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From: weemba@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Matthew P. Wiener)
Newsgroups: net.philosophy,net.sci,net.jokes.d,net.women,net.nlang
Subject: Re: Satire for the masses
Message-ID: <13006@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Sun, 6-Apr-86 18:38:10 EST
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Posted: Sun Apr  6 18:38:10 1986
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In article <1261@mtx5a.UUCP> mat@mtx5a.UUCP (m.terribile) writes:
>> A lot of people seem to be having trouble recognizing satire. . . .
>
>Sorry, weemba, the problem is not with good satire.

Agreed.

>                                                                      This
>is bad, because it means that our bad satire is taken as non-satire.  And THIS
>is very bad.  Very, very bad because it can cause some awful hurt feelings.
>Did you see the ``We're out to get you, Cheryl'' article?  Satire MUST be read
>as satire, even if it is not written as satire.  Hence the need for the smiley.

Hence my article!  People will continue to write bad satire and leave off :-)s.
I was asking people to listen to that little warning bell --GONG-- in the back
of their heads, in order to save themselves confusion and hurt.  Not only did
I see the article mentioned, I remember the followup stated that as there were
no :-)s involved, it obviously wasn't satire, hence the flame.  (I should point
satire isn't always humorous.)

ucbvax!brahms!weemba	Matthew P Wiener/UCB Math Dept/Berkeley CA 94720