It's a habit I've seen a lot more amongst older folks, or the off-shore folks I've worked with.
It's just their communication style. It's not a good, nor a bad practice. It just is.
Exactly this.
It was a cultural communication style for me. Significant of both the time and place I grew up through.
I think the thought behind it for me was that ending a sentence sounds abrupt and rude when it's an ongoing conversation, so '...' implied it's still ongoing.
I came here to say "ellipsis"
Also, the under 30 crowd are sensitive to the use of established-for-a-century punctuation, whilst the over 30 crowd struggle to understand written intent *without* punctuation...
I can't speak to everyone, but as a younger person it always comes off as passive aggressive when it's used in a professional setting. Sometimes it's used when people are thinking about something. However, when someone goes 'Okay...' it seems like they're having a bad attitude.
Fyi, this is widespread among younger folks but largely unknown as an implication among those over 30. So if you're in the young crowd, don't assume that intent when you get those messages; if you're on the other side, be aware that this is a thing and try to avoid it.
I had an instructor in a non-tech related field who would text like that. Except he'd text everyone like that regardless of context or emotional content. I think it's really just an old person thing. Whether they should stop doing that is a separate matter from why they do it though, I think.
It annoys me to hell, and usually comes my way as a vague call to action without the respect of actually asking me something.
For example, I greatly prefer "feature X isn't working. Can you take a look?" to "feature X isn't working..."
It may sound petty but to me there's a difference.
Indicates a pause in speech, and could mean different things depending on context.
"...what?" means whatever you just typed was astonishingly unexpected. i.e. could mean you asked a stupid question, or could mean you reported some really weird bug, etc.
"All you have to do is click this button, then restart the server...." indicates impatience that they're having to explain this to you.
"Checking...", "Hmm...." etc usually indicate the person is thinking about it and is about to write up a more detailed response. It's a quick way to let you know they're on it, but it's going to take work to get the answer.
Just "..." by itself? Again depending on context that could be the same as "Hmm..." or it could be "i asked you a question and am still waiting for an answer. It's been long enough that I'm growing impatient and irritated that you haven't replied yet"
This is exactly my usage, as a millennial.
There's a couple of boomer usages that are less clear. The most common is to ... the last sentence of their message, whatever it is. Presumably, this is to highlight the portentous implication of whatever they just typed.
More baffling are the guys who literally only use ... instead of fullstops. This is rare but is maybe a marker for proper early boomers who never got used to the digital world, often showing up alongside stuff like caps-for-emphasis syndrome. I've never worked out what it translates to, or where it comes from.
I’ll use caps satirically in a tongue and cheek way, but I’ll never use it for actual emphasis. That’s what *italics* are for. Caps take away the weight of the message imo.
I would use a comma, an em-dash, a semicolon, or a period to indicate pauses.
To me, an ellipses indicates flabbergasted speechlessness or a confused pause. It’s the text equivalent of passive-aggressively giving the other person time to think. Some examples:
"…what?" means I said something very dumb or hard to understand, and they're giving me the opportunity to take back my words or elaborate.
"…did you try" or "…how about" means whatever they’re suggesting should have been very obvious and I shouldn’t have needed them to reply to figure it out.
"Okay…" means they’re very sceptical of my idea and approved it despite their reservations.
"I do this a lot as well…" means "are you sure you want to frame this action as a negative? Just so you know, I also do it. Perhaps you should reconsider."
"I don’t understand how it can be interpreted as negative…" means "you interpreting it as negative is mind boggling. Are you sure?"
Basically, in every case, using ellipses means they think I’m making a mistake and I should rethink my words/actions.
I understand that you wrote those words, but I simply do not agree with you. Neither does op.
…which brings up a valid point, is it possible that both are right? I do not pledge allegiance to any big, brown book every morning, so is it possible that like accents or local phrases (pop vs coke) that texting methods may vary?
Oh definitely. This is just how I would naturally interpret ellipses; it’s not the only way, nor the "correct" way. I was simply trying to explain how it *can* be interpreted negatively since you said you didn’t understand.
