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Is satire, which often makes very heavy use of sarcasm, to be considered uncivilized?
by cosgroveb 15y ago
Is satire, which often makes very heavy use of sarcasm, to be considered uncivilized?
- kelnos 15y agoIn this case it just wasn't funny. (Yes, I know, subjective, blah blah blah. I don't care.)
- moultano 15y agoUnless it's exceptionally good then we're better off without it. The problem with sarcasm is that it insulates you from having to make an argument yourself. All you have to do is mimic your opponent and make them sound ridiculous. It's almost inherently a straw man fallacy unless it is exceptionally careful. If you can't use sarcasm you're forced to state what you believe in positive terms, which makes for much more fruitful discussion. It's like the "passive voice" of argumentation. There are some cases where you just have to, but your writing gets better if you categorically avoid it.
- MrMan 15y agothere is no room for satire on HN.
- jerrya 15y agoHacker News is a bit like KAOS. Unless you're at the North Pole, there is no joking here.