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Your Sarcasm Filter Sucks

from the either-that-or-you're-just-not-funny dept

Sun, Jun 25th 2006 11:36pm — Mike Masnick

By now, it's pretty obvious written sarcasm is extremely difficult to convey. Any time anyone tries to write sarcastically online there's a large population of people who just don't get it. At all. There just aren't enough browsers that recognize sarcasm HTML tags. In the past, we've noted that such lack of sarcastic reading skills has resulted in trouble in the workplace when people didn't get or didn't appreciate attempts at humorous emails -- though it differs by nationality. Now there's yet another study supporting this. Apparently people were asked to write funny or sarcastic emails, and then others were asked to determine how funny or sarcastic the emails were and most didn't see the humor at all. Of course, as is pointed out in the post, the other possibility is that the writers just weren't particularly funny in the first place.

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37 Comments

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|333173|3|_||3, 25 Jun 2006 @ 11:55pm

First POst
Whats wrong with the good old tags, along with , and all the rest. Event n00bs would be able to understand that
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- Cyryl, 26 Jun 2006 @ 8:18am
  
  Re: First POst
  Event n00bz!!
  
  LOL...
  
  N00bz to the event...of SARCASM!
  
  LOL
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j4kk, 26 Jun 2006 @ 12:22am

Sarcasm
Sarcasm is a difficult subject, and it comes in many forms. I know one girl, for example, who has such sarcastic humor that it almost comes across as mean. The kind of sarcasm that I like it the almost silly kind, where you just go over the top, and USUALLY people can tell that you're just being sarcastic.

Often on my forum i'll use the mock tag [sarcasm][/sarcasm] or in IM conversations because some people just don't get it. Anything you say online is going to be taken totally differnetly than what you will say in real life, so you'll have to be more careful, especially with things that rely purely on the tone of your voice and your inflection/body movements, such as sarcasm generally does. You can use it with the right people online, but do not tick off your girlfriend on IM because you were 'sarcastic!'
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ElectricMayhem, 26 Jun 2006 @ 1:42am

Sarcasm
No, it's not hard to convey sarcasm, if you use the English language and punctuation correctly. Half the trouble is, 90% of Americans just don't 'do' sarcasm and strangle the language anyway and since the standard of education in Britain has been buggered about by successive governments, 90% of the British can't read and write.

A half way decent writer should be able to convey sarcasm using tone and inflection in the words......read some of the great novelists and writers both American and British....brilliant exponents of their art. Miller, Twain, Shakespeare et al

Try Oscar Wilde for a start….sarcasm!!…….his words literally just drip with it.

The problem, my darlings, is a woeful lack of education…….oh and sense of humour…..very important components……

Toodle Pip
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- Anonymous Coward, 26 Jun 2006 @ 4:28am
  
  Re: Sarcasm
  lol i found it funny how you're basically saying the average american should be able write/type like mark twain, shakespeare, etc.
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  - Uranus Tinks, 28 Jun 2006 @ 6:32pm
    
    Re: Re: Sarcasm
    It's a well known fact that neither twain nor shakespeare could type worth a damn. Now, my cubicle mate can type up a storm. Too bad he doesn't have anything to say.
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- ConceptJunkie (profile), 26 Jun 2006 @ 5:30am
  
  Re: Sarcasm
  Yeah, it figures a Brit would be bragging about his sarcasm abilities. I guess you gotta brag about something... it certainly isn't your food or your teeth.
  
  Some of us Americans can do sarcasm very well, thank you very much.
  
  (Not using smilies to enforce the thesis of the article)
  
  Seriously though, I think you're right. It's more of an issue of communication skills than anything. I communicate on-line a _lot_, and I'm also someone who loves to joke around (see above). There's a fine line between being clear you're joking and completely losing the humor. Reminds me of when you see a really funny scene in a movie, and then the joke is explained. That totally ruins it. It takes a little effort to create ad appreciate good humor, and given that our communication skills as a whole are dropping precipitously, these kinds of problems are bound to happen.
  
  Nonetheless, readers, as well as writers, should try to be a little sensitive of the limitations of the written medium. Our forebears in the 19th-century and earlier relied solely on written words to communicate with people outside of earshot, and they didn't have this problem. Surely we're smarter then they are, right? Right?
  