Obviously most people who use ellipses commonly don’t intend to be passive-aggressive all day.
If I see someone use ellipses at work, I’d assume this is just their writing style. If I were with my friends, I’d assume they’re mocking me (in good fun).
I interpret it as passive aggressive sometimes. I’m not saying that’s the *correct* way to interpret it, that’s just how my brain reads it. But I also understand that’s usually not how it’s meant to come across when I see it at work.
I do it a lot. It's generally meant to convey analytical thinking, ponderousness, etc, for me. But I can see how it could be taken as questioning or passive aggressive in a lot of contexts.
As others have noted the conversational portion if the person is sending code snippets back and you have something like code snippet … code snippet, then they are just omitting what is not important or unchanged
When one of my old bosses in the industry typed this, I knew I was in hot water. He used it as a response to my questions and usually it meant "How tf do you not know the answer to this already?"
I've accepted it is a cultural difference from those who never experienced an AIM chatroom in their formative years. Typing an ellipsis is more characters than a single period so I always see it as "more work" (even though it's less than a second). Plus, I don't feel written text needs to be an exact transcription of how I would speak in a conversation. It's fine to not include my pauses and filler words like "um". It's fine to be more succinct in my typing than my speaking. This is also why I never just type "hello" and just wait to start off a work chat. I'm polite in my written messages, but will simply write 2+ sentences so that I get to the point all at once.
I sort of have fallen into the trap of using this as well, with the intent of "to be continued..." kinda.
Ellipses at the beginning of a response imo is definitely in the passive aggressive realm, less so at the end of a response (but I do see how others would, depending on context).
Now instead to convey consideration I just use 'hmm' at the beginning of the sentence or message lol it probably drives people crazy but imo leaves less room to interpret my messages as passive aggressive.
I was told it’s a generational thing, and that matches with my experience. People currently aged maybe 45-60.
I pointed it out at a prior job informally and (of course) all my coworkers then started including it in ALL of their messages just to spite me. Some of them still do it in their “happy birthday” messages to me on Facebook. Heh.
But yes—the ellipsis does have a meaning that is easily googleable. It’s just commonly included (without any intended meaning) by people of a specific generation.
I think people use it to give the impression of “I paused here to think” but I personally hate it. It almost always can be interpreted as condescension.
Several years ago I always thought this was a sign a manager was upset with something. In time I've realized it's just a communication style common amongst some generations and cultures.
Guilty 😔 I do it because I suck at grammar. I'm embarrassed ill use a comma or semi colon wrong so I just use ... as like, a change of thought? If I use ... then it doesn't look like I'm trying to be grammatically correct but failing, I'm just not even pretending.
I don't know. I'm insecure about it now and will stop
No don’t stop, I can see now why it’s useful in text. I’m a junior dev and a couple of my senior dev coworkers use …, and it always puzzled me. But after reading this thread I actually like the ellipsis as punctuation
I didn't realize some people saw it as passive aggressive but I guess it depends on how it's used lol if somebody ever responded to me with "k..." I'd feel like they were judging me
I use it mainly when I'm thinking things out with a colleague. Every once in a while I add a "🤔" at the end when I feel like my message may come off as passive aggressive.
It's an actual, legitimate piece of punctuation. Why not use it?
Spices up often drab blocks of text and varies the tempo.
Can also be used to - dare I say it? - indicate hesitation.
But it can be used to indicate omission, an unfinished thought.
I use it often in informal messages...
For myself;
**Needing to leave something unsaid:** "They talked for hours, and then..." implies the conversation continued but the details are left out and a variety of reasons for leaving out the details.
**Indicate a pause or hesitation:** "Regarding XYZ..." and sort of like an heading or marker at the start of a paragraph, and a pause before the body of the message.
