words that make you grit your teeth

[Eden]

(Though I hope my weird sentence structures do not make other people crazy -- I tend to use excessive "--", "....", and such on emails or boards, but I really (really) do know how to write correctly!)

I tend to use "....." and a few other things on message boards too, that I would never use if I were writing say, a research grant, or a term paper. I think it is because we are trying to recreate conversation when here. A little judicious use of devices like smilies or "...." or italics hopefully convey a lot of emotion that can otherwise be difficult to get across when writing informally. "I suppose, if it were preferred, we could add a narrator" said the writer, who winked and paused meaningfully.