I think most people who use it are just scared from the uneducated downvotes/ backlash and I think it just ruins the sarcasm.

I started to avoid using it on other social media as it seems kind of dumb.

My opinion for it on Lemmy is mostly the same but it might work better here if Lemmy had a sarcasm tag instead(the same way NSFW tag work)of /s to signal the sarcasm instead.

  • MicrowavedTea@infosec.pubEnglish
    23·
    3 months ago

    I’ve seen at least 4 misunderstandings on lemmy where someone explicitly asked for a /s tag in the end. It’s very much needed.

  • _NoName_English
    16·
    3 months ago

    upvoting because this is definitely unpopular. tone is not conveyed in text and various sarcastic phrases need the intonation to be understood as sarcastic.

      • chuckleslord@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        3 months ago

        No, there isn’t. Tone is inflection in speech and body-language. In text, you might reasonably think it could be inferred, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be conveyed. And if someone is missing the inference, piling on “evidence of tone” phrases could be misinterpreted as “more proof of conviction”.

        Use /s. If you get downvoted because you didn’t, that’s on you.

      • Saganaki@lemmy.oneEnglish
        32·
        3 months ago

        The problem is readers where English isn’t their primary language.

        • chuckleslord@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          3 months ago

          Or they’re neurodivergent. Or they’re fucking nazis trying to gaslight new recruits, claiming that the OP isn’t actually being sarcastic.

  • Cheems@lemmy.worldEnglish
    173·
    3 months ago

    I agree! There never is any confusion in text, it’s so incredibly obvious when people are being sarcastic. Tones are so easy to portray. /s

  • XIIIesq@lemmy.worldEnglish
    13·
    3 months ago

    You can be as bitter about it as you like but it absolutely is required. You could come up the most obvious sarcasm you could ever imagine, and I’ll find you people that believe you’re being sincere.

    We live in the post satire era.

    I’m not sure how your idea for a sarcasm tag is any different to /s, it seems to be a roundabout way to achieve the exact same thing.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe’s_law

  • andrewta@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    3 months ago

    So instead of a /s showing sarcasm we’d have a tag showing sarcasm. What exactly is the difference?

      • andrewta@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        3 months ago

        Unless you want the ability to utilize the tags. For example : never show sarcasm posts/comments

        Or

        Only show sarcasm posts/comments

        Then there would be a difference

    • chuckleslord@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      3 months ago

      Yeah, but the assholes will think you agree with them, which bolsters them. It’s much more fun to write out something they agree with to a T, and then add the /s tag. Completely deflating, utter devastation.

  • Randomgal@lemmy.caEnglish
    1·
    3 months ago

    I agree. It seems fragile to be be so afraid of… Checks nots purposeless down votes from random that are mostly bots.

  • sunzu2@thebrainbin.org
    21·
    3 months ago

    Or maybe gen pop should get better at reading comprehension and learning to ask clarifying question if they are unable to understand content and context for whatever reason.

    That’s how discussions work.

    OR we can just SPAZZZ RHEEEEE, DOWN VOTE BIGOT SOYBOY!