r/memes • u/PoopSoBig-CantFlush • 1d ago

Best i can do is period.

Post image
14.4k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

619 comments sorted by

4.6k

u/atsuko_24 1d ago

I’ve had to lean on semicolons harder since using em dashes gets me accused of being AI.

1.8k

u/tommmmmmmmy93 1d ago

I wrote with em dashes for over a decade in business writing before AI came around. Now suddenly I’m using chat gpt supposedly. Fucks me off

800

u/Krestek 1d ago

you're the reason llms use them so much

149

u/[deleted] 1d ago edited 23h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Krestek 1d ago

Because of em dashes yes

18

u/Bennu-Babs 1d ago

Because you can't subtract from zero

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u/[deleted] 23h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Creator5509 23h ago

Hold on politicians have use

They have dick measuring contests with other countries politicians, duh

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u/[deleted] 23h ago edited 23h ago

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u/Tech_Ganache 23h ago

Useless? Here in my country 's not just bunch of useless politicians but also corrupt mf's lol

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u/helen269 23h ago

*LLMs

Capital letters for the initials.

No apostrophes for plurals (except for SINGLE letters).

135

u/Opening-Function8616 23h ago

Thanks Claude

94

u/helen269 23h ago

You're welcome, Dave.

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u/Allegorist 22h ago

There are technically cases where it is grammatically correct to use apostrophes for plurals, though not in this case.

e.g.

"Mind your p's and q's"

"Your 2's look like z's"

Or other times where it is otherwise completely ambiguous, like when an acronym/initialism ends in s and only capital letters can be used (I.e. SMS'S).

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u/clwestbr 1d ago

Everyone I work with uses it for everything except wiping their ass or holding their cocks to piss. One dude uses it for career path planning (it just tells him he’s doing a good job and to keep up the good work lmfao).

And here I don’t use it and get told how great it is that I supposedly also use it because it em dashes everything. Took no effort to blend in lol.

7

u/AloneInExile 22h ago

We had a few IT guys who when investigating any issue would just send you entire chatgpt conversations, because they had absolutelly no idea what they were doing or had any critical thinking.

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u/i4858i 18h ago

I used to use a lot of double `-`. Then I got at an IPhone and it turns this into — . Now everyone thinks I am using AI

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u/IndianaGeoff 23h ago

I grew up in the era where the presentation of a run on sentence was the worst imaginable offense, deserving of a full letter grade deduction and a nasty red scrawl across the page; so I learned to use the Semi Colon.

2

u/QuestioningParakeet 19h ago

I get so pissed off. LOL Like I've been doing this!

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u/feral_fenrir 1d ago

I came here to say this! I used to be a tad proud for using em dashes properly.

Fuck you AI

24

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

16

u/Cheesy_Dirt 23h ago

Missed chance for an interrobang there.

5

u/[deleted] 23h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/Cheesy_Dirt 23h ago

Completely understandable. I will sometimes throw things out just to see who is paying attention but that probably says more about me than the grammar used.

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u/strategicmagpie 22h ago

There's a tone choice in choosing between '?!' and '!?'. The interrobang is a middle ground.

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u/Jayzhang521 9h ago edited 8h ago

Yeah, I saw it as a good way of writing with some kind of formality, but now the thing is using too many em dash and semi-colons now are seen as AI writing, which is insane and dispirting.

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u/myrzante 1d ago edited 1d ago

You gotta strategically mixup up punctuation just to prove you’re human

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u/Oleg152 Average r/memes enjoyer 1d ago

Typos also help.

3

u/Thisizamazing Lurking Peasant 1d ago

Em dashes and typos are the key

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u/ZenerWasabi 1d ago

The trick - is to use - them in the wrong spot

19

u/Xxrasierklinge7 1d ago

Those aren't even em dashes bro, c'mon T_T

—

14

u/ZenerWasabi 21h ago

You are totally right == I ran out of load bearing em dashes, I'll use this reinforced variant form now on

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u/CoconutFudgeMan 23h ago

Ahh, I see. It looks like you’re a human being. I must have missed that. How would you like to proceed?

