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only sincere replies please... - 12/8/2004 1:27:04 AM

Suleiman

Posts: 1127
Joined: 9/9/2004
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From time to time, I see this little caveat, or some variation thereof, appended to the bottom of some message, or even inserted into the end of a topic heading. I have seen it here on occasion (although it seems thankfully rare, or perhaps I simply have not noticed it amidst the otherwise typically exemplary debate and banter that continually draws me to this forum), and I see it frequently in other forums devoted to a variety of topics and lifestyles.

"only sincere replies please"

This always begs a few questions, which I have never quite felt sufficiently trollish to voice directly TO the person who used the qualifier as part of their inquiry, that I constantly have this nagging urge to ask.

First of all, if you feel the need to ask for only sincere replies to an otherwise personal or serious inquiry, should you really be posting your question in that forum at all? The implication is, after all, that you do not trust the forum community to actually give you a straight answer to your question.

Secondly, does anyone actually think such a proviso would actually work? Isn't it rather like yelling "stop thief!" after someone snatches your purse? What wiseacre, upon noting this addendum, promptly decides that, while they had some snide or facetious remark they were going to reply with, this indication of the authors seriousness has made them think twice, so now they are going to sit back and let the actual learned scholars weigh in with their remarks.

I realise that very often the persons who use this particular turn of phrase are often young, inexperienced, and/or insecure, and such a post script admonition is simply a reflection of that inexperience and insecurity (and in fact often acts as a red flag warning of this person's overall unfamiliarity with the subject matter, not to mention their capacity for turning almost any remark into a personal attack), but honestly, what is the point of such a requisite?

Then again, what is the point of posting such an inquiry here, other than to give voice to one's own frustrations without offending the easily offended? I suppose the entire topic is rhetorical, I just had to get that off my chest.

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Think of my verbosity as a sort of litmus test for our relationship. I write in a manner identical to how I speak and how I think. If you can not cope with what I have written here, it is probably for the best if we go our separate ways.

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RE: only sincere replies please... - 12/8/2004 1:37:37 AM

MistressDREAD

Posts: 2943
Joined: 1/1/2004
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but its oooh so fun turning peoples words at times into personal attacks Suleiman.
Its such a natural sadistic and simple way to break in folks to the not so normal Us.

by the way if you are not sincere dont reply..........PLEASE! ~wink~

at 4 in the morning Suleiman You have Me laughin My rask off at your simplistic issues nagging.

isent caveat sumthing you eat?? Ohhh no I think thats caviar........Ohhh hell Ill eat em both!!

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RE: only sincere replies please... - 12/8/2004 3:33:20 PM

happypervert

Posts: 2203
Joined: 5/11/2004
From: Scranton, PA
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Instead of addressing the issue of folks who ask for sincere replies, I'll toss in a mini-shot at some of the sincere replies. The vast majority of folks are content to just state their opinions and ideas. But occasionally someone pops in and starts a post with "In my 20+ years as a master blah blah blah" as if this means his ideas are automatically worth listening to. I suppose such folks intend for the reader to interpret it as meaning "I really know what I'm talking about", but whenever I see a post starting like that I think "This guy is probably going to say something stupid and wants it to go unchallenged".

Now, I'm not talking about the rare occasions when forum regulars mention their experience because it is necessary to put something in perspective -- I'm talking about folks who only mention their experience as a blatant ploy to gain credibility instead of gaining credibility simply by saying something that makes sense.

Anyway, like Suleiman "I have never quite felt sufficiently trollish to voice directly TO the person who used the qualifier as part of their" . . . reply, so this looked like a perfect spot to say it. However, this does not guarantee I that won't feel sufficiently trollish in the future to do just that.

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RE: only sincere replies please... - 12/9/2004 2:14:28 PM

AlphaGeek

Posts: 86
Joined: 8/22/2004
From: Charlottesville, VA, but in Orlando for a temp job
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Hmmm.. Interesting topic, Suleiman!

I think that the "sincere replies" caveat may be simply because so many people add their words to a topic, whether it's pertinent to the topic or not.

Unfortunately, it's about as effective as hanging a "no telemarketers" sign on your doorknob. LOL

While it would be nice for folks to abide by such requests, it's pretty unlikely that social change will come to this virtual community of Kinksters, Trolls, HNGs and other creatures (Thankfully, kinksters do vastly outnumber the others!)

Bottom line, it's a secret handshake for perpetual optimists. ;-)

A_G

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RE: only sincere replies please... - 12/9/2004 2:42:30 PM

MaitresseEden

Posts: 477
Joined: 8/8/2004
From: Houston, Texas
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Great food for thought.. to me it always meant "replies only to the topic matter please" At least that is how I take it to mean when affixed to a post. But like you I often see in on profiles as well and in that case I take it to mean. only those who agree 100% with the profile should reply.

Personally speaking, If it is a public forum and I want to give me opinion, I give it. I don't need someone permission to do so.

Ms. E

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RE: long profiles, many acronyms - 12/9/2004 7:11:21 PM

Suleiman

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Actually, segueing on the subject of odd habits in profiles, I've noticed the typical personals ad shorthand in a lot of profiles here. For the most part I gloss over it, since I can barely keep up with netisms much less the peculiar sub-language of newspaper date-shoppers, but I've noticed some people with long, wordy, articulate profiles that still use these acronyms, and I just find myself wondering, "will it kill this person to actually type out three extra words?". In a short, direct, laconic sort of profile, I can understand the use of such shorthand, or in the case of an abbreviated header paragraph used to sum up the details of your search in one easily scanned sentence, but when the same shorthand terminology crops up in the middle of some profile that's as long and verbose as an abridged version of the illiad, it seems kind of pointless to me (but then again, that's just me).

Once again, it's not something I'm probably ever going to directly confront anyone about, but there are times when I feel the need to give voice to my confuzzlement.

_____________________________

Think of my verbosity as a sort of litmus test for our relationship. I write in a manner identical to how I speak and how I think. If you can not cope with what I have written here, it is probably for the best if we go our separate ways.

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