Substance and Style
| Publication year | 2020 |
| Pages | 41 |
| Citation | Vol. 89 No. 4 Pg. 41 |
Mind Your Virtual Manners: A Brief Guide to Social Graces in Online Writing
By Joyce Rosenberg
In legal writing, we often discuss "ethos," the notion of credibility underlying everything we write. Alongside our professional reputations and the care we take with our work, ethos comes from our ability to relate to our audience appropriately—our manners.
We know that when we're writing to a court, we are expected to use the most formal language and indicate deference to the judge. That formality is in contrast to writing to a client or colleague, when a more conversational and friendly tone is more effective. When writing to an opponent, we may change our approach and tone yet again, working within the bounds of professionalism to convey a position of strength. All of these shifts are connected to our sense of manners— what's appropriate "behavior" in a particular situation.
Online writing comes with its own set of manners. As more electronic communication moves into the short forms of texts, instant messages, and social media posts, readers form impressions based on the writers' use of "good digital etiquette."[1] Most notorious, perhaps, are etiquette lapses relating to email "reply all" (or not understanding how email listservs work). Additionally, online manners have come to incorporate "writing the way we talk."[2] Online readers form a judgment about the writer's credibility and tone within seconds.[3] In the absence of facial expressions and body language, those judgments are based on writers' word choice and grammar, but also on the visual presentation of the words—in short, the tools we have to convey tone and nuance online.[4]
Listening to Punctuation
In texts and social media posts, writers use punctuation to convey tone and voice. The most significant example is the absence of a period at the end of a sentence. In texting and instant messages, each sentence or idea is commonly a new post.[5] As a result, inclusion of a period to break up sentences in those media has become unnecessary. If the writer includes a period, the reader may perceive it as a stern or serious tone, or even as anger.[6] By contrast, using an exclamation point conveys enthusiasm and sincerity.[7]Consider the contrast in the following text exchange between two people discussing plans for later:
Example A:
Joe: I need to work late, let's move back our dinner reservation
Sam: Totally fine
Example B:
Joe: I need to work late, let's move back our dinner reservation
Sam: Totally fine.
In example B, Joe is likely to perceive that Sam is annoyed. That period at the end of the sentence conveys "a slight deepening of the voice," sometimes associated with displeasure, especially for younger readers.[8] That...
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