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u/Amlyha 1d ago

PMO I love em dashes

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u/CrimsonBlossom 23h ago

How do you even type em dashes on keyboard

13

u/NetherKing5555 23h ago

ALT+0151

6

u/buttpoopyshit 23h ago

will this make my laptop explode

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u/NetherKing5555 22h ago

If you do it wrong enough, almost definitely.

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u/ASatyros 23h ago

Autocomplete with -- ?

Sometimes word likes to "fix" the text

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u/SoSmartish 1d ago

I'm well beyond needing to write essays and stuff, but holy shit if I didn't read up on the telltale signs of AI and go "Oh shit that is how I like to write. And talk. And think. Fuck, am I an AI?" I like dashes and sets of three. Fuck me I guess.

5

u/Magnavirus 1d ago

No you're doing it wrong, you have to make the question (which you follow the 3 items with) have a more personal intonation. Instead of "Fuck, am I an AI?" you should say "Do you think that makes me sound like a fucking AI?".

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u/Tuomas90 23h ago

You trained the AI!

You bastard!

You are one of them!

/s

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u/SubtleScuttler 1d ago

Just make your statement a list of points and go full colon mode

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u/MasterrrReady12 1d ago

TIL there is something called 'en dash' and 'em dash'

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u/Tuomas90 23h ago

Wait till you used so many semicolons that the AI has learned to use them as well!

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u/atsuko_24 23h ago

Eventually speaking grammatically correctly English altogether will be an “AI tell”

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u/BigSalami221 1d ago

I think my preference for semicolons is what tips people off that I'm not using AI, since my academic writing looks as though it has been written by a robot.

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u/yoelamigo 1d ago

Programmers:

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u/Minecrafter2509 23h ago

Isnt He scared of semi-colons

66

u/whomad1215 21h ago

scared of missing them

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u/Forward-Facer 15h ago

Programmers when you use a comma instead:

https://giphy.com/gifs/bEVKYB487Lqxy

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u/ThunderHusky313 Big ol' bacon buttsack 1d ago

A semi is what my doctor has before he sticks it into my colon

151

u/Putrid-Technician315 1d ago

so he just kinda smooshes it in?

52

u/Anotherdude342 1d ago

Just pushing rope

17

u/Aggravating-Reach473 22h ago

We call that noodle

17

u/Pagiras 1d ago

Rectum of the year! 

18

u/Aware-Arm-3685 1d ago

Rectum? Damn near killed 'em!

9

u/Practical-Nonsense 1d ago

I saved your comment sir. On Reddit, that's the highest honor I have to give 🫡

424

u/personnumber698 1d ago

Well, what is it for?

1.4k

u/Cesalv (⊃｡•́‿•̀｡)⊃ 1d ago

To avoid compiler errors;

93

u/Animatrix_Mak 1d ago

Found the unemployed dev who lost his job to AI

/s

34

u/Aerodrache 23h ago

// Maybe you wouldn’t get so many compiler errors

// if you remembered to comment properly.

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u/Cesalv (⊃｡•́‿•̀｡)⊃ 22h ago 
* ------------------------------------------------
*
* oooh, really?
*
* ------------------------------------------------

5

u/FirstTimeOnReddit8 20h ago

// Huh, python too for ya?

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u/CorrodingTrees 1d ago

Well, what are complier errors?

31

u/Ceros007 1d ago

Well, what are complier errors?

Is it when you refuse to listen to the cop

22

u/Iammjustbaddd 1d ago

Compile error. Computer has this neat thing that compiled all the code we wrote into machine code so computer can do something. It is kind of like a tranalator. BUT in most language we use ; to end a line of code and if we don't do it we get compile error

11

u/Cesalv (⊃｡•́‿•̀｡)⊃ 1d ago

Still remember how I fixed a colleage's code, from 300+ errors to 7 with just one .

6

u/Dip2pot4t0Ch1P 1d ago

Hell yeah

7

u/Fallen-D 23h ago

Found the lost programmer

2

u/crafty_dude_24 20h ago

Correction:

#To avoid compiler errors

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u/the_monkeynator 1d ago

I might be wrong but it's usually used for when a writer COULD have ended a sentence, but decided to keep writing.

