*something happens*
"..."
Wow, that was informative! I'm glad someone took the time to deliver that important information and clarification. Without the triple dot who knows what I'd have done. After it, I know exactly what is going on.
More seriously, the triple dot is worthless. Worse than worthless. It's condescension masquerading as communication. It's saying "something went wrong, but the thing that went wrong is so blatantly obvious that I won't even say what it was. Which of course also means that you are a total idiot for not getting it. And I still won't explain it because you're not worth it."
To be clear, since I've spent much of this post bashing a lack of clarity, I'm not referring to the trailing triple dot, in which a word is followed by three dots. That's different. This post is only about the isolated triple dot.
In conclusion, we should put "..." at the same tier of offensiveness as "fuck all ya'lls".
"..."
Wow, that was informative! I'm glad someone took the time to deliver that important information and clarification. Without the triple dot who knows what I'd have done. After it, I know exactly what is going on.
More seriously, the triple dot is worthless. Worse than worthless. It's condescension masquerading as communication. It's saying "something went wrong, but the thing that went wrong is so blatantly obvious that I won't even say what it was. Which of course also means that you are a total idiot for not getting it. And I still won't explain it because you're not worth it."
To be clear, since I've spent much of this post bashing a lack of clarity, I'm not referring to the trailing triple dot, in which a word is followed by three dots. That's different. This post is only about the isolated triple dot.
In conclusion, we should put "..." at the same tier of offensiveness as "fuck all ya'lls".
6 comments:
I usually read the isolated "..." in response to something as "I'm speechless" or "There are no words for your blatant stupidity." Depending on the situation.
Along the same lines as Copernicus, I generally use it as awkward, stunned, or confused silence. I don't know that I've used it as condescension.
The lone ellipsis is best used after jumping off a cliff or bathing in unrelated lava during a boss encounter. It serves to express a feeling of speechless wonder at the group's incompetence in failing to make that move somehow work out for you.
Ideally, it will evoke the imagery of being awestruck by the astronomical proportions of said failure. Like gazing through an observatory telescope.
@Copernicus: That latter one is part of the problem: we're too quick to confuse a momentary lapse of attention with permanent mental retardation.
@Muir: "There are no words for your blatant stupidity" sounds like condescension.
Muir's response was much more eloquent than mine.
Part of the problem, I believe, lies in the limitations of text communication. The meaning or tone of the content is often open to interpretation, and can vary wildly depending on the mood and/or mental state of the person reading it.
I am vaguely disappointed that no one replied to this post with "...".
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