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jwr • today at 2:20 PM • 3 replies • view on HN

Why kill the em dashes? They are a legitimate mark — one that I have been using for years. On a Mac, you quickly get used to pressing shift-option-hyphen. Em dashes are typographically correct and should be used.


Replies

literalAardvark • today at 2:23 PM

Because no one knows what those are, and they're a major indicator of AI writing.

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ahmedfromtunis • today at 2:24 PM

Or at least match the pre-llm human usage frequency.

A total, artificial lack of em dashes can in itself be perceived as another sign of AI writing.

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LelouBil • today at 2:59 PM

Honestly I don't see the em dash as for sure AI. It's just that it's often used in LLM tropes like the "it's not XXX — it's more" and other tagline-esque sentences.