Multiple question marks in e-mail correspondence

[garbon]

What were you thinking???

[Habsburg]

Little smilie faces are the current rage for several people in my intra company e-mails

[MadImmortalMan]

I avoid emotive language or signals of any kind in emails. Too easy to misunderstand on the part of the reader.

[The Brain]

I dot my i's with little hearts in my work emails.

[jimmy olsen]

I dot my i's with little hearts in my work emails.

[CountDeMoney]

Those ?? are really asscheeks presenting, Marty.  Obviously a hint.  Surprised you didn't know that.

[Monoriu]

The only time I see people using more than one question mark is when a boss lectures someone over email.

[Tonitrus]

Is there anyone out there who considers it acceptable to add multiple question marks (e.g. "What time will you be arriving??") at the end of a question in written correspondence, other than to denote the author's annoyance, displeasure or extreme surprise about the question?

I am asking because I have found it once or twice in e-mails where the author was not acting annoyed or aggressive otherwise (or it apparently wasn't the author's intention).

Are these people retarded or am I not aware of some convention?

You note annoyance, displeasure, or extremen surprise.  There is another element, that being eagerness for an answer to said question is very important to them (possibly without containing annoyance, displeasure or surprise).

Though the "???" phenomenon, or any other punctuation either, I mostly notice coming from women.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Yeah, I would regard it as girly and infantile. The sort of thing that those dreadful "bubbly" people the British tabloids like talking about would do.

Putting that piece of grumpiness to one side though; if it came from a mature male client I would assume that he was doing it for emphasis (and also that his mother weaned him too young).

[Martinus]

He is a male in his late 40s or early 50s, who is a partner in a lawfirm that we subcontract a part of the project to (in another jurisdiction). He is also a British expat.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Hmmm, well I'm British and in my 50s and keep business e-mails rather formal, writing them as if they were letters. Of course this fellow probably writes a 100 to my 1 and therefore might have moved with the times more 

[grumbler]

In informal correspondence like email, multiple punctuation marks (? or !) at the end of sentences has become quite normal in the twenty-first century, as a away of increasing the intensity of the meaning.  I expect that when Poland gets to the twenty-first century, Polacks will start to realize that such punctuation under those circumstances is normal as well.  Until then, we can at least be amused at their ignorance and backwardness. 

[The Brain]

In informal correspondence like email, multiple punctuation marks (? or !) at the end of sentences has become quite normal in the twenty-first century, as a away of increasing the intensity of the meaning.  I expect that when Poland gets to the twenty-first century, Polacks will start to realize that such punctuation under those circumstances is normal as well.  Until then, we can at least be amused at their ignorance and backwardness. 

Do you teach children with that brain?

[Barrister]

In informal correspondence like email, multiple punctuation marks (? or !) at the end of sentences has become quite normal in the twenty-first century, as a away of increasing the intensity of the meaning.  I expect that when Poland gets to the twenty-first century, Polacks will start to realize that such punctuation under those circumstances is normal as well.  Until then, we can at least be amused at their ignorance and backwardness. 

I avoid exclamation marks like the plague, but rarely the multiple question marks has been employed for emphasis.   It's easily overused, but effective in moderation.

Same with using ALL CAPS.

[Zanza]

In informal correspondence like email, multiple punctuation marks (? or !) at the end of sentences has become quite normal in the twenty-first century, as a away of increasing the intensity of the meaning.  I expect that when Poland gets to the twenty-first century, Polacks will start to realize that such punctuation under those circumstances is normal as well.  Until then, we can at least be amused at their ignorance and backwardness. 

I would prefer to stay backwards in that aspect then.