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Sometimes we get lost in our side sequences and forget how they relate to what went
before. So, we have special formulaic expressions to handle such problems –"I forgot why I
started to tell you about this. Sorry. Well, anyway ..."
In written material, punctuation marks may be used to set bracketed material apart from
the rest of the text. Parentheses and dashes are often used; footnotes also serve as bracket
signals. Many manuals that are formatted on personal computers use a little flower symbol for
paragraphs; these symbols are meant to be read as "by the way" notes, pieces of text that are
not completely in line with the ongoing text.
Some signals for side sequences are clear; others are not. Language learners, for
example, often comment that they do not know a joke is about to be told and, therefore, do not
understand that the bracketed material is an aside – a joke – until other students laugh. In this
case, nonverbal signals or intonation alone may not be adequate bracket cues. Bracket signals
in written text, however, are much more overt.
While asides can occur in all kinds of communication, nonverbal and verbal bracketing
signals are not the same across languages. Still, we know that all languages have bracket
signals to cue readers and listeners that parts of the communication are not directly in line with
the rest of the message.

6. Nonparticipant constraints
In order that messages be interpretable, it is necessary to keep other compete messages
out of the channel. We have already mentioned how difficult it can be to attend to messages
when the noise level is high (e.g., at a reception or a cocktail party). For successful
communication, Goffman therefore proposed a seventh SC: All languages must have some
way of blocking nonparticipant noise from the communication channel. There are a variety of
strategies that can be used to keep the noise of nonparticipants in the background and out of
focus.
Conversely, there are times when we are at a party and want to join a group in which a
conversation is already under way. The problem, then, is how to move from nonparticipant to
participant. There must be signals - verbal and nonverbal - to allow or prevent entrance of
nonparticipants into the communication channel.
One strategy used to move from nonparticipant to participant status is to repeat parts of
what one overhears in the ongoing communication. Often, a reason is added to explain why
one has a right to overhear.
(Setting: A coffee shop; two men are speaking together, and a woman is seated at the
next table "listening in.")
A to B: ... like someone from California.
B: yeh
C: Someone from CaliFORnia? I'M from California and ...
Other signals may be nonverbal. For instance, laughter can be used as a cue.
(Data source: Jordan and Fuller 1975)
A response of "What's so funny?" when we hear laughter from a group of conversants
works well to let us into conversations. When we feel a special right to enter the conversation,
we can gain admittance to the communication channel.
The classroom is another setting where the form of nonparticipant constraints can be
observed. For example, how do individual students break into already-established groups? Or,
if a teacher wants to include someone who is on the periphery of a discussion, how is this
accomplished? Students, particularly in elementary schools, vie for teacher attention. When the