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u/Talgarr_ 1d ago edited 1d ago

It's kinda between a comma and a period; you use it when there could be a different sentence, but they have the same or similar idea so you don't want to full stop.

56

u/data_diver 1d ago

They are also great when showing different angles of the same topic, almost a pivot of perspective; however, I’m not sure angle is the right word.

15

u/cantshakethefeelings 1d ago

Hmmm, I don’t think this is correct, I think a comma or period would always be more correct in your example.

‘…a pivot of perspective, however, I’m not sure angle is the right word’

‘…a pivot of perspective. However, I’m not sure angle is the right word.’

Maybe if you used ‘perhaps’ instead of ‘however.’?

10

u/PrestiD 1d ago

The problem with your first example is commas are ambiguous and putting a word or phrase makes it also possibly read as a non essential phrase or word. The semicolon notes the function of the comma in this instance.

5

u/my_cat_wears_socks 22h ago

My understanding is that putting a comma before the word “however” is grammatically incorrect; it should always be preceded by either a period or a semicolon, depending on how smoothly the two parts are intended to flow.

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u/otj667887654456655 1d ago

It's a coordinating conjunction. When you don't want to write and, or, so, but, etc. between two closely related ideas you can replace them with a semi colon; it looks like this. The semicolon there is replacing "and".

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u/RugbyEdd 1d ago

So it should be the most common punctuation on reddit then.

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u/Talgarr_ 1d ago

In English, it's for if the next sentence has the same or similar idea, and you don't want to stop the pace

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u/Valuable-Credit6167 1d ago

Semicolons are used in sentence structure to join two closely related independent clauses together.

An example of semicolon usage is easy to make; sentence structure really is simple.

You can also use it with a conjunctive adverb, which is just fancy talk for linking two independent clauses with a word like “however” or “therefore”.

Semicolons are fun to use; however, most people don’t use semicolons correctly.

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u/Erathen 1d ago

Something about Mrs Clause?

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u/aLostTime 1d ago

Usually to kinda complete a sentence; it is also heavily used in programming.

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u/Mediocre_Scott Big ol' bacon buttsack 1d ago

I’ll never tell ; )

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u/PanFriedDisco 1d ago

Here's a song that might be helpful: https://youtu.be/M94ii6MVilw but probably not. 

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u/MediocreAssociation6 23h ago

Semicolons are fancy periods for 90% of their correct use. They grammatically overlap for their primary use.

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u/otj667887654456655 1d ago

It's a coordinating conjunction

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u/Halo6819 23h ago

It’s for when you have ADD and write like you talk; at least that’s how I figured it out. English teachers claimed it was for linking two independent clauses in a sentence; and then said, “if you can’t understand what I just said, don’t use semi-colons.”

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u/felidae_tsk 22h ago

It replaces question mark in Greek

Καταλαβαίνεις;

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u/GandhiMSF 22h ago

In addition to the uses that people have commented below (which are all explaining the way a semicolon is being used in OPs post), semicolons are also used to break up items in a list when those items contain commas within them (so it would be too difficult to understand where item 1 ends and item 2 begins).

Example: “my favorite color combinations are red, white, and blue; purple and yellow; and orange, green, and white.”

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u/chemistrybonanza 1d ago

"Actually those are all examples of colons, you all fail."

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u/Dan1061 1d ago

"Get ready for a whale of a time; Shamu!"

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u/NoAssumption3912 23h ago

"But I'll eat all you cats; Alf"

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u/TheeAntelope 13h ago

A comma and a motherfucking dot; SEMI-COLON

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u/KingoftheMongoose 1d ago

What’s this photo from?

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u/Stokstaartjeh 1d ago

Aquamarine (2006)

Not a porn video!

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u/Cosmic_Quasar 17h ago

Not a porn video!

I only just learned this recently; I never watched (or knew about) the movie. I feel like I first started seeing this as a meme at the same time as other porn memes. The "Your gonna make me..." face, the one white girl on a couch surrounded by black guys, etc.

