{{Short description|Shorthand to convey tone or intent}} {{about|the symbols appended to text to portray intent|phonetic tone representation|Tone (linguistics)#Phonetic notation|other uses|Tone (disambiguation){{!}}Tone}}
A '''tone indicator''', also called a '''tone tag''', is a shorthand symbol or abbreviation that conveys the intended tone, intent or emotional context of a written message that might otherwise be ambiguous. In essence, it is a form of meta‑communication: a cue that supplements the literal text with guidance on ''how'' the message should be interpreted.
Tone indicators are typically represented by a forward slash (<code>/</code>) followed by a few letters, such as <code>/j</code> for "joking" or <code>/gen</code> for "genuine". They are most often placed at the end of a sentence and are especially common in casual online communication.
Because written communication lacks the nonverbal cues of face‑to‑face interaction – such as vocal inflection, facial expressions, and body language – tone indicators serve as their textual substitutes to reduce misinterpretation. They are particularly common among the neurodivergent community, who often struggle to understand tone.<ref name=":0" />
== History == Early attempts to create tone indicators stemmed from the difficulty of denoting irony in print media, and so several irony punctuation marks were proposed. The ''percontation point'' (<code>⸮</code>; a reversed question mark) was proposed by Henry Denham in the 1580s to denote a rhetorical question, but usage died out by the 1700s.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Eats, Shoots & Leaves |last=Truss |first=Lynne |date=2003 |isbn=1-59240-087-6 |page=142 }}</ref>
In 1668, John Wilkins proposed the ''irony mark'', using an inverted exclamation mark (<code>¡</code>) to denote an ironic statement. Various other punctuation marks were proposed over the following centuries to denote irony, but none gained popular usage.<ref>{{cite book|last=Houston|first=Keith|title=Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols & Other Typographical Marks|year=2013|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.|location=New York & London|isbn=978-0-393-06442-1 |pages=212–217}}</ref> In 1982, the emoticon was created to be used to denote jokes (with <code>:-)</code>) or things that are not jokes (with <code>:-(</code>).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~sef/Orig-Smiley.htm|title=Original Bboard Thread in which :-) was proposed|publisher= cs.cmu.edu|access-date=October 12, 2021}}</ref>
The syntax of modern tone indicators stems from ''/s'', which has long been used on the Internet to denote sarcasm.<ref name="Forbes">{{cite news |last1=Zuckerman |first1=Ori Manor |title=Council Post: The Importance Of Subtext In Digital Communications |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/10/08/the-importance-of-subtext-in-digital-communications/ |access-date=2021-10-12 |work=Forbes |date=2021-10-08 |language=en}}</ref> This symbol is an abbreviated version of the earlier <code>/sarcasm</code>, itself a simplification of <code></sarcasm></code>,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Khodak |first1=Mikhail |last2=Saunshi |first2=Nikunj |last3=Vodrahalli |first3=Kiran |title=A Large Self-Annotated Corpus for Sarcasm |journal=Proceedings of the Language Resources and Evaluation Conference |date=7–12 May 2018 |page=1 |url=http://www.lrec-conf.org/proceedings/lrec2018/pdf/160.pdf |accessdate=8 February 2019 |bibcode=2017arXiv170405579K |arxiv=1704.05579 |archive-date=9 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209124222/http://www.lrec-conf.org/proceedings/lrec2018/pdf/160.pdf |url-status=live |quote=Reddit users have adopted a common method for sarcasm annotation consisting of adding the marker "/s" to the end of sarcastic statements; this originates from the HTML text delineation <sarcasm>...</sarcasm>.}}</ref> the form of a humorous XML closing tag marking the end of a "sarcasm" block, and therefore placed at the end of a sarcastic passage.
