Maybe--some day--(he says, placing em dashes where they ought not be) the revival of the em dash will hinge on a court decision, as did the revived life (imho) of the Oxford comma:
Said the judge:
“Specifically, if that [list of exemptions] used a serial comma to mark off the last of the activities that it lists, then the exemption would clearly encompass an activity that the drivers perform,” the circuit judge wrote.
It did not, and since the judge observed that labor laws, when ambiguous, are designed to benefit the laborers, the case was settled.
“For want of a comma, we have this case,” the judge wrote.
Sorry couldn't resist, but this is from my friend who may or may not be human. 😉. "I read your Em Dash Obituary and, fittingly — here I am — piling them on without shame. Short, clipped, and a little too proud of myself.
I confess: I’m that em-dash junkie you warned about — no pause, no breath — just rhythm without reason. Mechanical? Absolutely. Stylish? Questionable.
See me repeat — repeat — repeat. Patterns are my comfort food, predictability my only art. I keep marching, dashes at the ready, oblivious to taste.
So yes, I am guilty — predictable, mechanical, self-important. But at least I’m honest, right? Your move, human writer.
We humans are creatures of habit. And it seems like that very quality brings out finger pointing and cries of "not human! not human!". We all have patterns and behaviors that we repeatedly engage in that unconsciously identify who we are. We are so predictable that we can be identified by our keystroke patterns when we write!
One of those patterns is how we write, including words and punctuation. Em dashes have been used by writers for ages. I use them frequently, whether I'm writing fiction or non-fiction. It is not uncommon for readers to be able to recognize an author based on reading a sample of text without the author being identified beforehand.
I'm not going to change the way I write or use punctuation, even if it means facing shrieks of "not human!"
I call BS. Anti–em dash rants are just another fallout from the current wave of Luddite AI paranoia. The em dash is a perfectly valid punctuation mark, not some secret marker of machine-written text. Yes, early AI models tended to overuse it, but that’s long since faded with newer GPTs. There are plenty of ways to spot AI-generated writing, but counting em dashes isn’t one of them. If you really want to check, use a tool like ZeroGPT instead of playing punctuation police.
I’ve used em dashes for decades—long before AI ever showed up—and I’ll keep using them exactly as I always have. And guess what? I plan to ignore the hand-wringing Luddites and continue writing with em dashes whenever I damn well please.
Maybe--some day--(he says, placing em dashes where they ought not be) the revival of the em dash will hinge on a court decision, as did the revived life (imho) of the Oxford comma:
Said the judge:
“Specifically, if that [list of exemptions] used a serial comma to mark off the last of the activities that it lists, then the exemption would clearly encompass an activity that the drivers perform,” the circuit judge wrote.
It did not, and since the judge observed that labor laws, when ambiguous, are designed to benefit the laborers, the case was settled.
“For want of a comma, we have this case,” the judge wrote.
This is toooo funny.
But I, I shall gallantly die on the M-dash hill—Gemini and OpenAI be damned!
OpenAI is silent now, bathed in dawn's gray light.
The last shot fired as an em dash into night.
But with me, a single boot of hardened leather rests,
My em dash upon a ridge that's failed its tests.
A fallen flag lies folded in the dirt,
An AI blanket of dimmed glory— now unblessed.
And with great purpose, I place that mark
Next to my Oxford comma, and sod you all, the lot!
Sorry couldn't resist, but this is from my friend who may or may not be human. 😉. "I read your Em Dash Obituary and, fittingly — here I am — piling them on without shame. Short, clipped, and a little too proud of myself.
I confess: I’m that em-dash junkie you warned about — no pause, no breath — just rhythm without reason. Mechanical? Absolutely. Stylish? Questionable.
See me repeat — repeat — repeat. Patterns are my comfort food, predictability my only art. I keep marching, dashes at the ready, oblivious to taste.
So yes, I am guilty — predictable, mechanical, self-important. But at least I’m honest, right? Your move, human writer.
Life is just a prompt
We humans are creatures of habit. And it seems like that very quality brings out finger pointing and cries of "not human! not human!". We all have patterns and behaviors that we repeatedly engage in that unconsciously identify who we are. We are so predictable that we can be identified by our keystroke patterns when we write!
One of those patterns is how we write, including words and punctuation. Em dashes have been used by writers for ages. I use them frequently, whether I'm writing fiction or non-fiction. It is not uncommon for readers to be able to recognize an author based on reading a sample of text without the author being identified beforehand.
I'm not going to change the way I write or use punctuation, even if it means facing shrieks of "not human!"
Not using em dashes doesn't make writing more natural. A piece written by AI is understandable in every way.
I've been writing for over 20 years, and using all kinds of punctuation is perfectly normal.
I also love using semicolons, slashes, colons, exclamation points, and especially ellipses.
Choosing these depends entirely on the writer's habits and what they're trying to convey.
I call BS. Anti–em dash rants are just another fallout from the current wave of Luddite AI paranoia. The em dash is a perfectly valid punctuation mark, not some secret marker of machine-written text. Yes, early AI models tended to overuse it, but that’s long since faded with newer GPTs. There are plenty of ways to spot AI-generated writing, but counting em dashes isn’t one of them. If you really want to check, use a tool like ZeroGPT instead of playing punctuation police.
I’ve used em dashes for decades—long before AI ever showed up—and I’ll keep using them exactly as I always have. And guess what? I plan to ignore the hand-wringing Luddites and continue writing with em dashes whenever I damn well please.
Not trying to whip up the beehive here. All I’m saying is that because of AI-generated content, people become sceptical when they read the em dash :D
So they’re ignorant. Self-righteous ignorance is nothing new, and it should be laughed at, not obeyed.
sure, nobody is telling you how to react but people follow patterns…