  George Bush for God!
  Amerika uber alles!
  Go on world, try to stop us!
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- Anonymous Coward, 27 Nov 2007 @ 2:53pm
  
  Re: Sarcasm
  Do his words literally drip with it? Are there drops of sarcasm falling from the page as you read? I hate how people constantly use the word literally when they don't mean literally.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 27 Nov 2007 @ 3:58pm
    
    Re: Re: Sarcasm
    oh my! That has literally got to stop.
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Anonymous Coward, 26 Jun 2006 @ 2:22am

Sarcasm
That is correct, ElectricMayhem! I am SOOO sure that those figures you gave are real and not just numbers you made up off the top of your head. Thank you SOOO much for your intelligent contribution. I feel at least 90% smarter now, having read your post. But what do I KNOW? I’m just a STUPID American educated in our HORRIBLE school system.
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- American Slob, 26 Jun 2006 @ 7:24am
  
  Re: Sarcasm
  That would be hilarious if it weren't true.
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claire rand, 26 Jun 2006 @ 2:49am

school daze
ok so your an american educated by your horrible education system.. well i'm a brit and ours is worse so take that and smoke it...

hang on...

reckon mesa not meant to boast bout that.

i blame my schooling.

the brit & yank sense of humour is *different* sarcasm and irony both suffer through this. if i read something written stateside thats a bit offensive, i tend to just assume it makes more sense over there.

people are too ready to take afence, me i'll just take the gate and leave it at that...

:-)

btw mark twain wipes the floor with shakspear anyday. and just *try* writing like shakespear in a school these days, dunno what wuz worse his grammar or spelling, talk about out of date...

ah.

i'll get me coat..
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- ZA, 26 Jun 2006 @ 7:07am
  
  Re: school daze
  You give a perfect example of how poor grammar and spelling take any sarcasm out of witing.
  
  I am still wondering where you are taking the fence, the gate or whatever you are talking about?
  
  I like the Monty Python type of Brittish humor.
  
  I agree with someone's statement above, it is all in the punctuation and choice of words. If you can't pick up a sarcastic tone directly from the writing, you never will. What's worse, some people's writing oozes with sarcasm, and they don't even know it.
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- ConceptJunkie (profile), 26 Jun 2006 @ 7:57am
  
  Re: school daze
  I read that Shakespear made up something 1700 over his career. If you can't say it, just make up new words.
  
  It's a perfectly cromulent way to communicate.
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- Charon, 26 Jun 2006 @ 10:48am
  
  Re: school daze
  Claire Rand, you are out of your mind if you think Mark Twain is more skillful than Shakespeare. Although he was a masterful author all he did was use elisions to put ebonics into text. Shakespeare not only created his masterful plots but somehow managed to have all of the conversations and monolouges not only in iambic pentameter but ryhming! One would think a brit might know something about Shakespeares talent.... I guess youre schooling is as bad as you say it is.
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ElectricMayhem, 26 Jun 2006 @ 4:09am

Sarcasm
You illustrate my case perfectly Anon Coward...thank you for being such an eloquent proponent!
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pp, 26 Jun 2006 @ 4:40am

make it stop
OMG You guys sound pathetic! It's like your trying to show how smart you are but you're doing the complete opposite. I mean damn, since when did your stupid rambaling become a case... jeeeesss!!
Serious. Sr. claire rand s'bout the most intelgent sounding post yet and it was painful to read!! Sorry man you do that!
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- ZA, 26 Jun 2006 @ 7:10am
  
  Re: make it stop
  PP-What you are doing in your post isn't sarcasm, it is called bitching. You need to be the one to knock it off.
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Rick Kennerly, 26 Jun 2006 @ 5:15am

What did Jonathan Swift do
What did Jonathan Swift do without emoticons? 8-p
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Sarah Tavel, 26 Jun 2006 @ 5:58am

Slate article
i fully endorse a new form of punctuation to signify sarcasm.

check out below slate article, "A Giant Step Forward for Punctuation"

http://www.slate.com/id/2111172/
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Republican Gun, 26 Jun 2006 @ 6:26am

Sarcasm easily confused for trolling.
Sarcasm is easily confused for trolling. I know many a good troll that was only trying to be sarcastic but was utterly misunderstood by the liberal. ^!^
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Anonymous Coward, 26 Jun 2006 @ 7:00am

Note to Self:
Be sure to ask wife to use emoticons and [sarcasm][/sarcasm] tags in future emails. Poor communication is a problem and misunderstood written humor can be the trigger to another fight.

