When I asked my daughter if she uses proper grammar for forums posts, she asked if a forum is something like Reddit? She says she does use proper grammar and punctuation on Reddit and in other formal writing. Actually, she writes extremely well and often edited her mother's papers while in nursing school. She thinks these alterations to standard grammar equate to or have replaced body language to some degree. She wonders if it may have resulted from people having rarely seen their friends in the last few years due to Covid-19. It seems to me that work environments too have become more informal during Covid-19. It could be that people's writing styles have done so also, which ultimately bleed into EMC forums.
I'm so glad that this thread actually turned into something interesting. Reddit is a lot like forums, yes! And forums are a lot like BBS's and newsgroups, and those have similarities with mailing lists... online discussion goes way back. Interesting to know that she does use 'proper' grammar and punctuation on Reddit but not on instant messenger services! I don't think it has anything to do with the pandemic, because I have a book from 2019 that describes all of these phenomena. I would really recommend it if you're interested, actually: it's called Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language. Being 3 years old I'm sure it's already a little dated considering the subject material, but it should still be quite interesting! If I recall correctly, the writer of the book, Gretchen McCulloch, also attempts to make a comparison to body language, I think when on the subject of emoji.
To give you my quick two cents on the matter I do indeed quite frequently omit points at the end of the sentence, but that is because, in my mind, an emoji also counts as a sentence end. I end all sentences that do not end in emojis with a point, and all that do without one. I hope that helps
Emoticons and emoji are indeed often used in place of punctuation. Hasyim, M. (2019). Linguistic functions of emoji in social media communication. Opcion, 35(24). Markman, K. M., & Oshima, S. (2007). Pragmatic play? Some possible functions of English emoticons and Japanese kaomoji in computer-mediated discourse
Well, I would have to say I am probably guilty of this all over the forums, however if I am writing a letter, article, or anything formal irl I definately use proper grammar and punctuation. Part of why is probably laziness especially when I am typing on my cel instead of the computer. Just more steps to deal with. And sometimes in these social atmospheres I think grammar and punctuation are sometimes simply point-less. (Or is that period-less?!?)
