Has anyone else noticed this becoming rife on MN, and can we please have a public awareness campaign?

[QuimReaper]

About four or five times a day I am seeing people using "strikethrough" on a phrase which should be in parentheses

As in, "My DD aged four likes the red ones..."
"A similar thing happens in my line of work I work in a supermarket and I've always found..."

It's completely bizarre, and makes my fists clench!

Are those real examples? If so, then I agree that it's a bit pointless.

However, I've only seen it used here in a knowing way, where it's a piece of information that shouldn't really need to be said, but I'll mention it in a knowing sort of way, or to wryly highlight the subtext.

Maybe only clever some people should use it.

A public awareness campaign is definitely needed not I think strike-throughs can be quite funny.

Properly used strikethroughs are great and I miss them in real life.

The strikethrough misuse that most gets my goat, however, is placing the strikethrough after the non-strikethrough word or phrase.

For example, tonight I had a couple of glasses bottle of wine.

Your right. It needs fixed.

Lol

Isn't the parentheses thing just where people are using dashes like this round the phrase but forget the spaces?

As long as folk aren't using strikethrough for personal attacks which for some reason they think the fuckers at HQ can't see then it's fine with us.

I overuse parentheses I think.
If I had the time energy or inclination to be a troll, my bracket abuse would give me away sharpish.

Surely, everyone on MN knows the strikethrough is only for snarky comments? particularly PA ones

Strikethrough is a fantastic source of humour when used properly!

But it being seriously abused nowadays.

Ah! not allowed to say' bracket' anymore. 'Parenthesis' is the choice of Nicky Morgan. She did well on R4 today

I hate that there are not strike through everywhere in the Internet yes that is right I have been known to cheat on MN and post elsewhere strike through are one of my fab things about MN and the emoticon too. I think MN needs a heading banging on a wall emoticon, I miss that emoticon here.

I just realised I have made at least 2 SPAG mistakes on the pedant's corner. I await my flogging 😳.

Gibbous I'm sorry to say, that is another example of Strikethrough abuse.

"For example, tonight I had a bottle couple of glasses..." implies writing the truth, then thinking better of it, striking it through and writing a more palatable story. "A couple of glasses bottle" makes no damn sense at all - although again, parentheses might work here, as in "a couple of glasses (I.e. a bottle)..."

Brain I miss the in everyday life. There just isn't as good an equivalent in emojispeak.

True. Quim but I find I am too nice to use it on other fora I am on, the posters do not appear to have the strength of character as MNs. They do tolerate head bangers though so maybe I am under estimating them.

I find self flagellation is the best way to go, if you are tripped up in Pedant's Corner.

Sure thing elephant. In my defence I had a good save on my next post for when I managed to not refer to it as Pendant's corner. I also managed to spot 'clogging' before I posted which is more preferable to my phone than 'flogging' apparently. Still I think I will get DH to give me a spanking for good measure though. I deserve it.

Quim, pay attention! I was quite clearly demonstrating the abuse of the strikethrough. That was an example of how stupid some people use it wrongly.

Nah, brackets wouldn't work there because:

"tonight I had a bottle couple of glasses"

Suggests that you are, as you said, thinking better of telling the truth. Whereas:

"a couple of glasses (i.e. a bottle)"

Suggests supplying further information rather than trying to fool anyone.

Of course anyone who knows how to use strikethrough properly would say
'I had a bottle couple of glasses of wine.'

But I'm on a thread in Pedants' Corner where someone just said 'more preferable'.

Oh Gibbous I do apologise! I missed your lol and cast very u fair aspersions!

Making I can see a way brackets could work humorously, more like " I had a couple of glasses (well, OK, a bottle...)" but agreed, simply bracketing the bottle doesn't imply a sheepish confession.

"I had a couple of glasses (well, OK, a bottle...)" is definitely the way to write it in a world without strikethrough. Sad and unhappy as that world is without it. I'd quite like to have a spoken form of strikethrough.