This thread reminds me of a poster who went by the name of Jessika. She used !!!!!!!!!!!!!! like they were going out of style!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Writing Department's use of "Exclamation Points". Anybody else find their use cheesy? Or motivating possibly?
by miseryloveselders 57 Replies latest jw friends
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the-illuminator81
The exclamation points are also overused in new light articles. Starting out like this: The FDS has given us so much new light! Like with the generation! First we had this explanation, which was already extremely good. Now we have this new explanation, which is even better! Can you imagine how good it is now! Yes, the watchtower is so blessed to be used to describe the fast movements of Jehovah's chariot! Yeehaw!!!!
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Room 215
Above all, an exclamation point is intended to elicit an emotional, as opposed to a rational, reaction from the reader. And yet, the WT loves to decry the "blatant appeal to emotionalism" by the "born again" crowd!!
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Band on the Run
We should be grateful multiple exclamations are not used. If everything is exclaimed, nothing is exlaimed. I've been curious for decades about a related issue. The WT has a uniformity of style. Is there a master editor or template? I know little about publishing details. The WT squelches the writing styles and emphases of individual writers
As much as I had to admit it, I grew up in a poor area where only the library had books. The Witness lit did help my reading comprehension. National Geographic, our only mag, also was crucial. And the distorted, unrelaible, out of context historical facts had just enough truth in them that I excelled in history compared to my classmates.
Considering the above, I would have preferred playing in the green grass with other kids. After preschool, my bvro and I were ostracized for not owning heavy weapoonry to play.
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LongHairGal
MISERYLOVESELDERS:
I consider it to be a control mechanism. It is sort of like cue cards when there is a TV show and cards are held up to tell the audience to "Clap". The religion wants people to fart on cue so to speak. (And some in the hall even do!) They want to tell YOU how you should feel about something.
On a related point: in one of their books (Jesus), they didn't put page numbers. Was it because they ran out of ink? No. It was because they wanted to 'train' people to know their place in the book ahead of time.
All this underscores the deep-seated control issues of the religion, to the point of craziness.
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ProdigalSon
I find that if I'm reading an article or a book, if there are too many exclamation points, I feel like I'm reading the thoughts of a raving lunatic, or at least someone who might be a bit overzealous. It makes me suspect that some of what I'm reading might be hyperbole. On the other hand, if exclamation points are few and far between, and only used in those instances where warranted, I feel like the author is confident of what they are writing and is calmly and coherently sharing valuable information, and the exclamation point gets my attention.
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Mr. Falcon
it helps wake up their boring Writing Department meetings, I guess.
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ziddina
Like Steve2 said....
Cheap motivational tricks... In a futile attempt to motivate the emotionally and physically exhausted rank&file Witnesses, they attempt to 'punch up' their enthusiasm...
And to quote Steve2 again... Indicates their intellectual level.
Most 'worldlies' are sophisticated enough to see through that cheap tactic; it's largely the "reading-Awake-magazines-is-equal-to-a-college-degree" and the "Oh, wasn't that talk/circuit assembly/district assembly WONderful!!!" groups that buy into that...