4 ms·

Okay. I'm not sure dissecting the technical inaccuracies of a joke ("but an imam would never walk into a bar!") is itself a joke (and I'm pretty sure you edited

Okay. I'm not sure dissecting the technical inaccuracies of a joke ("but an imam would never walk into a bar!") is itself a joke (and I'm pretty sure you edited the comment just above to agree it was a joke, but maybe I just didn't read it closely enough), especially when you'd give the exact same response if you didn't know it was a joke, but did know it was technically incorrect, but fair enough.

ColinWright 5y ago
I didn't edit any comments, though I can appreciate that a quick skim might leave you with a different impression, and returning might lead you to believe I must have edited it. But I didn't. I really do think we've just been talking past each other. When something is as obviously "tongue-in-cheek" as the original post, I find it funny when people (a) get the joke, then (b) play it with a completely straight bat. It appears that doesn't cross cultural boundaries in the way I thought it would. You're not alone ... some of my comments are getting significant numbers of downvotes. <shrug> ... "Humour". I'll go back to appearing humourless and commenting purely technically on purely technical things. Meanwhile ... nice to connect with you ... thanks for the responses.
- lostcolony 5y ago
  Fair enough. I'll say, it helps to indicate you're not being serious in that situation; that's hard in text, but something like a "well akshually" (as a deprecating reference to https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ackchyually-actually-guy https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ackchyually-actually-guy) preceding it would help.
  - ColinWright 5y ago
    That's all true, but putting "humour warnings" kinds defeats the purpose, and converts what would be dry humour into something more akin to slapstick, a bit like that person we all know who always insists on going "Bah-doom, Tsh!" on every mildly funny aside. When someone else highlights things that that I no longer find them funny at all, so I'd be reluctant to do it. I appreciate the feedback ... I think the best thing for me is just not to try again, and to be explicit when I know something is a joke, and clear that I'm adding factual information. Watching people continue to downvote the comments I've made, HN is clearly the wrong place for me to do otherwise.
- alisonkisk 5y ago
  When people intentionally miscommunicate (even in jest), misunderstanding is a foreseeable side effect.

ColinWright 5y ago

I didn't edit any comments, though I can appreciate that a quick skim might leave you with a different impression, and returning might lead you to believe I must have edited it. But I didn't. I really do think we've just been talking past each other. When something is as obviously "tongue-in-cheek" as the original post, I find it funny when people (a) get the joke, then (b) play it with a completely straight bat. It appears that doesn't cross cultural boundaries in the way I thought it would. You're not alone ... some of my comments are getting significant numbers of downvotes. <shrug> ... "Humour". I'll go back to appearing humourless and commenting purely technically on purely technical things. Meanwhile ... nice to connect with you ... thanks for the responses.

lostcolony 5y ago
Fair enough. I'll say, it helps to indicate you're not being serious in that situation; that's hard in text, but something like a "well akshually" (as a deprecating reference to https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ackchyually-actually-guy https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ackchyually-actually-guy) preceding it would help.
- ColinWright 5y ago
  That's all true, but putting "humour warnings" kinds defeats the purpose, and converts what would be dry humour into something more akin to slapstick, a bit like that person we all know who always insists on going "Bah-doom, Tsh!" on every mildly funny aside. When someone else highlights things that that I no longer find them funny at all, so I'd be reluctant to do it. I appreciate the feedback ... I think the best thing for me is just not to try again, and to be explicit when I know something is a joke, and clear that I'm adding factual information. Watching people continue to downvote the comments I've made, HN is clearly the wrong place for me to do otherwise.
alisonkisk 5y ago
When people intentionally miscommunicate (even in jest), misunderstanding is a foreseeable side effect.