OVERVIEW: "Snark" and sarcasm

[Eric]

If you've spent more than a few minutes poking around the board you've probably noticed a common component of posting here- "snark", or biting sarcasm/ wit. Snark is part of the same tradition that brings "fuck your day" and pants-cannons to the real playa, a hard edged sense of humor tinged with reality. It's not something that's going away, nor would we want it to.

How does snark affect you and your posts?
The most common way you'll get hit with it is if you don't do basic research before posting a question, "highjack" a thread to post an unrelated question, or start a new thread on a topic that has been "beaten to death" (discussed endlessly) in existing threads. While we do ask posters to wait until a question gets an honest answer before anyone starts snarking, that doesn't always happen.

As was pointed out in the "Start Here" Overview, the majority of regulars on the ePlaya are extremely Self-Reliant and respond much better to people who show those traits as well. This comes from the knowledge that being unprepared on the actual Playa itself can lead to injury (and, as the ticket says, possibly death); it's assumed that if you're unwilling to do some basic checking online where it's fairly easy, than you're probably going to be unprepared on the playa. When you show you've done some research or have some familiarity when you post, the reception will be much better.

The other type of posts that will usually be hit with a lot of snark is one that comes off as trollish (questions intentionally designed to cause problems), "sleazy" (asking about sex camps or requests/offers that imply sex in trade for something) or full of attitude ("I know better than anyone else"). These posts are almost guaranteed to get snarky responses, and the usual suggested standard of an honest reply to a post before snarking doesn't always get followed for them.

The positives of Snark
The positive side of snark is that it keeps conversation lively, funny, and active. Every member is on here by choice, and if it wasn't fun for all of us there wouldn't be anyone to ask question to in the first place.