Parenthesis anguish

[Nunoftheother]

Yes, I am indubitably unreasonable because:

a) This issue is about as inconsequential as it's possible to be and;
b) It should probably be in Pedants' Corner.

But why, why, why do people keep typing a space after the first bracket of a parenthesis? I see it on here at least 50% of the time brackets are used. It's serves no purpose, makes the whole parenthesis look uneven and often leaves orphaned open-bracket symbols forlornly marooned at the end of a line of text. Above all, it's just wrong in every way.

Why have people decided this is de rigueur all of a sudden? Or is it an unfortunate effect of autocorrect?

And, parenthetically, I get just as upset about spaces being left before question marks and exclamation marks. Why ???!!!

No not tank- engine related.

I just don’t see any merit in these objections when they don’t cloud meaning.
Now give me a disinterested versus uninterested complaint and I’ll be right on board.

I think you are being ( very) unreasonable!!!
Spaces are under utilised these days.........and not just in posts on Social Media lol xxx

It is not all punctuation that is considered rude or aggressive in texts. It is specifically a full stop at the end of the text. It implies a finality that is considered abrupt, I believe.

Ah, I've found my people and they're all on this thread ❤

@NotJackieWeaver

No not tank- engine related.

I just don’t see any merit in these objections when they don’t cloud meaning.
Now give me a disinterested versus uninterested complaint and I’ll be right on board.

Fair enough - each to their own!

Agree with disinterested vs uninterested.

"lol" used in lieu of punctuation really annoys me.

Christ, yes. Usually “[insert incredibly rude/blunt/unhelpful comment here] lol”]

I mean, what are you even trying to achieve? I generally assume that anyone who ends a sentence with “lol” is an idiot.

Lol

Why are people suddenly getting ‘worse’ and ‘worst’, ‘lose’ and ‘loose’ and ‘breath’ and ‘breathe’ mixed up?

Lol

Lol lol lol
Full stop

Oh gosh the OP wasn’t joking there really is a pedants’ corner!
Thanks OP I can face the rest of the pandemic now :)

@TornadoOfSouls

Why are people suddenly getting ‘worse’ and ‘worst’, ‘lose’ and ‘loose’ and ‘breath’ and ‘breathe’ mixed up?

Lol

Simple: because they don't read. Same goes for "used to" and "use to" / "would have" and "would of".

If you don't read, your vocabulary is going to be small and you're far more likely to misspell homophones.

@torquewench

Ah, I've found my people and they're all on this thread ❤

I am disturbed both by your lack of a full stop and also that the heart at the end of your post keeps changing from black to red and back again.

I'm a bugger for ellipses...

Aren’t ellipses shapes?
and a bit thick

Missing commas and should have used a hyphen. Should have also used a semi colon.
But I could, pedantically, be wrong.

@MechantGourmet

I'm a bugger for ellipses...

Ellipses are great if used correctly - rather than in lieu of every other sodding punctuation mark!

@NotJackieWeaver

Oh gosh the OP wasn’t joking there really is a pedants’ corner! Thanks OP I can face the rest of the pandemic now :)

You're very welcome!

OP, I bet you’re triple checking your spelling and grammar before pressing the post button. 🙄

The worst is when you are reading some prose and there is an open parenthesis (like this but then you don't get a close one and then for the rest of the sentence you are waiting for the additional information to complete.

www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zvwwxnb/articles/zpgjy4j

Aha -Dot dot dots?

Like in Mamma Mia?

@HalfGirlHalfCake - That was almost cruel!

The use of 'social distanced' instead of 'socially distanced' irks me. For example, 'we met for a social distanced drink'. 😡

If you are a bugger them does that mean you like or dislike them?

Oh, and LOL

...for...

I think many people who were taught typing in a certain era were taught to leave a space before certain punctuation. My Oxford educated boss did it.