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[ARTICLE · art-28394] src=news.ycombinator.com ↗ pub= topic=large-language-models verified=true sentiment=· neutral

Ask HN: Why does LLMs love the usage of –?

A Hacker News user asked why large language models frequently use the em dash (—) in their responses, noting that this punctuation was uncommon in emails before AI. The user cited an example of AI-generated text containing multiple em dashes and now prompts models to avoid using the character.

read1 min views1 publishedJun 15, 2026

| |||||||||||||||||||| 2 points by | It was really uncommon pre-ai that you saw the usage of — in emails. So I wonder why all LLMs default to it so often? An example; GoDaddy: only needed if we end up moving DNS hosting off Squarespace. If so, delegate access is cleanest — from Account Settings → Delegate Access, invite {emal} with "Products, Domains & Purchase" permissions (full login works too if that's easier). One thing to flag: the domain currently has GoDaddy's update lock / Domain Protection on, which blocks nameserver changes — you may need to lift that for the change to take. It's such a giveway for AI-generated content that I prompt "Please don't use – in any of your responses." | ||||||||||||||||||| |

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