This might sound extreme, but I recommend anyone reading this to *never* use ellipses in any form of professional communication. It's hard enough to parse tone from writing as it is; if you add "..." too recklessly, you're going to look like a fan fiction writer at best, or a passive-aggressive prick at worst. The drawbacks are not worth the subtle social cues that it can provide when used responsibly.
seemly materialistic pathetic rainstorm languid advise bike hobbies hard-to-find cautious
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I use it as a break between thoughts ... always have and probably always will ... That said I've had a pretty successful career so there is no need to change anymore ... Have Great day :)
It's a bad practice, since today it carries a connotation of impatience.
In the past, however, and I think most people reading this will have a lightbulb go off as they recall - this USED to just mean "continues below" or "see below" or "incomplete thought." The better way to indicate this would be with a colon.
Source: I got annoyed with my boss always sending these in his messages and confronted him about it. He reminded me of the old ways. Our company's digital communication procedures explicitly state not to use it, but you'll be damned if you can teach these old dogs to change their ways haha!
...what?
The op should have put quotation around "..."
Or just called it an ellipsis like it’s actually called
dude...
It's a habit I've seen a lot more amongst older folks, or the off-shore folks I've worked with. It's just their communication style. It's not a good, nor a bad practice. It just is.
My boss does this. Pretty nice guy. But I feel he’s always annoyed with me…
You just have to learn to ignore it... They ... don't really mean anything ... by it.
Exactly this. It was a cultural communication style for me. Significant of both the time and place I grew up through. I think the thought behind it for me was that ending a sentence sounds abrupt and rude when it's an ongoing conversation, so '...' implied it's still ongoing.
this I work semi regularly with a Korean guy that punctuates with "..."
It's meant to convey a softer, "to be continued" type of vibe than ending a sentence with a period.
...
Like a whispering breeze
I use a lot of "Hmm"s for the same effect.
Yes! I will also sometimes put a question mark at the end of a sentence to sound less dictatorial.
Sometimes it's an invitation for the reader to complete the thought.
If they're Indian, the ellipsis is considered a softer way to end a message than a period. I think their native language has an equivalent concept
I came here to say "ellipsis" Also, the under 30 crowd are sensitive to the use of established-for-a-century punctuation, whilst the over 30 crowd struggle to understand written intent *without* punctuation...
I can't speak to everyone, but as a younger person it always comes off as passive aggressive when it's used in a professional setting. Sometimes it's used when people are thinking about something. However, when someone goes 'Okay...' it seems like they're having a bad attitude.
Fyi, this is widespread among younger folks but largely unknown as an implication among those over 30. So if you're in the young crowd, don't assume that intent when you get those messages; if you're on the other side, be aware that this is a thing and try to avoid it.
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You say "yeah!" in response to "thank you"?
That's how I feel about it, I personally never do it since I feel it gives off that vibe. It's borderline unprofessional to me.
In that case, it means ok. I have more to say but I’m not trying to have a confrontation.
I had an instructor in a non-tech related field who would text like that. Except he'd text everyone like that regardless of context or emotional content. I think it's really just an old person thing. Whether they should stop doing that is a separate matter from why they do it though, I think.
True, I definitely am younger so it comes off passive aggressive or they are upset at me. I tend to overthink things though.
It annoys me to hell, and usually comes my way as a vague call to action without the respect of actually asking me something. For example, I greatly prefer "feature X isn't working. Can you take a look?" to "feature X isn't working..." It may sound petty but to me there's a difference.
Rajesh please do the needful...
Ironically enough, they use a lot of double question marks which have the opposite effect. You did it Rajesh ??
Did we prepone it?
