Sarcasm Inc

[K9]

Sooo apparently this company has invented a punctuation mark to indicate sarcasm.



Rave reviews have been published in The Telegraph and the Guardian.

I am torn between thinking this is ingenious and the dumbest thing ever.

[Samwise]

[Nebu]

I am torn between thinking this is ingenious and the dumbest thing ever.

I choose the second option.  If you have to denote sarcasm with punctuation, then your readers are too stupid to be reading your work in the first place.

Isn't the whole point (and punch) of sarcasm being smart enough to recognize it without a sign pointing the way?

[Samwise]

Using it: dumbest thing ever.  Somehow making money by selling it to dumb people: ingenious.

[NowhereMan]

Damn it you can only be sarcastic when you're speaking. They've got a punctuation mark indicating irony and if you have to tell people you're being ironic you're probably not doing it very well.

That said if they make money out of this they're geniuses.

[K9]

Using it: dumbest thing ever.  Somehow making money by selling it to dumb people: ingenious.

I think you've hit the nail on the head.

[Sky]

FIFY

[Tarami]

Damn it you can only be sarcastic when you're speaking.

Uh, what?

[Ingmar]

There are non-English languages (specifically Afro-Semitic) that have a sarcasm mark already, so this isn't even original.

[NowhereMan]

Damn it you can only be sarcastic when you're speaking.

Uh, what?

Sarcasm is saying something you don't mean (for humorous effect) in a certain tone of voice. Doing so without that tone of voice is irony, which covers all written communication. Man I sound like grammar nazi asshole.

[01101010]

FIFY

Beat me to it

[tazelbain]

I have a hard time getting over using a trademarked symbol as punctuation regardless if there is a need for sarcasm indicator.

[Tarami]

Sarcasm is saying something you don't mean (for humorous effect) in a certain tone of voice. Doing so without that tone of voice is irony, which covers all written communication. Man I sound like grammar nazi asshole.

No, it isn't. Tone of voice has nothing to do with sarcasm per se, it's just used to make it obvious, same as with irony.

Irony (in this context) is meaning the opposite of what you're saying. It's usually mean in some way, but not always obviously so. Saying "That pink dress with green polka dots was just enchanting" is being ironic, because it's obvious to the listener that you're not being sincere, and that you really thought it was horrid. Appearing sincere but thinking the opposite is not irony - it's just lying.

Sarcasm is ridiculing someone or being derogatory using irony. Like telling someone who is complaining about losing money at poker that they can make it back by playing the roulette. You don't really mean that they should - it's obvious irony - but you at the same time imply that they were idiots for gambling away all their money. Sarcasm is usually much easier to get across clearly than irony, because sarcasm often has some form of personal meaning to the listener.

[Righ]

Applying this symbol to an ironic statement negates it. It is in fact as Garth Algar would say - not!

[squirrel]

Sarcasm is saying something you don't mean (for humorous effect) in a certain tone of voice. Doing so without that tone of voice is irony, which covers all written communication. Man I sound like grammar nazi asshole.

No, it isn't. Tone of voice has nothing to do with sarcasm per se, it's just used to make it obvious, same as with irony.

Irony (in this context) is meaning the opposite of what you're saying. It's usually mean in some way, but not always obviously so. Saying "That pink dress with green polka dots was just enchanting" is being ironic, because it's obvious to the listener that you're not being sincere, and that you really thought it was horrid. Appearing sincere but thinking the opposite is not irony - it's just lying.

Sarcasm is ridiculing someone or being derogatory using irony. Like telling someone who is complaining about losing money at poker that they can make it back by playing the roulette. You don't really mean that they should - it's obvious irony - but you at the same time imply that they were idiots for gambling away all their money. Sarcasm is usually much easier to get across clearly than irony, because sarcasm often has some form of personal meaning to the listener.

This. Ethiopic languages already have a symbol for sarcasm that looks similar to an inverted exclamation mark.

Sarcasm is at it's simplest the use of irony to express contempt. The form is irrelevant.

That said, having to identify sarcasm in the english language is self-defeating and stupid.

[Signe]

This will be the death of sarcasm. 

[Azazel]

Isn't the whole point (and punch) of sarcasm being smart enough to recognize it without a sign pointing the way?

I'm not sure.

[schild]

This will be the death of sarcasm. 

Women calling themselves sarcastic was already the death of sarcasm. We buried it with green. They're just shitting on a grave now.

[lamaros]

The Guardian blogs are just riviting, witty, reading, aren't they?

[schild]

[schild]

Seriously though, if anyone uses that outside of this thread, I'll fucking ban them.

[NowhereMan]

Sarcasm is saying something you don't mean (for humorous effect) in a certain tone of voice. Doing so without that tone of voice is irony, which covers all written communication. Man I sound like grammar nazi asshole.

No, it isn't. Tone of voice has nothing to do with sarcasm per se, it's just used to make it obvious, same as with irony.

Irony (in this context) is meaning the opposite of what you're saying. It's usually mean in some way, but not always obviously so. Saying "That pink dress with green polka dots was just enchanting" is being ironic, because it's obvious to the listener that you're not being sincere, and that you really thought it was horrid. Appearing sincere but thinking the opposite is not irony - it's just lying.

Sarcasm is ridiculing someone or being derogatory using irony. Like telling someone who is complaining about losing money at poker that they can make it back by playing the roulette. You don't really mean that they should - it's obvious irony - but you at the same time imply that they were idiots for gambling away all their money. Sarcasm is usually much easier to get across clearly than irony, because sarcasm often has some form of personal meaning to the listener.

Well now I feel silly.

[Tarami]

I'm convinced you could correct me on ten things if you cared to, this is the Interweb after all!

[Thrawn]

This seems like a great idea

[dusematic]

This will be the death of sarcasm. 

Women calling themselves sarcastic was already the death of sarcasm. We buried it with green. They're just shitting on a grave now.

LOL.  So true.  I've yet to meet a woman that doesn't think she's "super sarcastic."

[K9]

After some thought, don't we already use ellipsis to denote sarcasm in written form generally?

[Musashi]

Not really.  Italics maybe.

[lamaros]

Not really.  Italics maybe.

You're right...

No really, you're right...

[gryeyes]

Well now I feel silly.

Ive heard you say it before, curious as to why you believed that?

[Lantyssa]

LOL.  So true.  I've yet to meet a woman that doesn't think she's "super sarcastic."

I've yet to meet a guy who doesn't think he's incredibly witty when talking about women.

[dusematic]

http://phoenix.fanster.com/blackjesusdisciples/files/2009/02/its-not-your-fault.jpg

[NowhereMan]

Well now I feel silly.

Ive heard you say it before, curious as to why you believed that?

Well I was aware irony was effectively saying or writing something you emphatically don't mean for comedic effect while sarcasm was more or less the same thing but typically identified by a sarcastic tone of voice. Yeah sarcasm is also strongly identified by it's intent to mock (thus I guess why it's far clearer in conversation than irony) and so it usually only gets employed when talking with people. That and I never bothered to crack open a dictionary to look the precise definitions up.

[Azazel]

@
a

I'm just saying.