That's one of the reasons I use emoticons sometimes. When overused, they are annoying and evoke children's SMS messages, however, in our current age of text-heavy communication I believe they actually have real value. So many styles of interaction suffer from the lack of vocal intonation or facial expressions. A simple smiley or winky face can completely turn around the perceived intent of a post.
Yes it looks silly sometimes, but anything that adds clarity or helps convey the intended sentiment is fine in my book.
Great point. I use emoticons in that way too (much to my teenagers' chagrin) and often struggle with the connotation of immaturity that comes along with them. I sometimes end up rewriting simple messages just to avoid using them. But sometimes '/s' isn't enough, or even applicable.
But sometimes '/s' isn't enough, or even applicable.
"/s" is terrible. The whole point of sarcasm is that it's inferred. You don't call out sarcasm, just like you don't explain a joke. It ruins it. If you can't be sarcastic without using /s, then don't be sarcastic.
I agree. Unfortunately, in my experience some people just can't or won't infer the sarcastic intent in what most people can see is a clearly sarcastic comment. They tend to get all worked up, and then I feel bad. So the few times I have used "/s" online have been out of an abundance of caution.
Edit: I want to add that I brought up "/s" in my comment above because it is a known alternative to an emoticon, not because I think it's awesome.
There are a lot of people who don't get that the Onion is a parody, either, but the Onion doesn't start each article with "DISCLAIMER: The following is satire and is not intended to be taken seriously. The events described here are fictional and included for comedic purposes." Why? Two reasons: 1) It wouldn't be as funny anymore, and 2) the fact that stupid people are taking it seriously is hilarious.
I don't even think it's immature--I know some people perceive it as a thing only kids do, but if you ask me it's too useful for the exact reasons you laid out to not use. I also sometimes use all caps or hyperbole in text, more so than in regular conversation, to convey that humor is the intent.
That's one of the reasons I use emoticons sometimes. When overused, they are annoying and evoke children's SMS messages, however, in our current age of text-heavy communication I believe they actually have real value. So many styles of interaction suffer from the lack of vocal intonation or facial expressions. A simple smiley or winky face can completely turn around the perceived intent of a post.
Yes it looks silly sometimes, but anything that adds clarity or helps convey the intended sentiment is fine in my book.
Great point. I use emoticons in that way too (much to my teenagers' chagrin) and often struggle with the connotation of immaturity that comes along with them. I sometimes end up rewriting simple messages just to avoid using them. But sometimes '/s' isn't enough, or even applicable.
"/s" is terrible. The whole point of sarcasm is that it's inferred. You don't call out sarcasm, just like you don't explain a joke. It ruins it. If you can't be sarcastic without using /s, then don't be sarcastic.
I agree. Unfortunately, in my experience some people just can't or won't infer the sarcastic intent in what most people can see is a clearly sarcastic comment. They tend to get all worked up, and then I feel bad. So the few times I have used "/s" online have been out of an abundance of caution.
Edit: I want to add that I brought up "/s" in my comment above because it is a known alternative to an emoticon, not because I think it's awesome.
Yeah, I think sarcasm is one of the forms that fares the least well in writing.
There are a lot of people who don't get that the Onion is a parody, either, but the Onion doesn't start each article with "DISCLAIMER: The following is satire and is not intended to be taken seriously. The events described here are fictional and included for comedic purposes." Why? Two reasons: 1) It wouldn't be as funny anymore, and 2) the fact that stupid people are taking it seriously is hilarious.
I don't even think it's immature--I know some people perceive it as a thing only kids do, but if you ask me it's too useful for the exact reasons you laid out to not use. I also sometimes use all caps or hyperbole in text, more so than in regular conversation, to convey that humor is the intent.