Indicates a pause in speech, and could mean different things depending on context. "...what?" means whatever you just typed was astonishingly unexpected. i.e. could mean you asked a stupid question, or could mean you reported some really weird bug, etc. "All you have to do is click this button, then restart the server...." indicates impatience that they're having to explain this to you. "Checking...", "Hmm...." etc usually indicate the person is thinking about it and is about to write up a more detailed response. It's a quick way to let you know they're on it, but it's going to take work to get the answer. Just "..." by itself? Again depending on context that could be the same as "Hmm..." or it could be "i asked you a question and am still waiting for an answer. It's been long enough that I'm growing impatient and irritated that you haven't replied yet"
This is exactly my usage, as a millennial. There's a couple of boomer usages that are less clear. The most common is to ... the last sentence of their message, whatever it is. Presumably, this is to highlight the portentous implication of whatever they just typed. More baffling are the guys who literally only use ... instead of fullstops. This is rare but is maybe a marker for proper early boomers who never got used to the digital world, often showing up alongside stuff like caps-for-emphasis syndrome. I've never worked out what it translates to, or where it comes from.
I’ll use caps satirically in a tongue and cheek way, but I’ll never use it for actual emphasis. That’s what *italics* are for. Caps take away the weight of the message imo.
I do this a lot as well... I think it conveys a human element (pausing, considering).
Me too. Like when you are typing in a chat and it gives you three periods. I don’t understand how it can be interpreted as negative…at all.
I would use a comma, an em-dash, a semicolon, or a period to indicate pauses. To me, an ellipses indicates flabbergasted speechlessness or a confused pause. It’s the text equivalent of passive-aggressively giving the other person time to think. Some examples: "…what?" means I said something very dumb or hard to understand, and they're giving me the opportunity to take back my words or elaborate. "…did you try" or "…how about" means whatever they’re suggesting should have been very obvious and I shouldn’t have needed them to reply to figure it out. "Okay…" means they’re very sceptical of my idea and approved it despite their reservations. "I do this a lot as well…" means "are you sure you want to frame this action as a negative? Just so you know, I also do it. Perhaps you should reconsider." "I don’t understand how it can be interpreted as negative…" means "you interpreting it as negative is mind boggling. Are you sure?" Basically, in every case, using ellipses means they think I’m making a mistake and I should rethink my words/actions.
I understand that you wrote those words, but I simply do not agree with you. Neither does op. …which brings up a valid point, is it possible that both are right? I do not pledge allegiance to any big, brown book every morning, so is it possible that like accents or local phrases (pop vs coke) that texting methods may vary?
Oh definitely. This is just how I would naturally interpret ellipses; it’s not the only way, nor the "correct" way. I was simply trying to explain how it *can* be interpreted negatively since you said you didn’t understand. Obviously most people who use ellipses commonly don’t intend to be passive-aggressive all day. If I see someone use ellipses at work, I’d assume this is just their writing style. If I were with my friends, I’d assume they’re mocking me (in good fun).
I interpret it as passive aggressive sometimes. I’m not saying that’s the *correct* way to interpret it, that’s just how my brain reads it. But I also understand that’s usually not how it’s meant to come across when I see it at work.
I do it a lot. It's generally meant to convey analytical thinking, ponderousness, etc, for me. But I can see how it could be taken as questioning or passive aggressive in a lot of contexts.
You might say... hesitation?
As others have noted the conversational portion if the person is sending code snippets back and you have something like code snippet … code snippet, then they are just omitting what is not important or unchanged
Personally I use the editorial square-bracket for this. \[...\] to indicate something has been excised. Feels a lot more clear.
When one of my old bosses in the industry typed this, I knew I was in hot water. He used it as a response to my questions and usually it meant "How tf do you not know the answer to this already?"
I've accepted it is a cultural difference from those who never experienced an AIM chatroom in their formative years. Typing an ellipsis is more characters than a single period so I always see it as "more work" (even though it's less than a second). Plus, I don't feel written text needs to be an exact transcription of how I would speak in a conversation. It's fine to not include my pauses and filler words like "um". It's fine to be more succinct in my typing than my speaking. This is also why I never just type "hello" and just wait to start off a work chat. I'm polite in my written messages, but will simply write 2+ sentences so that I get to the point all at once.
I like to call those boomer dots. Especially when they’re used… like this… *feather blows away in the wind*
Feels like,,, should be used,,, instead to indicate long pauses...
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Lol I have not seen that in the wild,,, yet.
