To be fed the em dash being conflated with AI?

[MyWarmOchreHare]

I’ve always used it, although usually just in dash format for the sake of ease. It comes as easily as full stops and commas.

Why is everyone just now discovering it? I’ve just completed a job application and went and edited my dashes out in case they followed this trend of thinking it indicates AI.

It’s actually genuinely really annoying me that people who have lived under rocks or who’ve never written anything since school are accusing people who’ve got a reasonable grasp of English of being AI.

Although it makes startlingly normal the, what I thought at the time was very strange, episode where I’d written something for a colleague and he asked ‘what are all those dashes for?’

We went to the same school and he’s only five years younger.

It’s beyond annoying. Lots of us know how to and regularly do use an em dash. It’s more astounding that so many people think it’s unusual.

Isn't this 2 dashes together? Which is what makes it weird! People don't do that?

What the em dash are you talking about?!

The em dash isn't the same as a typical hyphen - it's slightly longer.

Is it? Doesn’t it just autocorrect to that often when you just type the dash?

Yes, but the dash often autocorrects to it? It’s not unusual.

It’s not two dashes together. I use them loads OP - lots of people do.

Yes it’s 2 dashes together. An extra long dash

I write. Use em dash. Common in romantasy. I even use the code to add it in. I edit many out now. But love them.

I use them all the time and totally agree. Although I think we use the en dash here more than the em dash which is more common in America - I certainly do anyway!

em daah: —
en dash -

Em dash is longer than a hyphen (Short dash) and an en dash (longer than hyphen but shorter than em dash)

I have noticed that the em dash in AI tends to have no space either side, so slightly different from when it autocorrects from a hyphen, as that is only when you have the space each side.

It’s overused in a paragraph and longer than a normal hyphen

Just checked and mine - when I do this - autocorrects automatically to this.

Just checked and mine — when I do this — autocorrects automatically to this, unless I delete and re type. Same on word.

Why is everyone explaining what it is? I know what it is 😂.

Whaaaat? Im sure - quite sure - that mine doesn't do that.

Same here OP. I use dashes in my writing and Word autocorrects them to a dash that is a bit longer. And now I worry that looks like AI.

Because another poster asked!

That’s an en dash, not an em dash. Em dashes are American.

It isn’t AI. If you look at a book you will see (if it’s in British English) that all dashes are en dashes. The short ones are a hyphen.

Guilty. Sorry op.

Exactly! I honestly don’t understand how people are so unfamiliar with them they automatically think AI. Even if they don’t use them, surely they’re aware of them and have seen them in other writing.

That is an en-dash and a hyphen. The em-dash is called an em-dash because it is the same width as the letter m.

Cap M. Or cap N for an en (N) dash.

UK style is en-dash with spaces
us style is em-dash with no space
usually if you type a hyphen it will turn into an en dash if you put spaces around it (eg in word). If you do two hyphens it will turn into an em-dash.

i have always loved en-dashes and am now being asked to avoid them due to ai, beyond frustrating

My job involves a lot of formal writing and I use both em and en dashes. (Always have, because a hyphen is not a dash.)

My keyboards are set to correct to them, as well as on my iPhone —e.g. I automatically type two hyphens to autocorrect to an em dash when I need one, and I only use the hyphen when it’s grammatically correct.