I agree. And I think that the notion that using periods makes you sound angry is nutty.
I once suggested to a young woman with whom I was having an email exchange that she would make herself stand out from her peers by abjuring the exclamation marks.
[Update a couple minutes later]
Oops, sorry. I hadn’t read the whole thing, and didn’t realize that most of it was paywalled. But if you subscribe to the Dispatch (as I don’t), I’m sure it’s an interesting read.
I’ve driven a stick all my life. I’ve never bought a car with an automatic transmission, and I hope my next car will be a stick as well, because the BMW is getting long in the tooth. Beyond the aesthetics described here, it’s good theft insurance, because most young people don’t know how to drive them.