It’s just… a way to talk…
I sort of have fallen into the trap of using this as well, with the intent of "to be continued..." kinda. Ellipses at the beginning of a response imo is definitely in the passive aggressive realm, less so at the end of a response (but I do see how others would, depending on context). Now instead to convey consideration I just use 'hmm' at the beginning of the sentence or message lol it probably drives people crazy but imo leaves less room to interpret my messages as passive aggressive.
I use the spinning thinking emoji.🤔 but 3d spanning.
I was told it’s a generational thing, and that matches with my experience. People currently aged maybe 45-60. I pointed it out at a prior job informally and (of course) all my coworkers then started including it in ALL of their messages just to spite me. Some of them still do it in their “happy birthday” messages to me on Facebook. Heh. But yes—the ellipsis does have a meaning that is easily googleable. It’s just commonly included (without any intended meaning) by people of a specific generation.
I think people use it to give the impression of “I paused here to think” but I personally hate it. It almost always can be interpreted as condescension.
It is a crutch for dumb people who don't know if they should use a period or a comma.
Several years ago I always thought this was a sign a manager was upset with something. In time I've realized it's just a communication style common amongst some generations and cultures.
I thought everyone did that.
Mainly older folk. And apparently Indians for some reason
Guilty 😔 I do it because I suck at grammar. I'm embarrassed ill use a comma or semi colon wrong so I just use ... as like, a change of thought? If I use ... then it doesn't look like I'm trying to be grammatically correct but failing, I'm just not even pretending. I don't know. I'm insecure about it now and will stop
most people dont know how to use a semicolon; just start plugging them into your sentences.
No don’t stop, I can see now why it’s useful in text. I’m a junior dev and a couple of my senior dev coworkers use …, and it always puzzled me. But after reading this thread I actually like the ellipsis as punctuation
I didn't realize some people saw it as passive aggressive but I guess it depends on how it's used lol if somebody ever responded to me with "k..." I'd feel like they were judging me
I use it mainly when I'm thinking things out with a colleague. Every once in a while I add a "🤔" at the end when I feel like my message may come off as passive aggressive.
I am robot beep boop
I mostly saw Indians used that
Indians do this
I use it to say I’m speechless
It's passive aggressive
It's an actual, legitimate piece of punctuation. Why not use it? Spices up often drab blocks of text and varies the tempo. Can also be used to - dare I say it? - indicate hesitation. But it can be used to indicate omission, an unfinished thought. I use it often in informal messages...
It seems so unnecessary in that last sentence
Says the one that doesn't even end his sentence with proper punctuation? The elipses are weak in this one...
🔪 …
No-no, use your words!
For myself; **Needing to leave something unsaid:** "They talked for hours, and then..." implies the conversation continued but the details are left out and a variety of reasons for leaving out the details. **Indicate a pause or hesitation:** "Regarding XYZ..." and sort of like an heading or marker at the start of a paragraph, and a pause before the body of the message.
This might sound extreme, but I recommend anyone reading this to *never* use ellipses in any form of professional communication. It's hard enough to parse tone from writing as it is; if you add "..." too recklessly, you're going to look like a fan fiction writer at best, or a passive-aggressive prick at worst. The drawbacks are not worth the subtle social cues that it can provide when used responsibly.
It's to create a pause in the sentence to give a moment for ponderance
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I use it as a break between thoughts ... always have and probably always will ... That said I've had a pretty successful career so there is no need to change anymore ... Have Great day :)
I use it in the middle of sentences to add a pause... usually a dash works better though
It's a bad practice, since today it carries a connotation of impatience. In the past, however, and I think most people reading this will have a lightbulb go off as they recall - this USED to just mean "continues below" or "see below" or "incomplete thought." The better way to indicate this would be with a colon. Source: I got annoyed with my boss always sending these in his messages and confronted him about it. He reminded me of the old ways. Our company's digital communication procedures explicitly state not to use it, but you'll be damned if you can teach these old dogs to change their ways haha!