alt Hacker NewsAs somebody who used em-dashes a lot pre-ChatGPT, I have genuinely struggled with feeling I should change my writing style to appear more human. I would be happy with a double dash--but many programs autocorrect that to a full em-dash. So I'm left anxious that people will think I find them so unimportant I have offloaded communication with them to an LLM. So this post resonated with me.
I also like Will's "em-dash disclosure" on his about page:
> I like em dashes (—), en dashes (–), and hyphens (-), and I know how to type them. I also enjoy a well-placed ellipsis, but I didn’t know how to type one… until now. I believe that footnotes and sidenotes are superior to endnotes, appreciate the occasional fleuron, and at one point in my life, I knew what a colophon was.
> All of this is to say: the words, punctuation marks, misspellings, and opinions on this site are my own.
Replies
> also enjoy a well-placed ellipsis, but I didn’t know how to type one… until now.
Made me look it up in my own environment. I had already set up a custom incantation for em and en dashes, although I really have no idea when to use the latter instead. Actually I never used to use em dashes, but now I do. I'd much rather deal with people who can intuit the quality of writing rather than relying on such blunt heuristics.
https://www.scottsmitelli.com/articles/em-dash-tool/
Discerning readers do not stop at the em dash. At least, I don't.
I have considered starting throwing more em-dashes into my writing, simply because I find the whole “this looks like LLM” to be a tiresome comment. Engage with (or dismiss) the material, not the pen.