Wow! Exclamation Points Are So Cool!!!!

I was watching a Seinfeld rerun today where Elaine has a perfect new boyfriend except for one thing - his failure to use an exclamation point. (Season 5, "The Sniffling Accountant"). Not only was Elaine making far too big a deal out of an exclamation mark, she was, in most cases, using it incorrectly. No big deal in a sitcom, but for those involved in writing and visual communication it is a big deal. While Elaine lamented a missing exclamation point, the most common problem I encounter is overuse and abuse of the exclamation punctuation mark. One is more than enough (and often too much). Even if you're writing funny stuff, make sure you aren't engaging in any funny business when it comes to using an Exclamation