Or when your additional content (like this) comes with another additional content (like previous example but with another parenthesis (eg. this example)). And now no one can read my sentences.
this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2025
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Woo! Nested parentheses for the win!
Back in the days of instant messenger, there was a girl I'd talk to for hours. We just connected in a way that we always had more to say to each other, about everything.
I'd say something in parentheses, and she'd respond in parentheses, and sometimes we'd end up holding two entirely different conversations at once.
I don't have a lot of regrets in my life, but some of them involve her.
I've done this face to face with a friend ONCE and it was the best conversation I ever had. I'll never be able to replicate that high.
It made perfect sense to me (especially since I always have the urge to do the same thing)
Combine connectors! Use dashes, semicolons, square brackets, etc.
I wanna just make like a reddit type forum
like this, this is an example
but I don't think reddit invented this type of forum
I don't know who did
it would be very fun
but also pretty confusing for others
it probably isn't a good idea
Parenthetical asides are like cooking with garlic (or vanilla, or chocolate chips): I'll add keep adding them until the ghosts of my ancestors tell me I've added enough, and there's nothing you can do to stop me.
YES GARLICCCCC! I add so much garlic to all my cooking but it tastes so good with so many things. And ive always found it weird how little vanilla most people put in their baking to the point you cant taste it at all-
The issue is, vanilla in very expensive :(
Theres actually quite a few options to get around the expensive price of vanilla! If you have a costco membership kirkland bulk vanilla is much cheaper per oz then regular stores tiny bottles of vanilla, or you can use imitation vanilla instead (ive heard good things but havent used it myself), or my favorite option is to just make vanilla yourself: it takes a couple months and is expensive upfront but its also cheaper then buying extract + its dead simple (seal vanilla beans and vodka together and wait)
Sadly Im not making my own vanilla anymore but when I did it tastes the exact same as any store bought version. Plus you can customize the taste (some ppl like to use Bourbon instead of vodka)
Vanilla beans are cheaper than synthetic vanilline??
They said cheaper than vanilla extract, the synthetic stuff is probably still cheaper. Though there is a possibility, since the materials and production will have a cost...
I’m over here in the corner playing with my semicolons.
I can never decide whether to use a hyphen or a semicolon; I'm sure there are rules for it but I don't know them. Usually I just use whichever one I didn't just use in the previous sentence - seems to work pretty well.
Small detail: Hyphens are only used for hyphenation and for connecting words. In place of the hyphen you used in your sentence, you would place the em dash with no spaces around it—like this. There is also the en dash for ranges like "people of ages 0–18 are considered children".
I think maybe I will just stick with hyphens so nobody thinks I'm a chatbot.
I realize a lot of this comes from being a non-native English speaker from a language that looooves its subordinate clauses, but subordinate clauses aren't bad or scattershot and there's nothing inherently wrong with them.
English has just decided that the period point is the only acceptable punctuation for stylish writing and I have to disagree. I promise a thought can have more than one part and still be valid.
The number of novels in the world written in a single sentence is enough to have a top three and still argue about it.
To be fair, the parenthesis in the op are unnecessary, since the term 'because' will act as a connective. They could be a simple comma instead.
I feel called out (since I tend to add parentheses for some extra context of something I'm talking about)
It's stunning that only one response (so far) has included parentheses.
I woulda used a hyphen instead in this case.
And now people are accusing you of using ChatGPT.
I’ve been accused twice so far! I never use that AI slop!
Besides, it took off after I turned 35. I’m officially in “get off my lawn” territory on this one.
The difference is that ChatGPT will use genuine em-dash and en-dash characters, whereas people who are not typography nerds will substitute a hyphen character for everything.
It looks really bad if you don't use an actual em dash imo
Be gone, or else I shall say "keming" to you! /j
Ah yes but what about the parenthesis inside of the parenthesis inside of the parenthesis?
They're alright. Remember that Linus's kernel announcement email came with nested parentheses.
ALL. THE. TIME.
I've taken to using footnotes when the parentheticals start getting complicated.
But also sometimes the bonus thoughts are too important to leave out but not important enough for their own sentence.
Alternatively, and this is what I like about Danish, one can just use commas to insert relevant side tangents. I can't get around using parentheses every now and then though (I just think they're neat)
Just to add to the pile of, "I think I might have ADHD cause this is what it do".
FML 😑
I constantly re-read what I write, to find a way to express myself with a few parenthesis as I can. I sometimes feel I write in 3D (which is how I think, BTW).
Or “I need to add a quote by a hypothetical speaker to emphasize sarcasm or other emotion.”
I hear em-dashes are all the rage
You don't have to be a LLM to use them--they are for everyone!
You're absolutely right — em dashes are for everyone!
: David Foster Wallace has entered the chat from beyond the grave:
Footnotes within footnotes...
First time I saw the † used in a non-scholastic work. Loved every page of it.
I didn't finish it (Infinite Jest, I'm assuming)... I remember there being moments that I thought were funny or whatever, but in all it was just frustrating and masturbatory imo.
I think maybe, I had Stockholm syndrome. As he dipped deeper and deeper into madness, I felt like, were he still alive, I could help him.
Healthy? No.
But could you quote a work of fiction that strikes you similarly?
House of Leaves maybe
Someone finally put it into words! (And by finally I mean in 2022 but yeah. Finally)
I definitely do this all the time with my work emails and IMs
Patreon bonus content!
Wow shit I always think I'm the only one who wants to do it then I realize I might need a semi colon instead because then I'm breaking up my thoughts correctly and it doesn't look weird usually though it's after rereading my super long run on sentences. Did you guys get that?