Sarcasm: Say what you mean, mean what you say.

[gwb123]

On behalf of the Administrators and Moderating Staff of this Forum:

 

We make an effort to keep the conversations on here free flowing, loose and unencumbered with pages and pages of rules. It's our goal to keep it that way as long as a civil atmosphere is maintained while exchanging information, sharing our collections and our expertise.

 

But certain things undermine that atmosphere. Chief among them is sarcasm.

 

Sarcasm is writing something that you don't really mean, but is written to illustrate a point with attempted irony or humor by saying the opposite of your true view. It is often tied to criticism of either an item, or worse, an individual.

 

Sarcasm can be very powerful in a speaking environment. That is where voice, tone, gestures and facial expression can reinforce that the comment is not meant to be taken or seriously.

 

But sarcasm often fails and can be destructive in a written environment. Despite all the wit and humor that was intended, sarcastic remarks may be read literally by those who are not in on the joke. And that is where the trouble starts.

 

We've had an incident this weekend where some of our experienced collectors opened a thread attacking an item on eBay.

Remarks were made such as "must have" and "I'll be bidding on this one, for sure". Another one of our members read these remarks, took them literally and bid on the item... to the tune of $1,600... for an item that most people felt was fake or doctored.

 

This is exactly the kind of thing that can happen, but should not happen here. This is a Forum about facts and details. People come on here to learn and educate themselves, whether it is a brand new collector or an experienced one who is moving into a new area.

 

Threads built on sarcasm are useless to our readers. If you want to criticize something, then do so. Say what you mean, and mean what you say, and leave no room for confusion. Even better, give enough details so that the rest of us can learn from you and understand what you are seeing.

 

One of the ironies here is that we provide Private Messaging, in which members can pretty much post what ever they want to. If someone feels this kind of put down humor is necessary, it can be shared with the rest of your inside group off-line.

 

Please consider this a fair warning. Threads that begin with and continue with empty and misleading sarcastic content will be subject to review, editing or removal. They are contrary to the purpose of this Forum, where our goal is to educate based on facts. We have no need for these kinds of nonproductive threads occupying space and tying up Forum resources.

 

If anyone feels they need a clarification of this, you may contact any of the Administrators or myself through Private Messaging.

 

Gil Burket