"Suggestions concerning sarcasm" Topic

I have noticed that on a few recent posts some members have become upset at certain comments that people have made. Those who made these comments have responded that these comments were not intended to be taken seriously and were attempts at sarcasm. I for one found that most of these comments were obviously made in jest. However, given that communication through writing does not allow easily for things like voice inflection and the like, I would suggest that in the future comments employing sarcasm make use of quotation marks. I have neither been offended by the comments that were made, nor have I been offended by those who became upset by these comments. Likewise, I am not saying that we need to make this a rule (modern society has become too litigious already). I am simply making a suggestion that may help reduce problems of miscommunication in the future.

That seems to be a "problem" thru out the net. Even at times using emojis you can't always tell the "attitude" of the poster. Sarcasm, humor, etc.

Plus the net seems to attract trolls/frolls etc. who can be mean-spirited, vitriolic, etc. and get away with those remarks. Hiding behind the cover of the net.

"Whatever"

No. I can't be bothered.
And stop looking at me like that!

Same here – "Whatever"

Kevin, you raise a very valid point. I've said to both my wife and grown daughters more than once that serious conversations should not be carried out via text message. The format loses the nuance of language, just as sarcasm in print often does. I agree with the use of quotes.

Defined as "The use of irony to mock or convey contempt" sarcasm would appear to have achieved its purpose, and should not be confused with gentle mockery, flippancy or joke. It is probably gentler to be ironic than sarcastic …
But who cares – life is too short and you associate with those you feel inclined to associate with.

"Are all you guys being facetious or flippant too*?"

*"Notice the two oes in too."

I think the thing to do is not to take anybody seriously.

This has been a big problem for a long time. I remember the discussions in the '90s about email. The little :) was the solution some people used. One insightful comment I've been turning over in my mind since reading it in a Wired magazine article stated that the problem is not that text isn't less clear than speech, with it's inflections and facial expressions and gestures, but it's *more* clear than speech, stating your meaning plainly, without disguise, without diffusion, etc.

Well decades have passed, everyone is now on the net, :) turned into a host of emoticons and from there we got emojis, saints preserve us. People have tried tags like <sarcasm> and so on, but none are universal, and none will solve the problem. The real solution has to be these two parts: Always treat other people's feelings carefully, make sarcasm and the like explicit, and reread what you write and look for any way it can be misread, because people will. Second, develop enough backbone that you can ignore people disrespecting you, because they will, intentionally or not. You're going to lose some arguments, be misunderstood, maligned, and dismissed, and if that's going to ruin your day you're going to have a lot of ruined days.

I think we need to take *people* seriously, but have a great capacity to ignore what they say.

Didn't Oscar Wilde describe Sarcasm as "the lowest form of wit and the last resort of a demented mind". Seems a tad harsh but it should be born in mindI suppose.

"Nancy boys."

i think people older than GenX miss sarcasm or don't like it in general and people younger expect it. Depending on the context it can be difficult. Being in my early 50s, I feel I have no problem detecting it. I think a ;) emoji or an </sar> can help.

[Warning, SARCASM alert!]

I think everyone on the net is a really warm, wonderful human being--unless, of course, he/she/it is an alien, who, of course, are also all warm and wonderful.

Quotation marks around sarcstic comments? "I think it's a great idea"

The quote marks thing just confuses matters with actual quotes use. I'd suggest using 'slashes' ( // or \\ ) instead.

e.g. //What a delightful shirt you have on.//

For those wishing to denote using 'uptalk' or 'upspeak', putting a ^ (shifted 6) at the end of the line emphasizes it well.

e.g. I think your latte is getting cold.^

No. People will just be jerks, put it in quotes, and claim sarcasm. "Bill's editors can parse out everyones intention and meaning so it's definitely unnecessary on TMP."

i think people older than GenX miss sarcasm or don't like it in general and people younger expect it. Depending on the context it can be difficult. Being in my early 50s, I feel I have no problem detecting it. I think a ;) emoji or an </sar> can help.

It's the other way around. Boomers practically invented sarcasm. Millennials don't get it. They are way too sensitive and take themselves way too seriously. Why do you think comedians like Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno don't work colleges anymore? They can't take a joke and they don't get sarcasm.

Some people, no matter the age, just do not have the sarcasm gene. My boss and I are the same age (boomers) but he has a hard time with sarcasm.

My co-workers and I are constantly explaining it to him. His son has the same problem with him. Sarcasm is one of the things that gets me through the day. But some people just don't get it and never will.

I have found that "Dear Editor" sometimes confuses being sarcastic with being snarky. Tis a fine line.

We need to redesign our inadequate keyboards, which should come with a sarcasm shift.

Grelber

Grelber's recommendation sounds better than mind, but bobspruster's policy is probably the best (and it is the one that I generally follow).

Kevin

Well this bloke definitely doesn't like sarcasm…

YouTube link

I'm more snarky than sarcastic… ;-)

Oldthinkers unbellyfeel Ingsoc.