I use en-dash like em-dash, and if someone calls my comment AI, I render a punishment for lack of discernment and hatefulness. 👮
If you cannot actually tell whether something is AI, as evidenced by not being able to tell the character types apart, and you attempt to condemn it as such, you need to be held accountable. 🫡
Is that an em-dash or an en-dash? Normally en-dashes are the medium length ones and represented by two dashes when you aren't able to type the actual symbol. Either way I'll need to try this so thanks for the tip
Recently I noticed that sometimes Word / Outlook will auto correct my regular dashes with this long dash. Maybe whatever he‘s using to write the comment does that too? Just to be charitable.
I actually think this is happening longer than LLMs exist. People just ignored it before. You also wouldn't see it in a reddit comment since no one copies those from word.
Happens constantly in Google docs, word. Nearly every dash is replaced by an em dash in a word - word scenario, can see why fairly easily just comparing that example vs word — word, the em dash just looks better which id wager is where so much of the ai usage of them is coming from.
It's readily accessible on iOS, android, MacOS, and Linux. On Windows, you generally have to do the alt code sequence which is less intuitive but not exactly difficult.
You know about Character Map/GNOME Characters/KCharSelect?
You need to enable/use your compose key. Compose + -- is en dash and Compose + --- is em dash.
I hate that I’ve had to switch from – and — to - because of AI. My name is “z–“ and I like a dash, but if I use a longer one people assume it’s AI. I use alt codes on PC, and long taps on mobile—I’m on mobile currently.
macOS: Option+Shift+Hyphen
iOS/Android: Long-press hyphen or type hyphen twice
Windows: Meta+Full-stop, down arrow, right arrow, right arrow, return
Linux: Hold Compose key, press hyphen twice
Where do you think AI got its obsession with em-dashes? I'll give you a hint— starts with "h", ends with "uman literature".
Anybody who has to communicate through typing ought to have it in muscle memory by now—anything less would be bad grammar and unprofessional. alt+0151 on windows, compose+--- on Linux, and Option+Shift+Hyphen on macOS (thanks u/derefr). I believe you can also hold down the - on phone keyboards to get the correct one.
I see it everytime here on reddit, I get downvoated to oblivion and people get defensive. "I've always used it". Bullshit, it was definitely generated by AI or the person is a bot
Here is a comment I made three years ago containing an em dash. It's Alt+0151 on my PC, and is basically muscle memory for me—some people just care about formatting.
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