punctuation - Should you use a comma/period after "Thanks"/"Regards" in email signatures?


Normal practice is to end emails with a Thanks or Regards. My question is should there be a comma or a period or nothing after Thanks/Regards?



Thanks,
John Doe



Or



Thanks.
John Doe



Or



Thanks
John Doe



I have seen all three versions as part of email signatures. Which among these three is correct? Why?



Answer



If you consider it to be a phrase that simply spans two lines, I'd say:



Thanks,
John Doe



is correct. Without the comma it would imply that you're thanking John Doe. It's certainly the one I use personally, not that that's a particularly good back-up for this answer. I can't say I've ever seen anyone use it with a ".", that just looks wrong to me.


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