alt Hacker News> Em dashes may also add or increase emphasis but are normally treated as an aside. Think of it as a comment by the author to inject themselves, sometimes in ways which do not form a complete sentence.
A semicolon is better for this purpose. Good writing doesn't have mad tangents anyway, there should be a flow and natural transition.
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Semicolons start a new thought, they don't mark an aside that lets you return to the original line of thought. Like in their example:
> For example: When you read this sentence (in your mind) it should feel complete and correct. Perhaps you read in your own voice — something I don’t normally do — or without one at all.
I would have used parentheses in both places, and semicolons don't work in either one:
> For example: When you read this sentence (in your mind) it should feel complete and correct. Perhaps you read in your own voice (something I don’t normally do) or without one at all.
A semicolon is for separating list items that follow a colon
> Good writing doesn't have mad tangents anyway, there should be a flow and natural transition.
In general, yes. Technical documents, research reports, news articles, and other formal publications should follow this.
Anything else which allows a bit more freedom in expression? I’d say it’s a matter of taste.