Sarcasm

ViciousShadow21 · Apr 9, 2009

hey folks. i have raised this question to the moderator's and they said i should start a thread about it.

i know that we are supposed to be careful about sarcasm. we all use it anyways and sometimes it gets misinterpreted. what do you all think of having a uniform way of showing that we are being sarcastic. for example, typing in blue italics could be a way to show it (like this). it doesnt have to be this. more ideas would be good.

i think it could go a long way in stopping some of the fights that happen on the site. so many times i have read something like "calm down, i was just being sarcastic!!"

let me and the moderator's know what you think. and if anyone thinks they have a better idea other than blue italics post it here as well.

r.j.s · Apr 9, 2009

I always try to use /sarcasm at the end of a sarcastic remark ... but sometimes it still gets interpreted the wrong way.

TuffLuffJimmy · Apr 9, 2009

That would really make sarcasm less effective.

JNB · Apr 9, 2009

No, I'm not being sarcastic. But it's easier to employ (and more obvious) than blue type. The sarcasm-impaired wouldn't get blue, red, italic, or boldface fonts, anyway.

Maybe Comic Sans…

TuffLuffJimmy · Apr 9, 2009

JNB said:
Comic Sans

ewwww

iJohnHenry · Apr 9, 2009

ViciousShadow21 said:
let me and the moderator's know what you think. and if anyone thinks they have a better idea other than blue italics post it here as well.

Blue, sans serf, I'm in.

ViciousShadow21 · Apr 9, 2009

TuffLuffJimmy said:
That would really make sarcasm less effective.

i dont know, i think it would be more effective. sarcasm only works if the person you are doing it to knows it.

unless that statement was sarcastic.

epyfa · Apr 9, 2009

I think the point of sarcasm is that you have to think twice to know if the person's sarcastic or not and sometimes you can't even be sure. That's the way sarcasm works.

gkarris · Apr 9, 2009

Sarcasm - like none of that goes on around here...

^ (that's what I use...)

dukebound85 · Apr 9, 2009

theres no way to implement this on a forum and have 100% compliance

sorry this just seems like a wasted effort

ViciousShadow21 · Apr 9, 2009

epyfa said:
I think the point of sarcasm is that you have to think twice to know if the person's sarcastic or not and sometimes you can't even be sure. That's the way sarcasm works.

yea but that can really only apply to face to face conversations. you have to admit that it is tough online and that people take it the wrong way and the result can be a fight. this is what we want to avoid. having a way to mark it may take away from the "essence" of sarcasm a little bit, but hopefully it will stop some of the fights started on this forum.

dukebound85 said:
theres no way to implement this on a forum and have 100% compliance

sorry this just seems like a wasted effort

it may be, but if we could get some of the members to catch on it will spread pretty fast. we will definitely need the backing of the moderators and possibly something in the rules.

also if there is a way to put it in the toolbar the same way we can select the B, I, and U it would be easier to implement.

dukebound85 · Apr 9, 2009

well hate to be a party pooper but i wont do it

if people cant sense when im being sarcastic then their loss as i dont really care in the end...its just a post and the people who reply are strangers to me so i dont care, i just dont

Sun Baked · Apr 9, 2009

You can add huge neon lights to the blue text and 20 ft tall smilies, and some members are going to get their nuts strangled in their panties over another member's sarcastic remarks.

gkarris · Apr 9, 2009

Sun Baked said:
You can add huge neon lights to the blue text and 20 ft tall smilies, and some members are going to get their nuts strangled in their panties over another member's sarcastic remarks.

Gee, that's nice...

Randman · Apr 9, 2009

If people weren't so stupid, you wouldn't need to point out sarcasm.

sushi · Apr 9, 2009

r.j.s said:
I always try to use /sarcasm at the end of a sarcastic remark ... but sometimes it still gets interpreted the wrong way.

When I am being really sarcastic, I use the same /sarcasm at the end.

Usually, I use the

or

iJohnHenry said:
Blue, sans serf, I'm in.

If that were the rules, then I would probably never be sarcastic.

dukebound85 said:
well hate to be a party pooper but i wont do it

if people cant sense when im being sarcastic then their loss as i dont really care in the end...its just a post and the people who reply are strangers to me so i dont care, i just dont

Then why do you even post on, let alone read, MR?

Seems to me, if this is your attitude, your time might be spent better doing something else that is more productive to you. Just an idea.

plinden · Apr 9, 2009

No. If I'm being sarcastic online and someone doesn't get it, I like to have the opportunity to snicker at their being a dumbass. If no one gets it, then it just proves I'm smarter than everyone else.

ViciousShadow21 · Apr 9, 2009

wow, i didnt know people are this passionate about sarcasm. i just thought it would help avoid some of the misunderstandings that happen.

but remember, you wouldnt HAVE to use it but, i think it would still just be nice to have the option.

localoid · Apr 9, 2009

I thought the color blue was only used to identify a double entendre?

Peace · Apr 9, 2009

This is a dumb discussion.

mouse over the little "sarcastic" icon. If people don't understand that. Which they normally don't adding blue text will just make it more confusing.

Gelfin · Apr 9, 2009

This is a brilliant idea. Why didn't anyone think of it sooner?

Abstract · Apr 9, 2009

Hi. I'm anti-sarcasm, and I think this is a fabulous idea. Fab. Ulous.

localoid · Apr 10, 2009

Interestingly enough...

The pseudo-XML element for sarcasm, example: <sarcasm>Yeah, that's really going to work.</sarcasm>, is actually defined in W3.org's HTML 5 spec...

skunk · Apr 10, 2009

iJohnHenry said:
Blue, sans serf, I'm in.

A real pantomime villein.

MacRy · Apr 10, 2009

plinden said:
No. If I'm being sarcastic online and someone doesn't get it, I like to have the opportunity to snicker at their being a dumbass. If no one gets it, then it just proves I'm smarter than everyone else.

This idea wouldn't work I'm afraid because then how would people who post something wrong or offensive then be able to claim a few posts later that it was sarcasm or irony

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