Fired for Using Too Many Question Marks? It Really Happened. A Quick Guide to Punctuation Etiquette

Would you believe it if I told you that a British lecturer was fired as a dorm supervisor (officially known as a hostel warden in England) because he used too many question marks in his text messages? The reason? He was creating an “intimidating tone.”

Granted, Dr Binoy Sobnack—a physics lecturer at the University of Loughborough—ended up winning a £15,000 lawsuit for unfair dismissal, but the judge of the case still said that excessive punctuation is “unnecessarily aggressive” and that by not changing the tone of his texts, he was guilty of “culpable and blameworthy” conduct.

All because he used too many question marks. (There were a few other factors, including exclamation points, but punctuation was the primary point of accusation.) If only he had had this guide before he sent all those question-mark-laden text messages:

Whether you like it or not, the reality is punctuation is a major indicator of tone. It’s a primary method in written language for helping people understand if we’re serious, excited, angry, or neutral. One question mark? It’s a quick indicator that you have a genuine question to ask. It’s relatively neutral. But what happens—emotionally—when you add a second? Looking at the chart above, you can see that a second question mark seems to suggest that the person asking is more concerned. It’s no longer just a question of where Jim specifically is. It’s a curiosity about his well-being and general whereabouts. Is he okay? Did he get lost? Did he forget to come?

What happens if you add a third question mark? Well, now you’re just starting to sound angry. Jim! Where the @#$% are you??? And, if you had four or more? We can assume you’re just making a mockery of Jim’s absence. You’re insulting him. Shaming him into feeling like he totally screwed up.

There’s room for interpretation within these marks, of course, and context will always matter. But at the end of the day, the punctuation we choose to include (or omit entirely) sends a tone. We have to be strategic about it.

We live in an age where punctuation rules are both widely changing and intensely meaningful. Are you thinking consciously about how you use even the period in your text messages?

Internet Linguist and author of the New York Times bestseller Because Internet shows how even the period has been made to be a “seriousness marker.” A text, she says, can become serious once we add the period. Consider these three common saluations:

Hey!

Hey

Hey.

The first suggests excited. No surprise there. The second is more neutral, just a general “howdy.” But…the third suggests there is some level of seriousness. That period changes the tone. And it does in texts in ways that it doesn’t necessarily in a report.

Texting and instant messaging—including live comment streaming and online chats—have made proper punctuation quickly feel obsolete. In many cases it’s less about follow proper rules than it is about setting the right tone.

Moral of the story? Think seriously and strategically about what you’re including that’s not words. Those punctuation marks matter. And…emojis can help, too 🙂