Mixed Signals · No. 22

What does “I’ll pass this time, have fun!” mean?

From Devon, a friend, after you invited them to trivia night

I’ll pass this time, have fun!

It could mean

PorcupineI’d read it a few ways:

Not wanting to see you
Not up for a crowd, and glad you asked
Annoyed about last time

Nobody could know from the words alone.

What was going on

Devon doesn’t like crowds on weeknights, and was glad to be asked.

This message and its story are made up. Real messages don’t come with the story.

Ask before you answer

Text loses tone, so a short message can read harsher, or softer, than it was meant. Before you answer, ask what they meant. That’s Check before assuming, one of the principles Porcupine is built on.

What research says

In a study of 200 exclamation points in professional email discussion lists, they rarely signaled excitement. More often they were a way of being friendly.

Waseleski, C. (2006). Gender and the use of exclamation points in computer-mediated communication: An analysis of exclamations posted to two electronic discussion lists. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(4), 1012–1024.

Got a real text like this? Run a Quills Check.

Paste it. I’ll show you a few ways it could be read, and what you could ask instead of guessing. Writing your own? Switch to “I’m sending it” and I’ll show you if the quills are up.

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Find the words with Porcupine

The Quills Check helps with one text. Porcupine helps with the whole conversation, from what you ask through their reply. It’s coming soon, and we’ll let you know when it’s ready.

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Every message and story in Mixed Signals is made up.