Text is emotionless

[apollor]

Hi all,

Something Castus posted today in response to some of the recent tonal increase made me think perhaps some of us have never been so lucky to be enlightened with Internet Etiquette nonsense before.

I don't want to ram anything down anyones neck, but in my 17 or mote years of using the net, moderating mailing lists and general other geeky activities, I have seen my fair share of flame-wars and textual combating, some of it -not- pretty.

And so I offer the following advice for contemplation, adoption or simply ignoring :-)

Text (on the 'net) is by far the single most emotionless communication medium we have, it is very difficult for humans to communicate humor, jibes, roasts, cheers, congratulations, digs and even anger through such a medium. The subtle emotions are obviously the more difficult.

Long ago, and please consult Wikipedia for details as I'm sure it will be there, some clever guys decided to start using 'emoticons'. Or more commonly called "Simley's". To try and ensure that their text was understood by the reader in the right way. Unfortunately 'Smiley's' got hijacked by newbies that just figured they were 'cute' when in fact they have purpose. Here's an example:

To show
happiness
sadness
*grinning*
poking tongue - sort of like 'so nyer!'
winking - 'ey ey, three winks as good as a nudge to a blind bat'
crying

Along with these emoticons you have to use them appropriately, if you want to convey something with sarcasm then it's generally accepted that you 'poke tongue' or 'wink' to show that there is an underlying meaning to the text preceding the smiley.

e.g. Druid bears are smelly :-P

or Warlocks are just shadow-mages with pets ;-)

It's really simple, but those few little characters change the tone immensely for how a comment is interpreted.

The other thing is, never post angry. I've done countless times myself. I've read something, seen red and bitten back instantly only to feel like a complete idiot because I didn't have the full story or was missing other info. Sometimes I was in the right but I came of looking a jerk because my response was just too aggressive.

The simple solution is to never respond immediately. But to wait, even just a few minutes before typing a response to something you feel passionate about. And once written, don't click 'post' until you re-read it to yourself. There's just no point getting aggravated and confrontational through text, because more often than not it -is- a miscommunication.

Also, on mediums like forums give it a while for others to chime in before you post. If something -is- over the top others will see it and post first (often in your defense) or their responses will show you that you've miss-read or just read to much into the original post. Community perspective can be a good thing.

Anyway, as I said not picking at anyone, I just through that perhaps I'd share this with you good folk so that it sits in the back of your mind and helps with a little reflective insight into getting your point across and being well understood. :-)

Now, grab ya handbags and line up. There's some biotch slappin to be done! ;-)

-Apo

[gbsilk]

What nonsense - I challenge you to a duel sir!

Holy pallies at dawn... until about dusk (then break for dinner) then again from midnight until we get bored.

[apollor]

/yell Quincyx wears a skirt on his other toon!
/cast Divine Shield
/cast Hearthstone

Then make way to nearest pub to drink and gloat about the pally I left in the forrest!

His last words were "He, he was so fast.. All I saw was a burst of light... and then he was gone! Did I win? Oh no I might have lost!"

[gbsilk]

GB wears dresses not skirts thank you very much.

Apotha is a girl's name btw

[seveneves]

I purposefully make my posts as emotionally ambiguous as possible, because the reactions you get show you a lot about people.

[gbsilk]

Apparently, according to Apo, I make my toons sexually ambigious as well. Not sure what that tells you about me though...

[thoragk]

That's the biggest load of rats I've ever read Apo....















.. Though, I used to have a girlfriend who would misinterpret a text message and crack the shits ALL THE TIME... on the other weeks she would crack the shits because I wouldn't reply to her text messages.

If I'm in doubt about the context of a statement, I'll generally opt to take it in the lighter tone. I hope everyone does it with me too

[baddemon]

Yeah, that's an interesting approach Sev - probably not the most conducive to good relations with other guildees.

My least favorite statement that I hear all the time is "it's just a game!" What isn't? Thousands of people have died from riots at soccer games! The point is, despite being a computer game, I (like many other people) have invested a lot of time and effort in it - therefore I'm going to be a bit emotional about it. And there is nothing "game-like" about the relationships between real people. Whether it be WoW, or any other type of social interaction, people are going to take it very seriously. How often have you seen people get in a fight at a bar or club? Don't people go to those places for the sole purpose of having fun and blowing off steam? WoW is no different.

I would ask everyone (including Sev) to try not to incite negative emotions on the forums. I'm not saying don't post your opinion about a particular subject, or even that you feel someone else is completely wrong. But writing your opinion about a particular person or their motives does nothing but cause drama.

[seveneves]

You're perfectly correct bad, hence the reason I'll be keeping to myself a lot more from now on.