It's time for another usage rant!

The exclamation point. Possibly the most overused, unnecessary piece of punctuation out there. Use a period and get out of my face, I'm not kidding.

I get emails like this every day, and since I'm not special, I bet you do, too:

Hey, guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Stupid Event is coming up this weekend!!! There's going to be dancing, snacks, and good times! Tickets Stupid Event are now on sale, but we didn't get enough for all the wankers out there who want to come, so you'd better get them fast!!! They're only $10!!!! What a bargain!! Get them now, they're going fast!

See you at Stupid Event!!!!!

Idiot

Why? Who needs to use fifteen exclamation points to greet somebody? Nobody's life is that exciting, especially if you're writing me an email about the friggin' RollerProm! (Sadly, I'm not making that example up.)

Advertisers (particularly internet pop-up ads) need to send out a memo, as well. Writing "Congratulations!!! You may already be a Winner!!!" does not induce me to visit the website in question. I mean, not that I would visit even if it said, "Congratulations, you may already be a winner," because I wasn't, you know, born yesterday or anything. But it's the excessive end punctuation that makes me want to do unspeakable things to my computer.

There are other ways to convey importance and excitement without using an exclamation mark. Italics, for example, are a fine way to draw people's attention to a particularly important word or idea. Making a sentence its own paragraph, also a good option. Whatever you have to do SO YOU DON'T USE A FRIGGIN' EXCLAMATION MARK. (See what I did there?)

I think exclamation points should be rationed. You get one a day, use it wisely. Who really needs more than one exclamation mark a day? Nobody, that's who. If there's a nuclear war, then you can have two. Maybe. If your computer still works.