You may have seen people on the internet using things like “/j,” “/s” or “/gen.” These are some examples of tone indicators, and while they can be confusing at first glance, their purpose is simple: they give a message the tone, emotion or emphasis it would have if you were hearing a person speak to you normally. They’ve become more popular on internet spaces, particularly in spaces with neurodivergent people who may (but not always) have trouble understanding tone through plain text.

Here’s an example of why tone indicators may be useful: Read the phrase, “You’re a horrible person,” with different inflections – joking, serious, etc.  If you sent this to someone with no context, would they know what you meant right away? Tone indicators are a simple way to solve this problem.

The most common tone indicators are “/j” which means “joking,” “/hj” which means “half-joking,” “/s” which means sarcastic, “/gen” or “/g” which mean genuine, “/pos” or “/neg” which mean positive connotation or negative connotation, “/lh” which means light-hearted and “/nm” which means “not mad.” To use them, you add them to the end of your sentence, message or post.

You don’t have to use a tone indicator at the end of every sentence, but if you’re sending a message that could be taken the wrong way, it doesn’t hurt to add a tone indicator. If I’m making a joke with one of my brothers that could be taken as being mean, I’ll add a “/j” or “/nm” to the end to make sure they know I’m just kidding. You also don’t have to use more than one or two – many tone indicators overlap in tone, like “/lh” or “/j” – and you don’t have to use every tone indicator that exists. Just use the ones that are useful and comfortable.

Of course, if you make a habit of using tone indicators, you may confuse people who haven’t seen tone indicators before. I generally avoid using tone indicators when talking to my parents. You may also wind up speaking to someone who doesn’t like tone indicators. Some neurodivergent people feel like tone indicators are condescending. Just use your best judgment and be understanding.

For a full list of tone indicators, visit toneindicators.carrd.co.

Categories: Life