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You're talking to a friend, and say you want to express your feeling that their idea for a better mousetrap won't actually result in the weeds on the path to their front door being trampled. Being an honest friend, you have two options of what you can say to him.
1. "I'm sorry, but I don't think you have really thought this out. I don't believe that this will be a popular idea."
or, 2. "That's going to be really popular."
To the casual Drive Blind reader, these seem to be completely opposite comments. However, this is only because I don't have a good way to let you know that #2 has that famous sarcasm drip. It's one of writing's and the internet's greatest shortcomings - there's no easy way to indicate sarcasm in your writing or chats. I'm sure, given context, and someone with better writing skills than mine, it can be done, but what is one to do in the context of a regular IM chat? I guess the sticking-my-tongue-out emoticon :-p works somewhat, but those are so late 90's. Why hasn't something better been developed by now? I had hoped that by the late naught's that all keyboards would have been upgraded to include a sarcasm button, but I don't see one here on my laptop. Apple, of all companies, should've figured this out by now. I demand a solution, and that should carry some weight considering that I was given an honorary doctorate in sarcasm in high school by my friend Dr. Cynical.
My only suggestion is that we use the underline to let the reader know that you're hitting them with some of your sarcastic wit. It'll save a lot of frustration on both the sending and receiving end, and will allow more use of this grossly-underrepresented text adornment. I just fear that this is such a great idea that it will take the internet by storm and exponentially drive up the daily traffic on this site. That would be horrible.
Jerad posted this in Complaints | Comments (2)
JL,
You are correct, we do need a sarcasm system.
Funny Stuff. I would have underlined that but your comments box won't allow it...now what do I do?
CJM
Posted by: Christopher at March 29, 2006 02:26 PM
Hmm...I'll have to examine why <u> and </u> tags don't work here.
Posted by: Jerad at March 29, 2006 02:39 PM
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