As the foremost abuser of ellipses in these here parts, I wish I knew exactly why I do it. It is an 'attempt' to make my typing reflect the way I think......a little pause, then resume. I also use '' -- bold, italics, etc. to represent emphasis or to highlight a concept. After 8 years, it has become a real habit, although I try to make my composition clear.

Ellipes are 'supposed' to be used to show that part of a quote has been left out "... i wonder why maybe itd help...", and should only use 3 dots. I often vary the # of dots to show the length of pause...............but I don't break up sentences, I hope, in quite the way you note, Pauline.

I am trying, generally, to watch and adjust my style to better conform.........but if I stop, how will you know it's ME? *grin* (and yeah, I know several people who don't like the *grin*, preferring a ;>) or something. I don't think [s]or [BG] conveys the same feeling....but *shrug*... we all do differ, huh?