Tell HN: Web Standard for Sarcasm | Hacker News Reader

Tell HN: Web Standard for Sarcasm

7 pointsjpwagner21 comments

In the past, bloggers/trolls/users who are being sarcastic had 4 options:

1. no indication of sarcasm

result: at least one reader thinks they are serious and replies with some nonsense response wasting his and other readers' time

2. <sarcasm /> tag

result: super dorky, too verbose

3. sw

result: no one knows what this means (see #1)

4. ps: i was being sarcastic

result: you are also a loser

THE NEW WEB STANDARD FOR SARCASM:

A committee of supernerds convened the other day and decided the new standard is to only capitalize the second letter of the sarcastic word:

for example:

  Joe: I configurated it yesterday.
  Bob: Configurated?  Don't you mean configured?
  Joe: sOrry!

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What a gReat idea.

That some people don't get sarcasm is a feature, not a bug.

That will be eAsily understood. I prefer the <sarcasm></sarcasm> tags. ;)

I refuse to use this in the title of my forthcoming self-help book, "Sarcasm Can Be So Helpful In Your Relationships".

Homer: Stupid driving test at the stupid DMV where stupid Patty and stupid Selma work! Sometimes I think God is teasing me...just like he teased Moses in the desert.

Marge: Tested, Homer! God tested Moses. And try to be nice to my sisters. It's very hard on me to have you fighting all the time.

Homer: Oh, OK Marge, I'll get along with them. Then, I will hug some snakes...yes! Then, I will hug and kiss some poisonous snakes. Now _that's_ sarcasm.

I think there is a typo, you should have written STandard, thus also forming a paradox :D (have in mind that language is a sort of de facto standard, otherwise communication would be impossible)

I'll assume you are serious. Capitalizing the second letter you can still be sarcastic without people noticing it (see #3), you are stating that you are sarcastic so you are a loser (see #4), and you are a nerd for committing to a "standard" made by "supernerds".

Sarcasm has existed since the human being exists, probably before, fortunately we all have now the standard we needed from the very beginning.

See? No paradox here.

A committee of supernerds convened the other day and decided the new standard is...

Which means that if you're still using ie, you have to continue using the deprecated standard.

</sarcasm>

You forgot 'Great' without exclamation marks (see: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=819160).

A wink works pretty good, and often relieves potential tension, i.e. ;-)

And for the people who can get off a high horse about online slang and talk with a bit of inflection, gratuitous emotional additions like Whoahohoho and Ohhhh work pretty good too. A lot of people are really too into formal communication though, as evidenced by those commenting here who don't appreciate the value of well placed sarcasm.

Video subtitlers use this notation: (!) to denote sarcasm. Could we not popularize that?

The "new web standard" is as obscure as "sw", and has various flaws.. Perhaps the biggest flaw is that the notation does not work for all-upper-case sarcasm, such as "A web standard for sarcasm? That's REALLY great idea.."

How about just adding something at the start of the word. !"#$%&/()='+*

Many characters that can be utilized and are easily added.

I think it's a !great idea

I have a better idea - no sarcasm on HN, at all. Because it usually detracts from the discussion rather than enhancing it.

tHanks fOr yOur cOncern. But I think we'll be OK.

My suggestion is addressed to the mature HN members that are both able and willing to engage in a civilized discussion.

Hopefully you and other ethusiasts of flinging the metaphorical poo will not be able to disrupt the conversation.

Then we can have a sarcasm search engine!

I vote for super dorky

nIce!

cough.

gOd!

I actually like this idea quite a bit.

No sarcasm.

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