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this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2025
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So "full stop" means a Period, right? A period is a period, PERIOD. That's all it is. It ends a sentence, so you start a new one. It doesn't contain any emotional ammunition. It certainly isnt passive aggressive, that's just stupid.
What's next? Are we going to start debating the tyranny of the comma, or the righteous indignation of the semi-colon?
Or maybe we should be debating the infiltration of our written communications by Big Emoji? They're obviously behind all of this, trying to encourage more emoji use, to stuff their coffers with that sweet emoji revenue.
Calm the fuck down, people.
It's really only a "full stop" when it's the last or only sentence, not just any sentence with a period. It's related to phones only adding the period if you hit space twice. So by default, single sentences never have it because you don't continue typing. So actually putting it in is intentional for many people and they are in fact making a statement akin to "this is my final word on the matter".
It's the difference between
"Can you help me with this?" "No"
And
"Can you help me with this?" "No."
That extra "." after "No" wasn't strictly necessary, so by including it on purpose, you're making a statement. That's the general thought process going on with people who find it passive aggressive.
You can also go back even further to T9 typing and texting shorthand and see that punctuation was largely ignored due to message size limitations and difficulties typing on a phone in general. It's something that has evolved over time due to the medium. The main issue is people who have gone through this transition see it one way, and people who are used to more formal writing suddenly joining the internet see it another way. I would say it's more like regional accents. Both are correct depending on context.
The only reason your phone doesn't add the punctuation in for you like it does the automatic capitalization of the first letter is because it can't tell when you've finished your complete thought.
I'll never let lazy cunts tell me I'm being passive aggressive for using goddamn proper punctuation. I'll be actively aggressive about that.
Because it can signal annoyance? It's almost like having more possible meanings adds depth to conversation. The end of a text is already final enough, so a period doesn't add any functionality that way unless you somehow believe someone got raptured mid sentence and still hit send.
It's like if you asked someone, "How are you?" And they said "I'm fine" or "I'm fine." or "I'm fine!" or "I'm fine?" or "I'm fine..."
It signals different connotations and tones for all five. Period is no longer default since they aren't required, so they have taken on additional meaning
Sure it does. It disambiguates sentences from questions.
If you received a text that read "Buy bread", there are multiple ways to interpret that. If I assume the lack of a period is a statement, then I would assume the person is instructing me to buy some bread at the store. But if there were a question mark at the end, the meaning changes - they are asking if they need to buy bread, or perhaps asking if I have already bought bread or am planning to buy bread.
Now, if you are familiar with the person on the other end of the text, you might already have the necessary context to parse it out without the need for formal punctuation, but if it's someone you maybe don't text very often or a complete stranger, wouldn't it be nice to know for sure if they were making a statement or asking a question, definitively and clearly?
Adding an intentional period removes any doubt that it might have been a question. It eliminates the possibility that the person on the other end simply forgot to add a question mark while typing out a hasty text at the grocery store.
You might argue that period or no, the message got across just fine, and that assuming no punctuation is the same as having a period, but that's not the point. The point is that the period does add functionality, it just isn't functionality that you deem useful.
I certainly wouldn't want to replace the effectiveness of proper punctuation in favor of having the period be reduced to a means of signing off my messages in a passive aggressive manner. I can do that all by myself, thank you very much.
Nope, you end a sentence with period. Period. That's just basic punctuation, like starting a sentence with a capital letter.
Look, I explained how it developed and why it's used that way. I also explained the difference between a "full stop" and a "period". If your reading comprehension is that terrible, maybe don't get involved in discussions about linguistics because it clearly went right over your simple minded little head.
I have excellent reading comprehension skills, and I understand everything you wrote, and I stand by my response.
And I said it without being a prick, too.
No, you were a prick who talked past them. They very clearly and calmly explained what's happening and you insisted on blithely reiterating your original point which they obviously already understood.
You really didnt
.
Spoiler: I agree with you.Looking at the responses. This post is ragebait lnao
Correcting people's gammar has always been a surprisingly contentious issue.
That's bait
I said nothing about spelling, lol.