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Q&A When writing an error prompt, should we end the sentence with a exclamation mark or a dot?

I've been a professional programmer for 40 years, I've written everything from operating systems to business app code to games, and I never use an exclamation point in business or OS code. Ever. No...

posted 5y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-19T22:13:47Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45628
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T12:03:08Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45628
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T12:03:08Z (almost 5 years ago)
I've been a professional programmer for 40 years, I've written everything from operating systems to business app code to games, and I never use an exclamation point in business or OS code. Ever. Nor ellipsis, why would an error or warning message trail off? Or express any emotion? I use periods, just in case multiple messages are emitted; so they won't run together and be confusing.

The only time emotion is appropriate is if the "error" is being delivered by a character or automated narrator within a game as "speech", e.g. "You have no troops in Seattle, General!"

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-05-31T21:52:52Z (over 5 years ago)
Original score: 7