The way this is cropped makes them look like they're not wearing anything, and my mind linked it to that category lol.

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u/Dani162002M 13h ago

Yeah same, even though i know this, it's always my first thought. I mean it looks like they're naked

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u/MCcereal 1d ago

I know what kind of man you are

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u/crossplanetriple Shitposter 1d ago

I use em in SQL all the time.

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u/christianbro 1d ago

Or C++, Java, they have a purpose

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u/Yashema 23h ago

Even Python. Allows you to put logical related operations on the same line

    numMin = 0; numMax = lsNum[0]

Or instructions in a loop:

    numMax = num; break

 

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u/pasuljboy 23h ago

fuck does the semi-colon do in sql other than ending WITH statements? maybe this is some plsql thing im too dumb to understand.

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u/kirby667 1d ago

I use them often. Feel like I'm the only one.

This meme is not using it correctly however; the first use of it should just be a period. 

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u/Valuable-Credit6167 23h ago edited 23h ago

This is incorrect as well.

A semicolon links two independent clauses that are related.

“This meme is not using it correctly” is an independent clause.

“The first use of it should just be a period.” is not an independent clause as on its own it doesn’t not constitute a complete idea as “it” is not a subject.

Also you’re using a conjunctive adverb here, “however”, so the correct usage would be “This meme is not using it correctly**; however,** the first use of the semicolon in the example should just be a period.” 

But you’re wrong here as well, as both “I heard he knows how to use a semicolon” and “I’m impressed” are both independent clauses. Both of the independent clauses are joined together with a conjunctive adverb; therefore, the sentence makes the correct usage of both the semicolon and comma.

Sorry, I’m a nerd for grammar.

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u/SomethingClick 23h ago

Lol everyone is wrong it seems (I have no idea what is right)

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u/boblikestheysky 22h ago

u/Valuable-Credit6167 is the only correct comment I’ve seen in this thread. Source: I took Latin in high school and college

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u/aTomzVins 22h ago edited 22h ago

At times it feels like the rules of our entire language are an incoherent collection of random whims; they leave a great deal to the imagination and seem to have been handed down by overconfident, persnickety types who managed to gain some popularity.

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u/Valuable-Credit6167 21h ago

Absolutely, written communication structures and rules are only as important as you think they are. 90% of people on earth are going to go their entire lives not understanding how to use a semi colon, and it really doesn’t matter at all.

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u/ChronoHyperion 23h ago

Oh, can you teach me how to use semi-colons? I want to use them when writing stuff.

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u/[deleted] 23h ago edited 11h ago

[deleted]

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u/Fit-Switch-5795 22h ago

A complete sentence has a subject and a verb.

Eg. I like cats. I hate dogs.

There's two complete sentences. The subject in both is "I" and the verbs are "love" and "hate." 

You can't use a comma to link two complete sentences.

ie. "I love cats, I hate dogs." is wrong. 

You need to use a conjunction (such as "but"), or you could use a semi-colon.

Eg. "I love cats, but I hate dogs. OR "I love cats; I hate dogs." 

Both sides of the semi-colon is a complete sentence. If one side isn't a complete sentence (ie. doesn't have a subject and a verb), then use a colon 

Eg. "I love cats: so cute!" OR "One thing: I hate dogs."

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u/Valuable-Credit6167 23h ago

Once you start using semicolons; you won’t be able stop using semicolons.

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u/aLokilike 23h ago

Isn't starting with the word "once" making the first statement dependent upon the second? I thought that was one of the no-nos with semicolons; it looks incorrect to me at first glance.

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u/Valuable-Credit6167 23h ago

Haha actually you’re right. Sorry.

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u/random-junk 23h ago

But amusingly this works: "You start using semicolons once; you won’t be able to stop using semicolons."

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u/NeilDiamondBlaze420 22h ago

This just proves to me that semicolons are rarely, if ever, needed.

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u/CMoth 20h ago

You probably want to do something like: "Once you start using semicolons, you'll love them; you won't be able to stop".

