this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2025
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Em dashes and emojis

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[–] NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 13 points 3 days ago (4 children)

How the hell do you even type an em dash?

I'm sure it's possible (I know it's easy on a touch keyboard), but if the person who sent it has never used em dashes in their life, then it's pretty definitive proof. Otherwise, it's just a big clue that you might combine with other factors.

[–] RavingGrob@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compose_key

If I had a nickel for each time this week, I needed to link to this, I'd have two nickels; which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

[–] NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 day ago

Okay, I must confess, I knew about that, as well as the other options in the replies. I never used any of them but I knew they exist. When I asked it was sort of as a rhetorical question. People generally wouldn't know about these obscure typing options, so I was playing the everyman.

Even if you do know it, if you don't use it often enough you forget and have to look it up again next time.

[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 6 points 3 days ago (3 children)

On a mobile phone it's super easy. Long press the hyphen button and swipe over to the dash.

On Mac it's pretty easy still, but requires a little more knowledge. Option-shift-dash. (Without the shift gives you an en dash.)

On Windows it's the completely arcane alt-0151, and only possible if you have a numpad. I memorised it like 15 years ago and have regularly used it since, but it's hard to blame people for not doing so.

No idea about Linux.

[–] real_squids@sopuli.xyz 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

You could make it easier on windows with an on-screen keyboard probably

[–] ewenak@jlai.lu 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Well it depends on the keyboard layout, on Linux, at least—but on other platforms too, I think.

[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 7 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

Word and Google docs will translate them from --

They'll also give you the stupid smart quotes.

I've never break up with anybody over text but if for some reason I had to I would certainly write it on a computer first.

edit: LOL apparently lemmy markdown also translates them from --

that's odd, Voyager showed me -- double hyphen

[–] NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 3 days ago

Fair point. It's still a red flag (in more ways than one!) but I accept it's not definitive.

[–] urandom@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

You use use the compose key with a sequence of characters. Mine is right alt, so it's gonna be:

right alt, then -, then -, then -

[–] ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Considering that a comma has its own button, it's no wonder which one is preferred.

[–] urandom@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago

We could ask an LLM, but it’s probably bot a good idea given the post 😄