Humor and Misunderstanding on the Forums

[Epcot_Imagineer]

I first started this account when I was quite young and had a desire to be an Imagineer, mostly relegating myself to that portion of this site. Not long after, my attention shifted (like so many young people's brains do), and stopped posting here mostly lurking. In the past month or so I decided to come back to this site and I quickly picked up on a problem that seems to be spanning many different sections of these Forums: Sarcasm and Misunderstanding. From the couple weeks or so I have been back engaging and posting, and have already seen countless instances of seemingly harmless jokes being taken as insults/attacks.

I am making this thread simply to discuss this problem, and the possible solutions to it! I hate seeing people making good jokes to lighten the mood in threads, only for someone to become agitated and lash out over a misunderstanding.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

 

[Epcot_Imagineer]

The fact that when I saw a new post and genuinely expected a serious response, but instead got that, has taught me a valuable life lesson.

 

[King Racoon 77]

 

[champdisney]

Some can't tell when a joke is being delivered, it's as simple as that. Their concept of a joke consists of an actual interaction in which they are sure to know when a joke is being made. I come on here all the time and fool around saying tons of goofy stuff, just to enlighten the mood. However, there's a lot of Bob Iger's here, who are just dry and want to speak professionally all the time which results to my funny comments (funny to me at least, I know I'm lame haha) being taken seriously and I'm looking like a legit A-hole. But hey! That doesn't change a thing.

After all, it's the internet.

 

[Goofyernmost]

The fact that when I saw a new post and genuinely expected a serious response, but instead got that, has taught me a valuable life lesson.

Weren't you the one that was just talking about a joke being taken as an insult. Perhaps, you just did the same thing. I hope the life lesson is that serious is a base for every joke. Sarcasm has it's base in serious as well. No one can hear the inflection in the voices of people posting on a discussion board and generally the entire population of this country as well as the world is tense to put it mildly. It is worse now that it has been in all the years that I have been on this board and until external elements improve I don't see it getting better, only worse. So people are a little paranoid and sensitive, it just shows that we are human and trying to get some control in our lives. If we are lucky it is only humor that is misinterpreted.

 

[macefamily]

Some people need to chill out and understand that this is a friggin' forum about an amusement park !!! It's all about fun. If someone wants to be sarcastic or shoot across a humorous comment, take it for what it is.

 

[Scrooged]

I’ve lurked for months. Now I’m a posting n00b. I’ve noticed the same thing, but I try and write it off and hope there isn’t a DM directed st me trying to blow out of proportion whatever lame joke or offense I may have caused or may not have apologized properly for. I’m just going to take this attitude and see what happens:

 

[Smiley/OCD]

It's also because we've become wwwaaaayyy too politically correct...

 

[Smiley/OCD]

Some of it is funny, some of it is over the top, some people just like to see their words in print (and like the sound of their own voice)...it is what it is.

 

[Dead2009]

Some people need to chill out and understand that this is a friggin' forum about an amusement park !!! It's all about fun. If someone wants to be sarcastic or shoot across a humorous comment, take it for what it is.

I thought it was a forum about tech support.