Stop It. Now.

There is an emerging trend on Internet magazines in which authors, rather than writing articles, write letters to one another.  One of the biggest offenders is Slate magazine, especially in their recaps of Mad Men.  An entry typically begins as a standard letter, "Hi Shannon," then fills the body with what they think, and then signs off with something like "Until next time," or "Hear from you soon."

What's wrong with just writing the article like you're paid to do?  The authors are being paid to write commentary, not letters.  

Personally, I find this kind of writing to be sloppy and more specifically, silly.  (Although to be honest, blogging is also kind of sloppy, but I'm not writing for Slate.)  It's an annoying trend that needs to come to an end soon.