Either I'm reading an entirely different article than all of you, or you all grossly misinterpreted it. I don't recall the article saying anything about how using proper punctuation makes you a lesser being or define who you are. It called it less sincere (and monstrous, but even then it still wasn't talking about the person). It's still a shit article based off of a pretty bad study (which I unfortunately couldn't find), but you're entirely guilty of misinterpreting it. Badly.
You should genuinely be ashamed of yourselves.
But really, what the study is saying makes a little bit of sense.
Originally Posted by NiteNite
Think logically
When texting, we usually try to get our message across with as little effort as possible. A specific texting language is evidence of that. I'll just assume that many people, along with incorporating texting language to some degree, leave out periods at the end of their messages (most people I talk to over Skype do, unless they're very anal about grammar). In other words, when instant messaging, leaving out a period at the very end of messages (what I'll call leaving a message "open ended" just for easy reading) has become the norm. When you, instead of performing the norm, put a "full stop" at the end of the sentence, it feels less sincere, less inviting, or less friendly.
Yup.
Yeah
Sure!
Honestly, though, I'm disappointed in the study. They used a shitty sample (undergraduates... I bet from the same university, and I'd even guess the same department/classes/dorm/etc. etc.), a shity sample size, and I honestly can't think of a single decent way to organize a study like this without any bias whatsoever. From the articles I've read on it (again, couldn't find the study itself), I can only assume they didn't try to rationalize it the same way I did, and honestly they could have done a more in depth study on it. I.e. how using multiple sentences, and using different punctuation on the different sentences affects the perceived sincerity.