When you want to say something to someone online, one of the hardest feelings to purvey is sarcasm. So when you want to speak sarcastically, in text, you capitalize the last letter in the sarcastic sentence. That way they'll know what you mean.
Ex. Before: "Yeah Dad, I left the stove on." Reaction: Dad gets mad thinking you actually left the stove on. After: "Yeah Dad, I left the stove oN." Reaction: Dad realizes it was a silly question in the first place and goes back to what he was doing.-- Chickenbreadthe1st, Jul 24 2007 I already though of this, kinda Sarcasm_20LockSarcasm Lock [Giblet, Jul 24 2007] Sarcasm Mark http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm_markWikipedia already has a page on it... [Chrysaora, Jul 27 2007] Sarcastic Font Website http://glennmcanally.com/sarcastic/via MeFi : http://www.metafilter.com/110384/Because-its-like-SO-IMPORTANT-to-have-the-right-font [Dub, Dec 12 2011] Authorities 'use analytics tool that recognises sarcasm' http://www.bbc.co.u...technology-23160583Let's hope NSA use one [Dub, Jul 03 2013] Hover Behavior for Sarcastic Text http://chronicallyu...ff/tech/sarcasm.htmIndicating Sarcasm with some CSS [lepton, Feb 25 2014] Yeah, because the online community is already so good at obeying capitalisation ruleS.-- Texticle, Jul 24 2007 Very cutE-- phundug, Jul 24 2007 Good spoken sarcasm should be delivered completely straight, the only clue is the content of the statement, not the way it is delivered. If you have to resort to saying it in an obvious way, it isn't good sarcasm (in fact, it might be irony).-- marklar, Jul 24 2007 Yeah.
Right.-- Murdoch, Jul 24 2007 I always thought if you have to resort to saying it in an obvious way, it's sardonicism.-- shapu, Jul 24 2007 I really like the simplicity of this idea. It's been attempted so many times, but always using flags, fonts, hotkeys, special spelling rules, new punctuation marks, etc. which were infeasible and gave away the sarcasm instead of letting the reader detect it.
The single capital at the end is easy, and - since the sentence looks normal until you get to the last letter, it retains its normal conversational look and feel.-- phundug, Jul 24 2007 I think an existing symbol which is not already used at the end of a sentence would be better, used in the same way as ! and ? perhaps $ or #-- marklar, Jul 25 2007 In Espanol a query is preceded by an inverted question mark. You could use an inverted exclamation mark to preface sarcasm, but identifying sarcasm in any way uttery defeats the point of using it. Sarcasm is a simultaneous test of the recipient's intelligence and sense of humor.-- nuclear hobo, Jul 25 2007 <sarcasm> brilliant. </sarcasm>-- GutPunchLullabies, Jul 25 2007 Listen. This is the one. "I already though of this, kinda Sarcasm_20Lock" Of course. Everyone has thought at one time or another of some way to express sarcasm through email/txt. This, however, is the simple, elegant answer. "I think an existing symbol which is not already used at the end of a sentence would be better, used in the same way as ! and ? perhaps $ or #" Really, marklar? Is that more subtle? "identifying sarcasm in any way uttery defeats the point of using it." ReallY, nuclear hobo? C'mon fellas, how can this have fish bones? This is best idea I've read on this site yet.-- frosto, Jul 30 2007 Nice, sock it to 'em brother.-- theleopard, Jul 31 2007 [frosto]: sp: yeT.-- moomintroll, Jul 31 2007 why are you texting your father about the stove, is my questions? do you live in the same house? and yet you must text each other?-- k_sra, Jul 31 2007 I originally didn't like this idea but I've been using it far too much in my annos not to bun it [+]. It still needs a different symbol though, people might think I'm just a bit clumsy with the shift key.
[nuclear hobo] I really like having the question mark at the beginning, I've seen it in a couple of languages. It's so much nicer to know that it's a question from the beginning.-- marklar, Aug 08 2007 I prefer a bullet point, as in a big full-stop (menstruation mark for those of you in 'The World').
I much prefer salad with water to steak and chips with beer•-- vincevincevince, Aug 08 2007 sarcasm is a dish best served ambiguous. "was that an insult?" they should be thinking after you have walked away. no need to throw on gasoline. subtlety is an art.-- k_sra, Aug 08 2007 I agree with nuclear hobo and k_sra. If the sarcasm is plainly indicated, it defeats the whole purpose of sarcasm...humor and subtlety.-- Hog, Dec 23 2008 //humor and subtlety// That's irony. Sarcasm (literally 'flesh tearing') has a victim, and its intent is to hurt, usually by making the victim appear weak in the eyes of a third party.-- spidermother, Dec 23 2008 In DVD subtitles, (!) is used after the sentance. The wikipedia article has it, as well as about a bazillion others.
There's also different types of sarcasm - really harsh through to the very subtle that the recipient isn't meant to understand, but third parties are. And then there's the 'I don't even know anymore' sarcasm.-- hattiel, Dec 23 2008 //one of the hardest feelings to purvey is sarcasm//I think you meant to say "conveY"-- coprocephalous, Dec 23 2008 According to QI, sarcasm marks are carots surrounding the sarcastic bit like quotation marks. ^I knew that already of course^. To me it seems more like speaking in an eastern accent ^learry^.-- marklar, Dec 12 2011 //sarcasm marks are carots//
^Spot on.^-- MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 12 2011 //sarcasm marks are carots//
And this of course became the defacto standard in the '40s with the popularisation of the cartoon character Bugs Bunny and associated typographical conventions used in the scripts edited and read by Mel Blanc.-- zen_tom, Dec 14 2011 #@$! ^just being^-- pashute, Jun 26 2013 How bout typing the whole thing silly style?
"YeAh DaD, i LeFt ThE sToVe On."
It even kind of implies that wavering tone of somebody speaking a sentence sarcastically.-- doctorremulac3, Feb 25 2014 random, halfbakery