en-dashes

You mentioned the en-dashes (which I don't treat as an AI indicator; I use them myself, even!).

Hmmm, should be using en-dashes (--) not hyphens (-) for date-ranges, uses mathematical superscripting $22^nd$ and so gets incorrect fonts and spacing of the superscript,....

Note that different style manuals will suggest em-dashes set closed for that use or en-dashes set open; either is better than hyphens (open or closed).

Though they also tend to be the (slightly shorter) en-dashes too.

I used to use em-dashes and en-dashes in my work emails and other writings, but stopped using them when they became AI markers.

Learn the difference between hyphens, en-dashes, and em-dashes.

I once spent some time learning the proper usage of em-dashes, en-dashes, and hyphens, and tried to be conscientious about using them properly in my writing.

It is easier to type -- and be sure that you have properly entered -- en-dashes, non-breaking spaces, fractions, degree symbols, directional quotation marks, and other non-keyboard characters.

) is to use en-dashes offset with spaces.

It got picked up by AIs because their training corpus includes plenty of professionally published work, not just informal, off-the-cuff communication, and professionally published work uses typographic dashes (em-dashes, en-dashes, and even 2-em- and 3-em-dashes) extensively.

> and in the end it looks so similar to the other one: Maybe if you are looking at it in a monospaced environment like the HN edit window; rendered in a proportional font, hyphens, en-dashes, and em-dashes are quite distinct from eachother.

En-dashes, set off with spaces, are an acceptable substitute for unspaced em-dashes in some style guides.

En-dashes have one use (similar to that of em-dashes, which is used varies by house style) where they are usually set open, and a number where they are usually set closed.