Story
New accounts on HN 10x more likely to use em-dashes
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Overview
New accounts on Hacker News are ten times more likely to use EM-dashes. An increase in bot activity has led to a noticeable rise in nonsensical posts and glitches among user accounts.
Summary from marginalia.nu.
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Community reactions
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Hacker News · marginalia.nu
Hacker News discussion ↗
Historical count: 5 · 5 saved in sample · Historical sample
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Based on 5 sampled comments from this thread. Analyzed 2026-02-25.
- Praise: The discussion highlights the importance of typographical conventions, showcasing how AI's influence can lead to a loss of personal writing style and expression.
- Concern: The fear of being flagged as AI-generated has led to a decline in the use of em-dashes, which undermines good writing practices and personal expression.
- Concern: There's a growing concern that AI-generated text is becoming formulaic, stripping away individuality and creativity in writing.