OT: Hostility in Forums

[AgentZero]

Xrati, you, and I, for that matter, can thank my Irish mother for that. She gifted me with a very Irish sense of humour (which is essentially a British sense of humour with more cursing), so my definition of sarcasm is a bit different to the North American norm.

The object of sarcasm, to me, is to ridicule, and it is all the more enjoyable for all involved when the subject is unaware that they are being ridiculed. I'm reminded of the worn-out old joke that appears nearly every pre-teen high school sitcom, where some adult asks our antidisestablishmentarianist protagonist if they know what sarcasm means, to which our peppy teen rolls his/her eyes and replies, "NOOOooooooo."

This is not sarcasm. I'm not sure what it is. Mild douchebaggery, perhaps? The above example may draw a few laughs from younger viewers as the poor adult somehow misses the "sarcasm" and sets about explaining it, but when someone replies in a slightly curious tone, "Actually, no, I'm not familiar with the term. What is it exactly?" the entertainment value of watching someone unwittingly explaining sarcasm to the owner of a PhD in English is unparalleled.