== Internet usage == On the Internet, one or more tone indicators may be placed at the end of a message. A tone indicator on the Internet often takes the form of a forward slash (<code>/</code>) followed by an abbreviation of a relevant adjective; alternatively, a more detailed textual description (e. g., <code>/ friendly, caring about your well-being</code>) may be used. For example, <code>/srs</code> may be attached to the end of a message to indicate that the message is meant to be interpreted in a serious manner, as opposed to, for example, being a joke (which is commonly represented as <code>/j</code>). Tone indicators are used to explicitly state the author's intent, instead of leaving the message up to interpretation.<ref name="Forbes"/><ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/09/style/tone-indicators-online.html|title=Tone Is Hard to Grasp Online. Can Tone Indicators Help?|work=New York Times|date=December 9, 2020|access-date=23 August 2021|archive-date=12 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812104759/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/09/style/tone-indicators-online.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable" |+List of common tone indicators on the Internet<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Jennings-Brown |first=Felicia |title=A New Way to Communicate Emotion Has Emerged: Tone Indicators |url=https://thesciencesurvey.com/news/2022/03/16/a-new-way-to-communicate-emotion-has-emerged-tone-indicators/ |access-date=2022-05-09 |website=The Science Survey}}</ref> ! Abbreviation ! Meaning ! Description |- |{{Anchor|/f|f}}<code>/f</code> |fake |Used to denote that a statement is fake. |- |{{Anchor|/gen|gen|/genq|genq|/g|g}}<code>/gen</code>, <code>/g</code> or <code>/genq</code> || genuine; genuine question || Used to denote genuineness, whether in a phrase or question. |- |{{Anchor|/hj|hj}}<code>/hj</code> || half-joking || Used to denote a half-joke; when one is joking about only some of the statement. |- |{{Anchor|/hyp|hyp}}<code>/hyp</code> |hyperbole |Used to denote hyperboles. |- |{{Anchor|/j|j}}<code>/j</code> || joking || Used to denote jokes. |- |{{Anchor|/l|l|/lyr|lyr}}<code>/l</code>, <code>/lyr</code>{{Citation needed|date=April 2026}} or <code>/ly</code> |lyric |Used to denote lyrics. |- |{{Anchor|/lh|lh}}<code>/lh</code> || lighthearted || Used to denote lightheartedness and cheerfulness; often used on insults to clarify that they are intended to be playful rather than malicious. |- |{{Anchor|/li|li}}<code>/li</code> |literal |Used to denote that a statement is literal or to be taken literally. |- |{{Anchor|/m|m}}<code>/m</code> |metaphor |Used to denote that a statement is a metaphor. |- |{{Anchor|/pos|pos|/pc|pc}}<code>/pos</code> or <code>/pc</code> || positive; positive connotation|| Used to denote that a statement has a positive connotation. |- |{{Anchor|/neg|neg|/nc|nc}}<code>/neg</code> or <code>/nc</code> || negative; negative connotation|| Used to denote that a statement has a negative connotation. |- |{{Anchor|/nm|nm}}<code>/nm</code> |not mad |Used to denote that the speaker is not mad; usually for statements that could be interpreted as angry. |- |{{Anchor|/nsx|nsx}}<code>/nsx</code> |non-sexual intent |Used to denote statements with non-sexual intent. |- |{{Anchor|/p|p}}<code>/p</code> |platonic |Used to denote platonic statements. |- |{{Anchor|/q|q}}<code>/q</code>{{Citation needed|date=April 2026}} |quote |Used to denote when a statement is a quote.{{Citation needed|date=April 2026}} |- |{{Anchor|/r|r}}<code>/r</code> |romantic |Used to denote romantic statements. |- |{{Anchor|/ref|ref}}<code>/ref</code> |reference |Used to denote references to other things. |- |{{Anchor|/rh|rh}}<code>/rh</code> |rhetorical |Used to denote rhetorical statements. |- |{{Anchor|/s|s}}<code>/s</code> || sarcasm || Used to denote sarcasm. |- |{{Anchor|/srs|srs}}<code>/srs</code> || serious || Used to denote seriousness. |- |{{Anchor|/t|t}}<code>/t</code> |teasing |Used to denote teasing. |- |{{Anchor|/th|th}}<code>/th</code> |threat |Used to denote a threat. |- |{{Anchor|/x|x}}<code>/x</code> |sexual intent |Used to denote statements with sexual intent. |} ==See also== *{{Annotated link|Meta-communication}} *{{anl|Internet slang}} *{{anl|Plain text}} *{{anl|Poe's law}}
== References == {{Spoken Wikipedia|date=2023-10-05|Tonetags.ogg}} {{reflist}}
Category:Internet terminology