchanges; an ellipsis seem to allow that space for a bit of uncertainty and contribution from the other person.

I think we need a campaign for the poor and unloved interrobang. It's so lovely.

What‽

Only on mumsnet...

@MargaretThursday

Well... sometimes... but the punctuation I don't use is the interrobang.

Wait, what ‽

Ellipsis not ellipses...

@CandyLeBonBon

I love ellipses...but I only use them in writing...if I'm emulating...Captain Kirk

Brilliant 😂

Reading through this all now I realise I use ellipses differently to other people.

I never used them at the end of a sentence, ever.

@CormoranStrike

Reading through this all now I realise I use ellipses differently to other people.

I never used them at the end of a sentence, ever.

What? Never?...

n "proper" writing I would generally agree with you OP. They're rarely the best use of punctuation. However in casual "chatty" writing, ellipses fill a gap left by the absence of tone and intonation. There's a similar thread where people are saying this about exclamation marks.

I don't use them in more formal writing, but rather in messaging. I find that punctuation can be used to add some of the non verbal context...

I absolutely bristle at ellipses...Do you use them and if so, what do you think they add to what you are hoping to say?

Sometimes. They save space on discussion forum replies

Am absolutely loving the interobang‽‽‽

What is this one¿ For Spanish?

I use them in informal writing, social media, messages and what have you.

There’s no hidden meaning or passive aggressiveness.

It’s where I’d put an inflection, or tail off a sentence a bit or shrug or similar in person. They’re not the same as full stops at the end of a sentence, there they usually mean - this isn’t a complete thought.

My dc dislikes them immensely. They use 3 commas instead, that is more irritating because its wrong.
I still use ellipses when texting them, but never leave them hanging.

YouWereGr8 I'm used to it now. I still use them in the message, of course, but I now see the bottom of the bubble the text appears in as the final full stop if that makes sense? I'd always use a full stop on here though.

Sometines (yes).

One parent on school SM group always seems to use them instead of full stops, each sentence punctuated by ellipses. Like a kind of stream of consciousness rather than actual communication

I can't bear the stream of consciousness style. Finish formulating your own thoughts, please - don't leave the reader to do it!

@GoWalkabout

I love an ellipse. It's usually expressing where I would pause in conversation, indicating that I am not being entirely serious, or sometimes indicating that I am suggesting an idea but it's a 'maybe' or a musing.

Ellipse is the shape. Ellipsis is the punctuation mark.

@Cheekyweegobshite

A previous colleague signed off with his name and ellipses, as in:

Steve...

We used to call him dot dot dot

In general I think people use them in texts to indicate uncertainty...

And you didn't kill him?