Chap wrote:Jersey Girl wrote:I would like to know what you mean when you use the phrase "faux-profanity" if you are willing to explain.
I am referring to posts filled with dashes and asterisks, eked out by a sprinkling of permitted sub-obscenities, presumably to convey the impression 'Hey! I'm a really tough guy/gal, and if we were in a bar I'd be yelling obscenities at my interlocutors and jabbing at them with my finger while breathing beerily in their faces. Then you'd have to stop disagreeing with me.'
Jersey Girl wrote:
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You think that when people use swearage in their posts it's akin to yelling in a bar expressing toughness? To me, swearage is simply emphasis unless it's used in a barrage of a profanity laced attack. Swearing equals yelling and intimidation? Maybe in some cases, I suppose.
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Nope. It's just that on a message board pretend swearing shows a frankly ridiculous wish to signal how very, very authentic and genuine one is, by deploying means which have no impact or relevance in this medium. It's adding a sig line saying 'Hey, if you met me in real life you'd be really impressed by the force of my earthy personality.'
To which I answer: Uh-huh. Is that so? But what do you actually have to say to us?