Expressing Sarcasm Through Text

Fatmankev

Chef, Writer, and Midnight Toker
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Does everyone have as much of a problem with this as I do? Too often assuming sarcasm when there is none, or missing it entirely when it's there? It's so hard to catch through text sometimes, and yet I feel like it's a mechanism that's used pretty frequently online. I mean, in real life, sarcasm has an accompanying tone that makes it easy to distinguish, along with facial expressions more often than not.

So why not have something for text that denotes sarcasm the same way? I feel like we've got the "." to finish an idea/sentence, and the "..." to express hesitancy or some form of pause... so maybe we could use ".." to help express sarcasm? For example:

"Yeah, you're cool.."
or
"Oh yeah, that'll change the world, alright.."

So I dunno, what do you guys think? Even if the ".." isn't what you'd suggest, do you feel like a sarcasm indicator would be something worth having? Not that it would spread across the internet or anything, but still...

It'd be rad, yo..
 

FireCat

Oh Shi.. Don't wake the tiger!
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Hmm the roll eyes smiley works well for sarcasm :rolleyes:
And sure You can use " Oh crap, It's deja vu all over again! lol" as sarcasm ;)
 

Accname

2D-Graphics enthusiast
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I think this problem only emerges if you dont know the other person at all.
If somebody is new on the forums and he is sarcastic and you dont know him at all; chances are good you will not notice his sarcasm. But if you know somebody, even if its only through an internet forum, you will know what that person actually thinks, feels, and how he/she expresses him/herself.
If i would, for example, say that i really f*cking hate pointless discussions i guess many of the users here would understand the sarcasm in there. (or is it irony? Who knows, only time will tell)

Also, the use of italic markup can make sarcasm more accentuate in text. At least i think making my text >>look like this<< gives a good expression that something is odd with those words. That there might be a "secret" meaning behind it and that i dont mean what it literally says.
 

KaerfNomekop

Swim, fishies. Swim through the veil of steel.
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^^I'm not getting any of that. (Meaning Burningkitty, not Ninjaccname)

IMO it's a bit too subtle, and easily missed if you're not looking closely. And sometimes I forget to tap the "." key 3 times and end up with 2...
 

Fatmankev

Chef, Writer, and Midnight Toker
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^^I'm not getting any of that. (Meaning Burningkitty, not Ninjaccname)

IMO it's a bit too subtle, and easily missed if you're not looking closely. And sometimes I forget to tap the "." key 3 times and end up with 2...
Yeah, I was actually just noticing how a lot of people did that, and how each remark with a ".." at the end could have been sarcastic; it's where this stupid idea came from in the first place.

I guess the biggest underlying factor for me is that I see the ".." so often that I want to give it a better meaning than a lazy "...".
 

Fatmankev

Chef, Writer, and Midnight Toker
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Whatchu mean by "hyped up," exactly? Also, you make a lot of good points on your earlier post, sorry I didn't acknowledge it. Even so, though, there are still times when I'm wondering if it's sincerity or sarcasm, even from members of this site that I feel like I've gotten to know a little. But yeah, italics def'ly works.
 

Accname

2D-Graphics enthusiast
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Whatchu mean by "hyped up," exactly? Also, you make a lot of good points on your earlier post, sorry I didn't acknowledge it. Even so, though, there are still times when I'm wondering if it's sincerity or sarcasm, even from members of this site that I feel like I've gotten to know a little. But yeah, italics def'ly works.
If you want like make a full stop but you shoot over the top cause you are on too much sugar or something..
 

Varine

And as the moon rises, we shall prepare for war
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IMPACT TEXT is a very effective method of making things seem more serious, I feel. Therefore, I propose we assume ALL posts are sarcastic, unless written in IMPACT TEXT or otherwise marked with some form of disclaimer to ensure that the post is indeed to be taken seriously.
 

Accname

2D-Graphics enthusiast
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1,462
How about the all too important [sarcasm] tags? i think they would really improve communications here. Just think how incredibly useful these would be.
I just can not stress this any more.
Then each and every one of us could >simply< wrap his very, Very important message into classy and elegant [sarcasm] tags.
 

Varine

And as the moon rises, we shall prepare for war
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I made a sarcasm tag prototype:


Sarcasm said:
This is a test. Only a test. Do not panic. You are in a safe place. This is a test.

As you can see, it's not you or I saying it, but Sarcasm, as is prominently displayed above the text. This will, however, be largely ineffective if we happen to get a member named Sarcasm.
 

Accname

2D-Graphics enthusiast
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1,462
Do you guys even realize how horribly off topic we are going here.
It just needs one to make a thread about sarcasm and everybody is freaking out and spamming the most ludicrous things he has in mind.

At least the first 5 posts are on topic. (more or less)
 

Varine

And as the moon rises, we shall prepare for war
Reaction score
803
It's all relevant. We're learning how to detect sarcasm through text.
 

Varine

And as the moon rises, we shall prepare for war
Reaction score
803
It's okay. It's not in Impact text. I love this font. It's so cool..
 
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