Another note to Self:

Stop rambling online for others to see and mock.
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Drew, 26 Jun 2006 @ 7:21am

"Short people got no reason to live . . ."

Why is this news? Just 'cause it's about the intarwebs? Ridiculous! Plenty of people don't understand sarcasm regardless of the medium.
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Jake, 26 Jun 2006 @ 7:38am

The Article Points The Problem Out Very Well.
It has nothing to do with medium, and more to do with the fact that most people are not funny.

"Of course, as is pointed out in the post, the other possibility is that the writers just weren't particularly funny in the first place. "

As illustrated in many of the posts above, where users are apparently trying to be sarcastic, it would seem that many of us simply confuse sarcasm with being mean.
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Anonymous Coward, 26 Jun 2006 @ 7:55am

What are you guys talking about???? Sarcasm is the easiest thing on the internet to pick up... right after 14 year old girls on MySpace.
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Rikko, 26 Jun 2006 @ 8:58am

Bad grammar
I think ElectricMayhem was right on the money.. When I read a post by someone that is all lowercase, utterly devoid of correct punctuation, and probably all smeared into a single paragraph to boot, I perceive them as unintelligent. If they aren't smart enough to be able to correct write out what they want to say, are they smart enough to grasp and express a concept like sarcasm? Perhaps, but the lowest-common-denominator posts you typically read are more reminescent of resentful and stupid 15 year olds (no offense 15 year olds, 15 is today's number) and not someone with ideas and an open mind.
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- txjump, 26 Jun 2006 @ 10:02am
  
  Re: Bad grammar
  thats just not nice. ya know, some of us know how to write perfectly well but in this arena, capitalization is not that important. and neither is punctuation, that is unless it is key to your sarcasm.
  
  but, if you are going to slam others as unintelligent, perhaps you should double check your own single paragraph complete with error.
  
  "be able to correct write out ... "
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Anonymous Coward, 26 Jun 2006 @ 9:54am

All I know is that I always get sarcasm on the first read-through, making me better than all of you.
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ElectricMayhem, 26 Jun 2006 @ 10:37am

sarcasm
Funny, no one has mentioned the age old axiom...sarcasm is the lowest form of wit…
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XAvAX, 26 Jun 2006 @ 10:41am

RE: Bad grammar
Now Rikko my friend, I would have you know that, though I am only fifteen, I am quite proud of my linguistic capabilities. Your point is taken however, as I also feel that those who are incapable of correctly formulating a thought are throwing away their ability to be taken seriously.
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PP, 26 Jun 2006 @ 10:43am

Re: make it stop
Nice way to bitch like a bitchy little bitch ZA! I believe that cancels out the 2 cents you had to offer. Maybe I was being sarcastic the whole time, ever think of that, huh, you'll never know now will you.
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Anonymous Coward, 26 Jun 2006 @ 11:29am

Morons
Oh, a sarcasm detector. That's SOOOOOOO useful. Please give me one so I can shove it up my butt. I sooooo love things being shoved up my butt.
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Anonymous Coward #4, 26 Jun 2006 @ 7:34pm

It is me, Anonymous Coward #4, again.

I am glad that ElectricMayhem picked up on my point. It is very easy to convey sarcasm through written language, even for us Americans. I am of the opinion that sarcasm only shows the writers vanity and ignorance, no matter how witty, and that it is better avoided all together.
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ElectricMayhem, 27 Jun 2006 @ 9:29am

sarcasm
Oh, goodness me.....please Anon Coward...do me a favour and shut up....you didn't get my sarcasm and it was bang in your face!! Wasted on you obviously....but it does somewhat prove my point...well as far as you are concerned anyway....
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|333173|3|_||3, 16 Oct 2006 @ 11:42pm

This always works on the forum I always used to post on (it died after an attack by a hacker b/c the owner had too little time to fix the mess he made, and so all the users left), the software used to open a page of stuff in an iframe if you used [sarcasm]
In any case, even a moron in a hurry should be able to understand that.

Sorry for necro'ing the thread.
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ysfuigfuhguhfg, 8 Feb 2007 @ 5:38am

filtering is pointless
what is the point u can just get a hacker to unfilter it
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sarcasm hater, 4 May 2020 @ 6:29pm

Sarcasm sucks and is for dumb-assed losers with no life.
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