I thought today we would give a shout out to some of our friends
on the second row of the computer keyboard. Symbols seem to be
used more and more, as we abbreviate in our instant messaging.
Please allow me to indulge in a little review of symbols and how
they are used—and often, misused–in writing. ! The exclamation
point is especially effective in writing dialogue—as in “Holy
backslash, Batman!” Unfortunately, the exclamation point has
become overused in most other types of writing, including
e-mail; in fact, placing one in the subject line can land an
e-mail in the recipient’s spam folder. Exclamation points are
generally inappropriate in plain text and especially in business
correspondence. If the sender is emotional enough to type an
exclamation point, he or she would be wise to calm down before
submitting anything. @ Today we use the “at” sign most commonly
in e-mail addresses. Before the Internet, though, it was created
as a symbol for “at the rate of,” such as 10 apples @ 10 cents
each = $1. The “at”