lol

[Inklingpot]

The use of ‘lol’ as punctuation is really starting to get on my nerves. Do you really laugh out loud in the middle or end of every sentence, no matter what the subject matter?

I’ve been seeing increasing use of ellipses instead of full stops or commas too. Is it that people don’t know when in a sentence to use punctuation, or is it that they find it aggressive?

I am finding the proliferation of 'lol' on here as punctuation annoying.

I have other thoughts but possibly they are quite rude.

Yep, 'lol' is annoying enough in any context, but when used apparently as mere punctuation it is particularly irritating.

I'm not bothered by the ellipses particularly though. I think they are usually used for a reason, albeit sometimes one that's hard to describe.

They're denoting casual speech. "lol" means "I recognise this is amusing, I'm not taking it too seriously". The ellipses slow the speech or allow a point to hang...

MN and social media aren't formal correspondence, it's fine.

Or 'ha ha' used in the same way.

lol

When did everyone start doing this... I don't know...lol

Aargh

"lol" means "I recognise this is amusing

It does sometimes seem to be used as punctuation after sentences not really intended to be remotely amusing though. Thinking about it, I wonder if it's sometimes used almost like a nervous laugh or an awkward smile in real life conversation. Like a kind of subconsciously or apologetically self-deprecating verbal tic.

Dislike lol but really dislike haha and hate hehe.
Hee-hee would be slightly preferable, but hehe just "sounds" like proper cackling to me.

It's like the crying laughing face. Anyone who uses it is really sitting there like this 😐

I know, but this is Pedants’ Corner so I can moan about it here lol…

I think some posters have misunderstood though. I’m not saying I don’t know what lol means, I’m saying that it’s fucking annoying to see it constantly being used as punctuation.

With regard to ellipses, I also know what it means but per my OP, it seems to be used more often as a ‘soft’ end to a sentence. There are a couple of posters who appear to use … instead of a space between their sentences but they’re the exception rather than the rule.

I realise it’s that ongoing clash of beliefs around written language. Personally, I believe that people should be able to express themselves coherently in writing without resorting to text speak, and that it’s detrimental to not be able to do so. Obviously, a lot of other people disagree with this.

I started to notice the 'lol' on here when I first saw it used on a very sad opening post on Relationships. It was along the lines of, 'my partner and I are going through a really bad time lol we're arguing a lot at the moment lol and we both gt stupidly drunk at the weekend and things really got out of hand lol' etc.

Is it a self-deprecation mechanism? Or just easy punctuation? I don't know, to be honest.

I don't mind ha ha because I use it but I know what you mean about the lol thing. It's when it's used like:
I went for dinner with a friend lol and we both had had pizza lol and when it came to bill, I got annoyed lol because my friend has 2 large glasses of wine lol and I only had tap water lol but they wanted to split the bill lol.

I only use ellipses on online message boards... I find it gives a more casual, speech-like feel to sentences.

I do find that worrying about punctuation, habitual phrasing or acronyms makes me post less. So sometimes I throw caution to the wind and just go for it lol... (even starting some sentences with so!)

I love ellipses. I've done it at least once today... twice now. LOL.

Lol is annoying. I asked someone about it the other day, but no response. I judge those who do it.

Ellipses are fine at the end of a sentence...but not in the middle...lol

being old, lol meant lots of love. When a new lad at work used it in an email to me, I thought he was being very casual and overfamiliar.
Fortunately, a much younger colleague pointed out that it now has a totally different meaning.
I remain clueless about the aubergine and water emojis- but I do know they don't mean aubergines or water!

Why on earth was that post deleted, it didn't say anything that broke talk guidelines. Spammer or PBP?

If we were in the workplace or classroom I would completely agree with you. But I don't think there should be barriers to participation here and I think posts like this do make it harder for those who have had fewer educational opportunities for whatever reason to post.

@JenniferBarkley I’m not sure if you’re being deliberately obtuse here. Can you point to where I’ve said that I think only posters who can write in a way I deem acceptable are allowed to post on MN? Also, have you missed the fact this post is in Pedants’ Corner for precisely the reason that I’m having a moan about what I perceive to be a shit use of language but not trying to dictate who should be allowed to post based on their educational background?

It does my heart good to read "With regard to ellipses" and not "With regards to ellipses". Emma Barnett on Woman's Hour is always saying "regards" and a local journalist writes it regularly.

I don’t like lol at all. My friend used to do online dating and her sleaziest messages were from men using lol all the time, she’d say something like ‘so cold today!’ and they’d reply ‘I could keep you warm lol’ and that sort of thing. So it reminds me of that.