Posted by John Richardson on 11/25/99 from 195.44.7.17 via proxy proxy.mcmail.com:
In Reply to: Re: Quiztime 2 posted by Mike Stringbeans on November 24, 1999 at 11:14:58:
Double em dashes indeed, and I respectfully submit, too long! They would make an en dash, which is the most I would use, look like a hyphen so maybe that is what the whippersnapper typesetters are replacing them with.
And, unsure as I am whether Johnny's use of semicolons is deliberately ironic, it is certainly wrong. Semicolons are properly used to seperate full clauses where a fuller flow of causality or relatedness between the clauses is implied than would be by a full stop. Colons can be used for similar effect, but in this case then to imply contrast or antithesis. Alternatively, use them to seperate items in lists which themselves contain commas. Viz:
Susan buttered the bread and cut thick slices; Peggy spread them thick with peanut butter.
John thought the wind was light enough to avoid a gybe: it wasn't.