[WikiEN-l] wtf.

[Steve Summit]

Oskar wrote:
> Look, if a wikipedia user is uncivil, he's uncivil. We are all
> relatively intelligent people, we know when a person is uncivil,
> whether he uses hyperbole, sarcasm, satire, iambic pentameter, or
> whatever.

Your sarcastic use of the noble iambic pentameter in this
sentence is offensive to me as a poet.  Please be more civil
in future.

But seriously...

> A blanket ban on sarcasm seems outrageously misguided.
> I mean, show me an example of a user that's mean in a sarcastic way.
> Doesn't that ALREADY fall under WP:CIVIL?

I asked more or less this question on the talk page just now,
and the original proposer claims that it "is not a 'ban' on
sarcasm per se", but rather "an explanation that sarcasm is a
form of rudeness, as some people seem not to be aware of it".
He proposes to include it in "the list of 'minor offenses',
alongside other similar forms of incivility."

Given that inadvertent incivility due to the limitations of the
written medium is a constant problem, compounded by different
senses of humor, a mild reminder (e.g. on that list of minor
offenses) isn't necessarily inappropriate, pointing out that
sarcasm can be misinterpreted and can be uncivil if too biting
or if directed at a particular person.