The way people use punctuation these days.

[Jim Warfield]

"Like, like, you know? It's that old "Valley Girl" record-speak.
I personally don't like the phrase, "My Bad" and the strange sounding phrase, "Grow your business" or "Grow your money", these "Grow me tired!"

[Tanamin]

What's funny? Is the people? Mostly young teenage girls? Who actually talk that way? The inflection of their sentences goes up? Just like they're asking nothing but questions? Maybe this? Is sort of the written equivalent?

*shudder* Drives me nuts.

[Jim Warfield]

"Polish" jokes were so popular at one time and I figured it was the guilt reaction from those World War Two allies of Poland who left them hanging to suffer the full brunt of first the German forces then the Soviet armed forces, as if the Polish had any options stuck between those two forces.
Make a joke. Make the Polish the brunt, make them seem stupid for being there, being the victim...

[Patti Ludwinski]

Hey, I take offense to the Irish comment. O, wait, maybe I'm Polish.

[ghostess]

Maybe everyone's Irish? Have you ever noticed how Irish people talk like they are always asking a question?

Long live Jim?

[Jim Warfield]

"If you think that you may have had an idea that is original, better make use of it quick, because now that your brain has made that thought, it is "out there", floating for others to snag and make theirs"!-----I was told this many years ago and thought it sounded pretty silly...but then you begin to notice just how such things do seem to happen..and you begin to wonder?

How do each of us feel about our own ideas being copied by someone else?
If they are showing my idea to their own local haunt customers 200 miles away, so what?
If my idea makes them capture national headlines and PR and they turn my idea into a ton of money but they don't want to send any my way..then I would be upset.
There could be a fine line between these two examples and you know what? We really never ever know , until after the fact.
Customers have told me I should be patenting and copyrighting all my ideas, if I had that much money I wouldn't need to!

[Cookie Crumbler]

Haha...
Thanks for the replies guys. Good stuff.

Jim, it's wild actually reading the origin of your question marks. It's funny because no matter where I am, haunt board or not, every day I see people using question marks like this. I firmly believe that this was started by you and only you, and now half the world does it as part of their regular "grammar."

Of course that is no rip on you, it was your original style, one of your idiosyncracies. If I may hypothesize, what seems to have happened is that a few people around here developed it as a habit reading your posts. They took it elsewhere, and before long hundreds of thousands of people everywhere were doing it.

Either they think your way of doing things is really that cool, and you're a true trend-setter, or, maybe people just don't know any better??? Hahah.

It's interesting to realize that Jim Warfield's own personal reason for doing some small thing the way he does is actually the origin of something it seems millions of people are now doing daily, good or bad: Something as simple as a question mark inspired by a cartoon bubble.

Everything has it's origin somewhere of course. Part of me is compelled to draw parallels to our haunt industry. Maybe this is why Monty won't let haunt owners in, even if haunt owners really do have only the best of intentions. Or, maybe there's just no stopping this in the internet age, question mark?

Did I just blow your mind? No? What's that you say? I'm crazy? Well I've gotta roll, my kangaroo is loose and he's getting literacy everywhere.

[Jim Warfield]

Most of my question marks owe their lineage to the newspaper cartoons where the question mark usually appeared above a character's head in the last bubble to show another person's point of view or concern.
So as I am saying one thing (that may have originated in another person's brain) I report it then question it as and ending remark.
Maybe the question mark should have had the next line down with it's own " "?
To show ownership better.

[Phoenix]

maybe they are Australian?

[Haunted Illinois]

I don’t think it happens that often? If people use a question mark, it is usually when they are asking a question? You do have a point, though? These days people think that literacy has something to do with leaving little scraps of paper on the ground?

[Cookie Crumbler]

I think it's silly the way people use question marks these days?

Seems like these days people constantly end sentences that aren't even questions with question marks?

6-7 years ago, Jim Warfield was the only one I'd ever seen who did this?

Now it seems like everyone on the internet does it constantly?

It was cool and unique when it was just Warfield's thing, but now maybe it's getting a bit obnoxious?

Perhaps all trends get their start somewhere, and Jim's unique presentation has become an over-copied and worrisome habit for the masses?

It's possible folks are becoming more illiterate ever day?

There is no reason for a question mark in this sentence?

What do you think.

PERIOD!
Exclamation Point.