> Perhaps I could invent a spoken language where disparaging remarks are possible but extremely lengthy, thereby discouraging negativity from people in bad mood

> Perhaps I could invent a spoken language where disparaging remarks are possible but extremely lengthy, thereby discouraging negativity from people in bad moods. I can see how you might think think my comment is passive aggressive, but it is not. Passive aggression is "the expression of anger, hostility, or resentment through indirect means, especially obstructive or uncooperative behavior: those who expected him to lambast his foes were always going to be disappointed; passive aggression is more his style." (Apple dictionary) First, if you take my comment as a whole, you can see I was not indirect in my criticism of your comment. Second, I do not feel anger, hostility, or resentment about you or your comment. Rather, I feel disappointment that this kind of thing happens so often. It is not just you (or any one person) that disparages creativity -- many people have done it, including myself. The language design comment is sincere. It was a sort of thought experiment. I can also recognize that it is a pointed comment that led to some reflection (I hope), which is why it might have felt like an attack. Still, remember I criticized your behavior, not you. The comment had the additional purpose of highlighting that language design has broad applicability, and perhaps might reduce some kinds of unwelcome behavior, whether it be bad-mood inspired negativity or error-prone programming abstractions. Rust and Alumina aim to have more expressive types than C, for example. Human language shapes culture and thought -- at least according to many linguists.