Is the P.S. passé? I come from a time when many people used the P.S. so it is no wonder in my e-mail messages I often put a P.S.
P.S. means post script. It is an afterthought. When I don't feel like composing a new sentence, but just thought of something and want to let the reader know about it, I put a P.S. and add it to the end of my letter or e-mail. The problem is, nobody seems to read it, especially in an e-mail.
I don't know how many times I have put a P.S. to let someone know something and then when I meet that person they ask me why I never answered them. "I did," I said, "I put it as a P.S. at the end of my e-mail." Oh, I never read that far they usually tell me.
Is it true? Do we not read past the name? I think people are just too busy and only skim over e-mails for the information they need and discard the rest.
The P.S. seems to have had a small comeback with the movie P.S. I Love You and I will continue to use it, but maybe if I really want to highlight something, I will put it right up front, especially in a work e-mail.
P.S. Don't forget to look for the P.S.
P.S.S. It's really not that hard to find.
P.S.S.S. If you have to P.S. this far you have missed the point of the P.S.
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POSTSCRIPT TO MY POSTSCRIPT ARTICLE
My boss read my blogpost and pointed out to me that he thought the correct way to write the post script is:
PS or PPS
Of course, he sent me a link to prove his point. In it they wrote that PS meant post scriptum, therefore PPS would be post-post scriptum, which makes sense in a Latin sort of way.
P.S. Don't you hate it when your boss is right?
2 comments:
I think the point of the PS is a bit moot in the electronic age. Back when everything was hand written, you couldn't go back and insert something into the letter once it was written, so you entered a postscript. In electronic correspondence, it's only a matter of moving your cursor to the point of insertion and typing in the line.
Since most people use signature in their e-mails, it's a strong tendency of most of us to stop reading when we get to the signature. At that point, our eye stops because we assume there is nothing after the signature. If you want your thoughts to be read, they really need to go into the body of the e-mail
I consider my signature line the end of the message and never put anything after that. There is also usually the confidentiality paragraph that comes after the signature line.
I find the signature line is so impersonal however so I always type my name before it and if I am going to put a P.S., put it under that.
I now put it directly under my name though with no space so it won't be missed.
Sometimes what I want to add just doesn't fit in the sentence so instead of thinking of how to write a new sentence,it is easier to just write a quick P.S.
Patricia
P.S. I saw your article on Admin Secret. Good stuff.
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