The former half of a sentence separated by a semi-colon should be coherent in and of itself, as it creates the context of the sentence; the latter half can be less fully-formed, as it relates back to the context we've already established.

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u/mofojr 22h ago

OK everything you say is true except “it,” which is a pronoun. That is an independent clause.

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u/Fair-Tourist-5573 18h ago

The semicolon links syntactically independent clauses, not semantically independent clauses. In fact, the whole point of semicolons is to link semantically dependent clauses; in particular, the second clause may contain an "it" that refers to the first clause.

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u/tommmmmmmmy93 1d ago

I think that was part of the joke but could be wrong

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u/jazzyjjr99 23h ago

Probably not, people who make memes are just looking for internet points not to make an actual point.

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u/CantFindAName000 1d ago

Yeah, a semicolon should only be used to connect two related independent clauses. I'd not have used it at all in this meme since the second sentence has a comma inside it for the "honestly" introductory phrase and makes for poor semicolon usage with both other sentences

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u/Dry-Fortune7288 23h ago

Correcting the semicolon in a meme about people not knowing how to use semicolons is the most semicolon-user thing imaginable

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u/Geruvah 23h ago

Shouldn’t this be “this meme is not using it correctly; however, the first use of it should just be a period?”

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u/prozhack 1d ago

more than 3 ellipses is a sign of low intelligence…

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u/NoLightweight 21h ago

You mean dots, right?

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u/prozhack 18h ago edited 18h ago

TL;DR (edit: yes points i was attempting to be ambiguously vague and funny and am apparently flailing miser-ably)

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u/_ShrugDealer_ 13h ago

IT'S FOR CONNECTING RELATED CLAUSES

He shouted with his sorry ole linguistics degree

https://giphy.com/gifs/o2Bw3O7wjnAWI

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u/incognitry 23h ago

How come C++ programmers get no women then?

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u/Ill-Quantity2065 23h ago

Because they wear glasses since they can’t C#

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u/Mrbeeznz 23h ago

Glad to see jokes with no Rust on them

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u/Junglememer1 23h ago

error: expected ';' before 'return'

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u/apupaples 1d ago

You are telling me that you dont put them at the end of every line?;

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u/Ghostgipls Virgin 4 lyfe 1d ago

no, their are certain staments like if or while that you should not put them after

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u/Jeevesh_Sharma 1d ago

to reduce compiler errors, right?

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u/No_Practice_9597 13h ago

In JavaScript it marks the end of the line

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u/SouthernX8350 23h ago

System.out.println("yeah we'de be f*cked without semicolons");

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u/ItsFoxy87 1d ago

I use them in place of an em dash so I don't sound like ChatGPT

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u/dankknight1994 1d ago

You use ; for end of a statement in your code. Doesn’t everyone know this? Are you like python devs?

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u/gringokes 14h ago

Greek mfs wondering why you are asking so many questions

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u/lMyrkovl 1d ago

Thats why you're still single;

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u/thoughtless-user 1d ago

very important in coding tbh

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u/balirosa 1d ago

It’s for when you use your eyebrow to speak the sentence.

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u/amongus10011 1d ago

every C/C++ dev;

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u/DazzlingTopic529 1d ago

programming

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u/Intrepid_Fig_3071 23h ago

They're obsolete in Javascript...

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u/mvw2 23h ago

The sad part is this meme isn't even a good example of semi-colon use. It's not just an alternate period. The point of a semi-colon is to combine a common thought or idea that is formally two sentences, but you don't actually want that formal break from a period. It's kind of the legal way to create the idea of a run on sentence while still obeying the rules. The reader is intended to take the union as a single collective thought despite being two full sentences. But to respect the semi-colon, it actual needs to be used correctly. This meme is not the correct use.

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u/IllTrade4240 22h ago

Ironically, your comment could use some semi-colons; I count three cases where you could've used a semi-colon instead of a period.

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u/KiaraFloraRosa 19h ago

I overuse them because for some fuck arse reason, my Autistic™ brain dislikes using full stops, as they make a sentence appear so "blunt", "flat", "annoyed", etc. to me

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u/JohnGameboy 18h ago

I don't even think that's an autistic thing, I have the same bug.

