Poll: Sarcasm/Irony Punctuation Mark

[siddif]

I don't know, but whenever I see someone doing this: (!) It just makes me think that I've been spotted by the previous sentence.

I used (!) but this has just made it so much more awesome =D

 

[Daverson]

To be honest, I'm absolutely certain that this "Irony Mark" would be used correctly by everyone, and certainly wouldn't be at all trivialised by the huge number of people who don't even seem to understand the very definition of irony beyond "something funny"¡

Yeah, I guess it would work.

 

[Kirch Libre]

A sarcasm punctuation mark? Yeah sure, "great" idea.

 

[Irony's Acolyte]

Of course we should have a sarcasm punctuation mark. That would help people to better appreciate it.

Okay, now that I'm done with the necessarily sarcastic remark, I really think that we shouldn't have a mark for it. Yeah, on the internet, it can be nigh impossible to tell if a person is being sarcastic or not if they just type out some text (especially if the thread is about sarcasm, "Are they being sarcastic or truthful? Sarcastic or truthful? Damn this is annoying!") but part of why I like sarcasm so much is that its subtle. Its easy for people to take you at face value when you're being sarcastic. They look at you weirdly, wondering why you just said what you did, stop, then realize it was sarcasm. Of course if they don't and just continue to take your words as what they seem to be, they probably wouldn't appreciate sarcasm anyway. Its like in-jokes, if you know it you'll laugh, but it shouldn't be spelled out to those who didn't get it. Don't explain the joke [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Ptitle0t9r68ih?from=Main.Dontexplainthejoke].

Sometimes you may want to use a mark to show you're words aren't to be taken too seriously, but you shouldn't be forced to. Then people would have even more trouble picking it up when the mark wasn't used.

 

[ham and red bull]

Besides every single other form of text based communication?

Forums are a method of talking via the internet, but I assure you, more people use Instant Messengers and E-Mail than will ever use forums.

What about text messages?

I spend a lot of time revising texts because of potential negative connotations in my word choices, and a "/sarcasm" tag doesn't exactly cut it when you're texting attractive females (which some of us actually do from time to time).

Really, "/sarcasm" is a short term solution, but to expect the entire world to catch on to something THAT nerdy is insane, and unfair to be honest.

IMs, emails, and even text messaging have smileys. For example "You suck " is clearly a phrase that shouldn't be taken at face value.

HEY! I don't suck! You suck!
I can't stop thinking that everything that has been written to this point has been sarcastic.

 

[omega 616]

I am for it, it stops people pulling the old "I was being sarcastic" to get away with whatever they want.

Putting "I love it when people flip there shit when they read it wrong", they read it correctly but there is no way of getting most sarcastic statements.

Failing a symbol for it (although since there is a symbol for "and" so why not for this) just put a word or whole sentance in italics, like "Oh yeah, that was a good idea".

 

[Aerowaves]

I use "(!)" for conventional sarcasm or "...!" to express sarcastic exasperation. No real need for one, though I would agree that it is sometimes difficult to detect sarcasm in written form, as in speech it is at least partially composed of vocal inflection.

 

[Inner Pickle]

If you're sarcasm is good enough it should come through in what you type regardless. Praise be to almighty sarcasm.

 

[[.redacted]]

I agree, not having a sarcasm mark in the English language in an absolute travesty.

 

[Geekosaurus]

We shouldn't be making it easier for people to understand sarcasm. If people can't understand it we should mock them in a sarcastic way.

 

[Continuity]

"(!)"works well I think. not that i've ever used it mind... maybe I will in future... maybe.

We shouldn't be making it easier for people to understand sarcasm. If people can't understand it we should mock them in a sarcastic way.

indeed, but its not about understanding sarcasm its about telling when sarcasm is being employed, which in plain prose isn't always apparent, or at least is open to misconstruction.

I've certainly seen plenty of situations where people have misconstrued a sarcastic comment and all hell has broken loose.

 

[Lightnr]

When I'm being sarcastic, I normally put (!) at the end of my sentence.

The whole point to sarcasm and wit is to be slick and not make it OBVIOUS to people who don't get it... gleesh

 

[Count Igor]

How odd, many people seem to be saying (/) works (/ being the ! or ?), but I use (?) after a word that I'm unsure how to spell a word, and (!) when the reader should be amazed/gobsmacked.
I just hope the reader is smart enough to figure it out.

 

[101flyboy]

The best sarcasm is the sarcasm people don't realize is sarcasm obviously, so I definitely wouldn't ruin it by indicating I'm being sarcastic, unless it's necessary.

 

[Doclector]

On one hand, the misunderstood sarcasm causes alot of problems, but on the other, the use of a mark to denote sarcasm kind of negates the point of sarcasm.

To be honest, I'd rather stick with a few misunderstandings than such a mark.

 

[TomLikesGuitar]

See, I don't see how it would ruin sarcasm. Although to be fair there are multiple types of sarcasm.

Special punctuation is used to reflect certain inflections in your voice (e.g. you read a question using different vocal tones than a statement). Friendly sarcasm is usually represented through over-exaggeration... "No, that dress makes you look sooo skinny."... and should be made obvious unless you want to be a dick to the person you are talking to. Most of the people saying, "Oh, I'd rather people misunderstand my sarcasm.", use sarcasm maliciously or to prove a point (Note, these people probably have a lot of friends. [insert ironicon here]).

So yes, sometimes sarcasm is intentionally said so as to be misunderstood. If you were to read aloud one of these sarcastic statements, you would say it as a normal sentence. The punctuation could still exist to indicate a sarcastic inflection (just like the question mark indicates the "I'm asking a question." inflection) for those of us who prefer people to be in on our jokes.

Sorry if that was confusing, but hey, that's Latin linguistics for you.

 

[Jabberwock xeno]

If you captilize or ialtize certain words, it does it.

 

[Ulixes Dimon]

I present to you - the sarcmark!

For example:

The sarcmark is a great idea

I enjoy this one

 

[TomLikesGuitar]

If you captilize or ialtize certain words, it does it.

I feel like that's not good enough.

You can't italicize in written text (Or in certain forms of digital communication, like text messages) and sporadic capitalization breaks grammatical rules.