Stop using the @ in comments.

It’s annoying. That is all.

62 Responses to “Stop using the @ in comments.”

  1. MikeInWeho Says:

    Th@’s a great idea.

  2. gst Says:

    Sm@ckdown!

  3. Dan Says:

    that’s the second time that swear word has been used today on this blog. Didn’t Elder Holland s@y something about this….

  4. Dan Says:

    haha, it didn’t work! You have to have something in front of the @ sign to work, for ex@mple…

  5. John Williams Says:

    @Steve Evans:

    C’mon man, it’s 2007.

  6. Costanza Says:

    _@men brother Evans

  7. Steve Evans Says:

    John Williams, that won’t keep me from banning you.

  8. Steve Evans Says:

    (yes, I would)

  9. gst Says:

    All of this controversy about the ampersand reminds me of a little known fact about it’s brother, the *. That punctuation mark is properly referred to as the nathan, in honor of our revolutionary forebear Nathan Hale, who famously said, “My only regret is that I have but one asterisk for my country.”

  10. Keri Says:

    H@ve you noticed that c@lling @ttention to @ problem only m@kes it worse? :-)

  11. Steve Evans Says:

    “it’s brother”? what kind of lawyer are you, slackerman?

  12. Keri Says:

    All of this controversy about the ampersand reminds me…

    Actually, this controversy is over the at-sign, not the ampersand. The ampersand looks like this: &.

  13. gst Says:

    I actually don’t know very much about punctuation. Sorry.

  14. gst Says:

    It’s apparently not required in order to win awards at Mormon blog commenting.

  15. John Williams Says:

    Can someone please explain the asterisk quotation to me? Is that supposed to be like air-quotes or something? I would worry more about that than the at-sign.

  16. Susan M Says:

    Ampersands, nathans, at signs, what’s the diff?

  17. gst Says:

    Sorry, John, explaining the joke would suck what little funny there is right out of it.

  18. John Williams Says:

    [DELETED]

  19. gst Says:

    I don’t make the rules here.

  20. Susan M Says:

    The nathans around words in blogs and comments is just a way of emphasizing them. Like making them *bold.*

  21. gst Says:

    Susan, nice usage.

  22. John Williams Says:

    I learned a new word today. “Nathan.” It’s kinda cute.

  23. John Williams Says:

    [DELETED]

  24. John Williams Says:

    By the way, my deleted comments *do not* contain any form of vulgarity.

  25. Steve Evans Says:

    (besides the prohibited use of the at-sign)

  26. Steve Evans Says:

    Did I mention that I’m an admin here, John Williams?

  27. John Williams Says:

    I noticed.

  28. marta Says:

    My 22 and 23 year old sons (who have been correcting my grammar and pronunciation since they were 2 and 3) tell me that @ (sorry Steve) is an *ampersat*.

  29. John Williams Says:

    Two new words in one day. I should read this blog more often.

  30. wondering Says:

    I have noticed the little @ signs being used lately around the blogs, and I don’t know what they’re supposed to mean. Why would you start a comment with “at”?

  31. KyleM Says:

    Dan (4) $o $orry.

  32. John Williams Says:

    Dear Mr. Wondering:

    RE: Comment #32

    Outside of the “Bloggernacle,” it’s common practice to use the ampersat (@) symbol when addressing posters. Try reading a social news website entitled “Digg.com.”

    Regards,

    John Williams

  33. John Williams Says:

    Dear Mr. Wondering:

    RE: Comment #33

    Correction: I was referring to Comment #31.

    All the best,

    John Williams

  34. Matt W. Says:

    Do you all know you have the same story about John Carmack on the sideblog twice?

    BYW, do you know what sound a machine gun makes? R@t@t@t@t@t@t@t@t@t@t@t@t@t

  35. Steve Evans Says:

    Matt W., it’s THAT good!

  36. Jack Says:

    Machine guns go: R@t@t@t@t@t!

    Drums go: R@t-@-t@t@t!

    Charlie Brown goes: R@ts!!!

    Lawyers go: Squeak!

  37. Paula Says:

    Well, and did you know that in Danish, @ is called Snabel a? Snabel is the word for elephant’s trunk in Danish. (I had a very horrible time trying to get someone’s email address in Denmark over the phone a couple of years ago. He didn’t understand me when I said “at” and I really didn’t understand “snabel a”, and we were both struggling with the other person’s pronunciations of the vowels in our addresses.

  38. Norbert Says:

    In HS print shop, we had quizzes on what to call different symbols, and this was the ‘commercial at,’ or commat. (Odd that I remember that from HS…)

    Here’s a Natural History of the @ Sign for its name in various languages.

  39. Steve Evans Says:

    Norbert, that’s extremely cool. For years in France I thought it was the “arabesque.”

  40. Kaimi Says:

    What’s your favorite scene from The Empire Strikes Back?

    Me, I kinda like it when the @-@s attack . . .

  41. Goofus Says:

    G00fus is g@@fy.

  42. JamesP Says:

    Wh@tever.

  43. Kim Siever Says:

    I’m guessing Steve doesn’t read Digg.

  44. KyleM Says:

    @@@@@:-) Marge Simpson smiley

  45. Steve Evans Says:

    Kim, I’m guessing you don’t have a clue as to whether I read Digg, reddit, slashdot, or anything else. Most users on Digg don’t use that annoying @ symbol, and NOBODY in the bloggernacle uses it.

  46. KyleM Says:

    ===>Kim

    HRYK

  47. Steve Evans Says:

    pwn3d!

  48. KyleM Says:

    Y0u’r3 50 |337!

  49. lamonte Says:

    Steve,

    I work in a technical field (architecture) and years ago a co-worker criticized a letter I had written because it contained the term “as per” in it. She said she was taught in a business writing class that we should write the way we speak I explained that afer several years of technical writing and specification writing “as per” was a part of my normal speaking vocabulary. Maybe “@” has just become part of our normal writing vocabulary.

  50. lamonte Says:

    Ok, so I’ve been writing for several years but not necessarily proof reading. It should have said “…write the way we speak. I explained that after several…” Sorry!

  51. Steve Evans Says:

    Lamonte, I’m willing to entertain the idea that usage is ultimately the determining factor. But usage as of yet does not provide that @ has become part of our normal writing vocabulary, and I won’t stand for it.

  52. Jacob J Says:

    If someone around me was using “as per” in their normal speaking vocabulary, I might have to write a post entitled “Stop using ‘as per’ when speaking to me”

  53. Susan M Says:

    It’s Steve’s blog. He can cry if he wants to.

  54. SilverRain Says:

    I’m fairly fearless, but I’m starting to become frightened.

  55. lamonte Says:

    #53 Jacob J – Are you saying that as per your true beliefs or are just making a joke @ my expense?

  56. MCQ Says:

    Steve: Nobody? Just checking around, it seems like it’s going on quite a bit. Have you checked over at T&@?

  57. Guy Murray Says:

    and NOBODY in the bloggernacle uses it.

    Maybe . . . but lots of folks elsewhere do.

  58. Jon in Austin Says:

    Beautiful pwn3d Steve! Now all we need is a lag = ban and we’d be set…

  59. Steve Evans Says:

    much props J in A.

  60. Guy Murray Says:

    Indeed Steve, your ban has begun to have some effect throughout the internets.


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