E-Sarcasm

[Chakra-X]

Through my experiences with the interweb, where discussions in the form of forums, video game chats, and what have you take place, I have noticed a prevalent style of argumentative rebuttals: sarcasm.

Whether it be a snide comment or an exaggeration of false agreement, I see it quite often. Sometimes it's just what the doctor ordered, sometimes it's just to start ****, and other times it's a sign that someone's buttons have been pressed.

This place is no exception. Sometimes threads are armed to the teeth with ill-intended sarcasm and smartass remarks, ranging in degree obviously. I specifically call it "E-Sarcasm" because I see it a hell lot more on the internet than in real life and a lot of it is carried out similarly.

I am hopped up on painkillers right now, so I probably typed more than I needed but, what is your take on E-Sarcasm? Do you use it? Why do so? Do you think it is incendiary in arguments?

Personally, I try to avoid it unless someone is being extremely obnoxious and tactless. To me, it also tells the person who may have been trying to piss you off...That they pissed you off.

 

[Eon]

E-sarcasm and tongue in cheek humor make me like the internet.

 

[sub]

People can be pure *******s on the internet because there are rarely any repercussions.

 

[Kaination]

2,3,7.

2) It's mostly for the sake of humor

You can easily throw sarcasm in a forum board to make it a lightened situation, or even lighten one up. I know I do it all the time.

3) It's a good way to point out flaws

If someone is wrong, you can make a sarcastic example. this kinda ties in with being an ******* about the example, and being light hearted and funny with it. It's how you want to, you can twist it to your pleasing.

7)It shows someone's been offended

Generally you can easily tell if someones been offended on the interbutts. But if someones being angered, they can show it through just being sarcastic.

Personally, i'd rather have it used in humorous ways then people looking like raged idiots and yelling angrily.

Whatever,

/2 cents

 

[Majin_You]

People can be pure *******s on the internet because there are rarely any repercussions.

That's exactly it. Without holding an actual belief that you've offended someone or have generated some sort of seriously negative consequences, there just doesn't seem to be anything wrong with being as much or as little of a sarcastic button-pusher as one chooses.

Using it as an argumentative style, though... well, heh, I could go on about some of the more major fallacies associated with exaggerating another person's claims and/or dodging the point with snide remarks, but I do believe that they are rather self-evident and that we can all make fairly exhaustive catalogs of them.

Suffice it to say that it has its place in humor, light criticism, and some other, select scenarios (particularly when players or forum members know each other well enough to know and appreciate their acquaintances' brands of sarcasm). Serious discussions and decent sportsmanship in online gaming can do without it, though.

 

[Pieter Paul Rubens]

The internet without e-sarcasm would be a very dull place.

 

[Synth]

One should realize that all things on the Internet consist of e-sarcasm.

 

[Arthos]

It's everything, and everywhere.

 

[Brosiris]

i voted for all of them cuz I can.

 

[SA_Gohan]

Its like a love tap with your car. You do it to show you care, or that you want to hurt them.

 

[Spunky]

I voted for all but "it shouldn't be used at all".

 

[elNarr]

The intarwebs wouldn't be an epic win without e-sarcasm.

 

[Dzamija]

Let's see....it's rude, it's cliche, it can easily offend, and therefore it shouldn't be used at all. Trolling people is fun but only when they're spewing total bull****, not when two people are arguing about a topic, and both having founded points, if it's used then, it just creates a feud. No point.

 

[Avenger]

Much like everything else, it's a matter of how you use it. You can use a knife to cut bread, slice some fruit, or you could stab it into someone's chest.