Okay, let's talk about ellipses

Guys, an ellipsis has a purpose. It is not to be used because you can't figure out the appropriate punctuation mark for a sentence.

Let me give you examples of some of the profiles on Match:

1. STILL LOOKING, FOR YOU... I BEEN TOLD I GET BETTER WITH TIME.. DROP ME A LINE AND WE CAN TALK. DON'T BE SHY LIKE ME.. JUST DO IT...
2. ... Moving to the beat of that ... different drummer ... often finds me on those roads less travelled, making my way through life the best way I know how ! ...
3. I'm in search of my female counterpart...A compadre...my soulmate...
4. I'm a doll...witty, good looking, entertaining... and, obviously, I must be conceited!

I copied these verbatim. I did not edit them to prove my point. There are more, so many more, but I'll stop here. And I double-checked as I pulled these quotes; these men have all gone to college, maybe not graduated, but at least attended college for some period of time.

Okay, I know the "people in glass houses" axiom. And I know I can get sloppy or cutesy at times. But guys, you're trying to make a good impression here. Get with the program! (And you know #1 gets extra demerits for SHOUTING.)

(Oh my gosh, I just Googled ellipsis, and Wikipedia tells me:

An ellipsis can also be used to indicate a pause in speech, an unfinished thought or, at the end of a sentence, a trailing off into silence. Ellipses are sometimes used in this manner for internet chat, email, and forum posts.

What on earth have we done to the English language with our "internet chat, email, and forum posts.")

Okay, I'll get off my high horse. Just don't expect me to tell you I've fallen for some man whose Match profile included 73 random ellipses.