Society for People Sick of Exclamation Points!

Bumfketeer · **Posted:** Thu Mar 04, 2004 12:28 pm

It all started, best I can tell, with Yahoo. Or, if you will, Yahoo!A number of groups have adopted the exclamation point at the end of their names, probably because they feel the group is important. I mean, if Yahoo! is important enough to get an exclamation point, why shouldn't they?(!)Not only is it stupid; it creates punctuation nightmares. Take these goddamned things off whenever possible. OK? OK![ March 04, 2004: Message edited by: Bumfketeer ]

SusanV · **Posted:** Thu Mar 04, 2004 1:27 pm

I think EarthFirst! beat them to it years ago.We leave 'em unless it creates a bigger problem. I once had a kicker whose final sentence was a question, and Yahoo! was the last word in the sentence. We killed the ! to avoid !? (which would have been even more ridiculous).

catrandom · **Posted:** Thu Mar 04, 2004 1:53 pm

Since I handle all our digital-media stuff, I have to write and edit material concerning Yahoo(!) a lot, and after a few debates, have settled, unwillingly, on giving them their stupid ! on first reference and in headlines. This is not a very satisfactory approach, sacrificing consistency in the name of typographical sanity. It also means I have to make sure nobody puts Yahoo! at the end of a headline. We're just not that excited about Job Cuts At Yahoo![ March 04, 2004: Message edited by: catrandom ]

majorbabs · **Posted:** Thu Mar 04, 2004 3:38 pm

I'm trumping the mandatory exclamation point discussion. We have a program whose (long-held) style is all italic WITH the screamer. Sigh.

paulwiggins · **Posted:** Thu Mar 04, 2004 4:55 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Bumfketeer:
It all started, best I can tell, with Yahoo. Or, if you will, Yahoo!
[ March 04, 2004: Message edited by: Bumfketeer ]<hr></blockquote>
I think Oklahoma! beat them to the punch.

jjmoney62 · **Posted:** Thu Mar 04, 2004 8:00 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by majorbabs:
I'm trumping the mandatory exclamation point discussion. We have a program whose (long-held) style is all italic WITH the screamer. Sigh.<hr></blockquote>
Italic? That's ridiculous. And what do you mean by "program"? And what type of publication do you work for?

paulwiggins · **Posted:** Thu Mar 04, 2004 11:51 pm

Bill Walsh has a useful comment on such matters at this page of The Slot. It's been useful in instilling some common sense around these here parts.

Rio · **Posted:** Fri Mar 05, 2004 1:31 am

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by SusanV:
I think EarthFirst! beat them to it years ago.We leave 'em unless it creates a bigger problem.<hr></blockquote>The trouble is, that style adopts a permanent inconsistency. Plus, using them makes your paper look like it was put together by middle-schoolers. For that reason, I agree with Bumf that the exclamation points, question marks and odd capitalizations are inanely stupid and should always be dropped.The story about the all-italics program is great. That's the quintessential example of how asinine your paper can make itself look when it bends over backwards to conform to artsy-fartsy logos-as-names. Hey, Bill, you should include that example when you update your book.

Gatekeeper · **Posted:** Sat Mar 06, 2004 1:45 am

Heh. On a related note, there's a supermarket in town that spells its name lowercase. That's fun when it shows up in copy which, admittedly, is rare (thankfully!).Gatekeeper-30-

majorbabs · **Posted:** Sat Mar 06, 2004 3:52 pm

I don't work for a newspaper; I work for an educational institution. So that's why we have "programs" and programs that can be in all italics with screamers. So... it could be worse, my newspaper friends.

jjmoney62 · **Posted:** Sat Mar 06, 2004 7:48 pm

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