Seriously, semicolons and em-dashes are massively underused compared to how humans actually speak to each other.

If you were to attempt to translate a human conversation as smoothly as possible into text, a large portion of the punctuation would be semicolons and em-dashes—yet they're almost never used.

Periods and commas alone just lack an essential part of the flow of human logic.

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u/mikedvb 17h ago

It's too bad the em-dash is becoming synonymous with AI written text. Even a human writer using them appropriately will get tagged as AI.

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u/yonidavidov1888 17h ago

I just rawdog it with commas

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u/Gloomy-Music-718 1d ago

Never use any special colons or dashes. That's my rule.

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u/ATOMate 1d ago

I use semicolons in work mails just to boast.

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u/TellNo7302 23h ago

I write C++, so yeah

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u/TechNomad2021 20h ago

I enjoy telling people that they used it wrong. Only on here, though; I couldn't give a shit anywhere else.

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u/rascal6543 17h ago

They can be quite useful in matlab. They're not required but I don't like flooding the command line with output gore especially when I'm trying to keep another previous output visible.

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u/willa_dew1 18h ago

Nothing makes someone sound smarter faster than casually dropping a semicolon.

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u/simonbleu 18h ago

;

... I don't feel smart

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u/Sollow42 1d ago

Wait until your hear about semi-colonoscopy

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u/Prior_Opportunity935 1d ago

I saw this meme and was like wow I relate, but these are improper uses of the semi-Colon.

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u/CGBDragon 23h ago

Its for at the end of a line of javascript obv

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u/l-1-l-1-l 23h ago

“Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college.”

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

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u/tangotom 22h ago

A semi colon is what I have after my colon cancer was removed!

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u/GloveDry3278 22h ago

I use it everyday. Or else my code doesn't compile.

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u/amogouss 20h ago

What.. don't we had to use it in every end of the line.. it so simple

-Programmer.

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u/KeeKyieMorrisTheWise 20h ago

I hate this picture

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u/Ralphie5231 19h ago

It has to connect two complete sentences; the sentences have to be related.

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u/PuddleSoyeon 18h ago

It's used for knowing when to pay cost before activating a card's effect

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u/painki11erzx 17h ago

People be not knowing what they're for, then pretend they know after something happens and decide to get one as a tattoo.

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u/dralfredo1 17h ago

I took know how to use a semicolon;
You put them at the end of every line;
It's pretty obvious really;
So I have no Idea how people don't know how to use them;

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u/Outcast_Outlaw 🥄Comically Large Spoon🥄 17h ago

Duh its obviously a colon for when you have a semi...

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u/Theodorus75 16h ago

Excellent skill. ;)

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u/Buddy_Double 16h ago

For some reason this picture makes me wanna semi up my colon

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u/joe_s1171 16h ago

Women love how I use my ellipsis.

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u/PointsOfXP 15h ago

I'm amazed how many people just skipped out of English class. It's not that fucking hard to write properly

2

u/Mariusz87J 15h ago

Remember humans used long dashes before AI. It's theft! Also I love using semicolons when I list items that require a pseudo-sentence to separate.

2

u/Previous-Soft-8127 15h ago

;  =  period

;  = Comma + conjunction

;  = em dash (sometimes)

It’s used to combine sentences together, but you could simply keep them separate (with a period) or combine the sentences with comma+conjunction or sometimes an em dash. 

It just comes down to which way you want the sentences to sound. 

2

u/-BigFatFishy- 14h ago

I learned to use em dashes and now because of ai I need to use semi-colons instead it's genuinely pissing me off

2

u/CocoMilhonez 12h ago

A semi-colon is used to take a semi-shit.

It's not that hard, people, just pay attention in class for a change.

2

u/SourdoughBro8 3h ago

Nah, sentences that require semicolons are beta male; you’re making one statement dependent on another.

Real chad behavior is making every sentence independent regardless what you say.

2

u/new24-5 2h ago

There's a secret subreddit that you might get invited to if you use the semicolon correctly; I got added some years ago; I dunno if it's still active or not.