h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm fairly new to h2g2 - and being a rather humourous and ironic creature I jumped right in. I soon got myself in a bit of a pickle because I assumed people would realise I was joking, when they didn't.

I had it explained to me that smilies were there to convey this sort of thing, because we can't actually 'see' each other. Fair enough and I should have realised English humour isn't 'universal' .

I'm now trying to use them but I still find they sometimes kill the joke. Maybe its because I'm a very texty type!

I would be really interested to know what others think - from whatever country or culture.

Long live irony and mighty English humour.

I don't think you need to worry too much. The main problem with text and HooToo is most people type to beat the thread, without reading what they've read. This means it doesn't always make sense, or the meaning is lost due to using the wrong phraseology. Smilies can convey the meaning, but may also be mis-interpreted. If you look back on some of the 3N threads that I have met you on, you will see what I mean.
The main thing is to be careful not to dig a deeper hole. Usually a day's respite is enough for most HooToo-ers to have gone beyond the post and have forgotten.
Good luck from a fellow 'Smoke'-er.

what's hootoo?

H2G2,

ie:- htoo gtoo = hootoo.

Smileys can also be used to get away with murder.

Because their use is encouraged by the site managers and membership, for the reasons you've discovered - ie: to make it clear when you're joking or being ironic) it is possible to say the most hateful, stupid and distasteful things and get away with it. As long as you add an idiot grin at the end, everyone will think you were 'just kidding'.

Irony is a complex issue. Like wine, there are juvenile quick brews and there are fine aged decantings. It requires maturity to see what is simply a flip remark and what is a well constructed ironic statement.

In either case, the rules here allow one to mark anything with a smiley to convince readers you were being friendly and witty. I tend to overuse them. Often, the more I use, the less likely they really mean anything. And sometimes they are everything.

~jwf~

F

jwf, that is the biggest load of rubbish I've ever heard, you total idiot.


(Hey, that does work, doesn't it? Now - what was that about maturity?)

B

The most difficult thing to get right is the timing. Many times I've thought of a 'witty riposte' and posted only to find another post has jumped in ahead of mine, thus ruining the comic timing completely.

Comic timing's an interesting thing. Do you ever set up a gag IRL then pause slightly at the end of the set-up (to get the right amount of anticipation for the punchline) only to find that someone interjects during the pause and messes up the timing and the joke?

Hmmm...I suspect I'm more often the git who interrupts with the punchline.

B

>> jwf, that is the biggest load of rubbish I've ever heard, you total idiot. <<







You spelled idjit wrongly.
And you may have offended idiots everywhere.
Yes, they're everywhere.


~jwf~