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Posting Styles and the written word

Discussion in 'Announcements' started by Wesley Gorby, Nov 24, 2017.

  1. Wesley Gorby

    Wesley Gorby Production/Community Manager
    Staff Member

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    Hey everyone,

    I know I have posted about such things in the past, I want to go over this again. It is important to point this out from time to time, as we tend to get wrapped up in our lives and forget the subtleties of such things.

    There are many forms of speaking; one of the things we easily tend to forget is that forums, groups and other venues of commenting lack some of the largest methods with which we gather intent as to what someone is trying to convey; those being-- tone, register, prosody and body language.

    When those elements of speech are missing, we tend to fill in those elements ourselves (inner monolog) just as we do when reading a book. Also, familiarity comes into play, as you read things from a person or group of people a picture starts to form of that person(group) and develop over time by your experiences reading their comments.

    In the short form (lack of familiarity) it is quite often that the context of what the user said can be misconstrued/misunderstood or taken the wrong way (most all internet comment fights start this way). Even with exposure (greater familiarity), it is extremely easy to take something completely in a wrong direction or light as to what the original writer intended.

    So, the next time you read something and it strikes you in a bad tone, pause and come back to it later, re-read and ask yourself; 'Is this what the writer intended to say?', 'Am I unconsciously filling in tone, register, and prosody in my inner dialog to make up for the lack of those things in this post?', 'should I ask them privately if that is in fact what they meant before I go all social warrior on them?'

    Personally, for myself, I tend to write in a very friendly manner as if you, I and our friends were all sitting around a coffee table or gaming table and just chatting, hanging out and having a casual afternoon. There are times when my tone (writing) changes because I have to convey something in an official light or as a moderator (thankfully the later is not very often at all).

    Please directly message me, or other staff members, if you are unsure of the tone of any comment posted by myself, staff or another user or use our support system to file a concern.

    Thanks for listening,
    @Krilion_GD
     
    Tay-Dor likes this.
  2. owlbear

    owlbear Administrator
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  3. Wesley Gorby

    Wesley Gorby Production/Community Manager
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    Just a bump to keep this fresh since it came up again recently :)
     

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