Post History

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/43972
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Most of us who have spent more than a few days reading things and interacting with people on the internet know how difficult it is to convey sarcasm. There is no _tone_ there is only the words on our screens. Surely there is a way to express oneself in text in such a way that sarcasm is understood.

Here on Stack Exchange we have the use of markdown. _We could put chunks of text in italics to distinguish it_, but that seems less than ideal and markdown isn't available everywhere.

I've also used the `<sarcasm></sarcasm>` codeblock reference. But that is clunky and explicit. If you are going to be that up front you can also just say "This is sarcasm."

Then there is the simple fact that I have read plenty of sarcasm. Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams works are dripping with it. But I've never really determined why when they do it it is clear, but most others, myself included, seem to struggle with it. Is there a difference between sarcastic literature and people communicating on the internet?

**What I am looking for are specific techniques for delivering sarcasm, in print, that are reasonably detectable by the average reader, as such.**

Original score: 9