What works best for you as an answer? Sarcasm? Or detailed writing?

I prefer to give appropriate answers to the questions asked. Sometimes it’s short and to the point, others are long and involved. I don’t try to give sarcasm, because that’s just mean, but satire may work it’s way into an answer if I go on to long, if it seems appropriate to the topic.

Are those the only two options? I have carpal tunnel syndrome so I try to be succinct.

Well…as I’m often reminded…sarcasm and humor don’t always translate well in forums. Readers often interpret such attempts as mean spirited or insulting.

An answer that best suits the type of question asked.

There are more useful techniques then sarcasm, such as irony and indirection. Sarcasm is heavy-handed, obvious and not very enlightening.

Fuck ‘em if the can’t take a joke. I’ve been caught out a lot, too. I’ve not recognized sarcasm. It’s ok. I’m not the dimmest bulb in the chandelier, but I’m not the brightest, either. Sometimes I burn out, too, and have to be replaced. I do enjoy those mind transplants….. not!

Sarcasm must be absurd, but it is amazing how many people will find what I think is absurd to be believable. I tend to try to make my sarcasm a little more obvious, now.

An answer is an answer. Some answers work for me and others don’t. Sometimes I am inspired to be sarcastic, and other times serious. The same is true for others. It is a function of mood, humor, and intellect. Probably phase of the moon, too.

So I can’t answer your question. What is best for me depends on so many intangible factors. I am glad there are all kinds of people out there who provide all different kinds of answers. Some of them I skip. Some I read intently. Some I make fun of. Some I respond to with as much thought as I can muster. Some I research. Some are so incomprehensible that I have no idea what to say.

So fuck ‘em if they can’t take a joke. It mostly shows me they don’t get me, and if you don’t get me, then there’s not much point in talking to you, is there? Unless you take a little responsibility and try to be constructive instead of complaining or teasing or being mean to me.

My rule is that I give people back what I get from them. If I think someone is mean, then I am mean back to them. It’s based on a game theory called “tit for tat.” It is supposed to be the most effective technique. But I only do this when I care about an answer, or I feel in the mood for a tussle. I never take my battles seriously. It’s just for shits and giggles as people here are wont to say. Some people will get all prickly and I need only say the barest little thing. So I do, and let them go off on their own rants. I figure I’m performing a public service by letting people get angry, if that’s what they want to do.

I never get angry. I may look angry, but I’m not. It’s just part of the message.

I recommend you look at sarcasm that way, too. Don’t take it personally. It’s just a strategy for conveying some message. Whatever the message is, it’s hardly worth getting upset about—unless you enjoy being upset. But realize, if you get upset, most likely you are just doing exactly what the person wanted you to do.

It depends on the example of both the specific question and the answer.

Whether brief sarcasm or detailed and serious, or somewhere in between, and answer can be helpful and appropriate, or not.

Different questions also seem to be to invite, intentionally or not, different kinds of reply. And yes, I do mean that in some cases, I think a question deserves a short sarcastic answer more than anything else. I’d say that more questions, especially on Fluther, do NOT warrant a sarcastic reply.

For me, it depends on the question. Sometimes I give a real answer, but sometimes a question simply begs for sarcasm.

It depends on the question.

Brevity.

I appreciate humor in answers to even serious questions. I’m likely to remember responses that make me smile. Sarcasm though, rarely equals humorous. It’s more incendiary than enlightening in most cases, so even when a question seems to beg for a sarcastic reply, I’ll think it but not type it. Yeah, right.

@Lightlyseared Would you elaborate on that, please? It sounds like you might have something interesting, but I can’t tell if you don’t define it, explain it, and provide three examples.

The right answer and it might be that the right answer involves sarcasm. Or a blend of both as the individuals in our community respond to a question. We are a group of individuals and I love reading people’s sensible, sarcastic and sometimes downright silly responses.

@Bellatrix If the pillow doesn’t mind ;) wink, wink

@wundayatta If I had something interesting to say I wouldn’t be posting one word puns, now would I?

It really does depend on the question. @WillWorkForChocolate said it perfectly.

Depends on the question and my mood. Sometimes sarcasm is better.

It varies with the question and hence the reason for General or Social.
General is more detail with a sprinkle of sarcasm if appropriate.
Social is much more tongue in cheek sarcasm answer splattered in a detailed reply.

Sometimes I am downright sarcastic.

Sometimes I write very detailed answers, which often don’t get as much lurve as a simple yes or no response because nobody wants to read a more detailed way to say something.

Other times, I have had answers so long that it became way out of scope of the actual question so I didn’t post it. I ended copying it into Word and saving it.

I just like answering and fuck the tilde.

You get it or you don’t.

hell ⅔ of my answers are just for me anyway

Short as possible; occasional wry with a twist.

I’m quite sarcastic on occasions, sometimes I answer with the intent of being honest and it ends up sounding sarcastic. Sometimes the opposite occurs.

I don’t like to get too detailed, because I always end up waffling on and on and on…and well, let’s just be honest here, I’m just not smart enough to give such interesting, “factually correct” opinions and information.

@Blondesjon You don’t find the tilde a little small and soft?~ Personally, when I wanna fuck something, I go for the |

I’ve bedded a / and a \, but in the end, it’s really only | that really does it for me.

I try to keep it short and no sarcasm.

^^ Yeah right. Twit. :D

^^Bite me you careless, thongless hussy!

We’ve played this game before, and you won’t let me bite you.