Op-Ed: How many exclamation points are too many?

Illustration of a woman texting while surrounded by chat bubbles and exclamation points

(Kristen Radtke / For The Times)

By Kristen Radtke

Jan. 30, 2022 3:30 AM PT

Comic panel with an illustration of an email from a "boss" to an employee

Comic panel of an email with the "send" button prominent at the bottom

Comic panel about with an illustration of hands typing on a keyboard.

Comic panel of a disheartening text exchange with a potential voter

Comic panel of a woman lying on a couch awake with dread

Comic panel describing increasingly emphatic text responses

Comic panel of an enthusiastic text exchange about voting using all caps and multiple exclamation points

Comic panel of a woman responding to all kinds of text messages with emphatic punctuation and all caps

Comic panel of a typewriter showing an exclamation point typed as an apostrophe over a period

Comic panel showing how the Latin word "io," meaning "joy," morphed into an exclamation point

Comic panel showing two laptop facing each other with hands typing on each keyboard

Comic panel of a woman typing enthusiastically with exclamation points in the background

Kristen Radtke is the author of two books, including “Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness.” She is the art director at The Verge. @kristenradtke

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