The sarcasm mark

January 13, 2010 3:08 PM

A long-standing online problem has been solved: Sarcmark Inc has invented the "sarcasm" indicator.

But is it part of the Unicode character set?

posted by Chocolate Pickle (72 comments total)

This looks so useful that I will begin using it immediately! Oh, wait. /sarcasm
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:10 PM on January 13, 2010 [8 favorites]

It doesn't really look like a hamburger, therefore, it is doomed to fail.
posted by zsazsa at 3:12 PM on January 13, 2010 [2 favorites]

This post needs a "HAMBURGER" tag.
posted by brundlefly at 3:13 PM on January 13, 2010

Instead of a hamburger, we get a wrap!
posted by Obscure Reference at 3:13 PM on January 13, 2010 [4 favorites]

Oh, a sarcasm indicator; that's a really useful invention!
posted by entropicamericana at 3:13 PM on January 13, 2010 [20 favorites]

This baby is right off the charts, mm-hai!
posted by Awakened at 3:13 PM on January 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I'm totally going to pay 1.99 to let people know when I'm sarcastic.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 3:14 PM on January 13, 2010 [6 favorites]

Worth every penny.
posted by turaho at 3:15 PM on January 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

This is a terrible idea for a product.

Am I doing this right?
posted by eyeballkid at 3:15 PM on January 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

Do we have to put the ® after every use of the new symbol?
posted by hippybear at 3:15 PM on January 13, 2010 [4 favorites]

Instead of a proprietary squiggly thing you have to convince all your friends to buy so they can comprehend your sarcasm, why not just cut out the middleman:

This is a greeeat idea! [$2]
posted by Crane Shot at 3:16 PM on January 13, 2010 [3 favorites]

Truly, we are living in the future.
posted by rtha at 3:16 PM on January 13, 2010

"SarcMark: Tell them how you really feel"

Windows 7
Special install instructions for this platform:
Install patch after downloading Vista/Windows 7 Version of software Click Here for Patch

Fuck you and your stupid idea.

Oh! That's nice.

Anyway, if you really wanted a unicode character to represent sarcasm, how about 9996;?
posted by boo_radley at 3:16 PM on January 13, 2010

More Windows-only software on the front page! Awesome!
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:17 PM on January 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

Which is ✌
posted by boo_radley at 3:17 PM on January 13, 2010

Do we really need that when we've already got the irony mark: ؟?
posted by adamrice at 3:19 PM on January 13, 2010 [4 favorites]

I don't get it.
posted by Balisong at 3:20 PM on January 13, 2010

Anyway, I bet Joe Becker dies a little bit when he sees his completely sincere and noble project used to make things like ಠ_ಠ ٩(-̮̮̃-̃)۶ ٩(●̮̮̃•̃)۶ ٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶ ٩(-̮̮̃•̃)
posted by boo_radley at 3:21 PM on January 13, 2010 [10 favorites]

This thread might be better aided by the invention of a Not Being Sarcastic mark.
posted by damehex at 3:22 PM on January 13, 2010 [2 favorites]

You mean: A long-standing online problem has been solved: Sarcmark Inc has invented[!] the "sarcasm" indicator.
posted by sebastienbailard at 3:23 PM on January 13, 2010

The gap between this product and people who think it's serious: a sarchasm.
posted by GuyZero at 3:23 PM on January 13, 2010 [28 favorites]

They trademarked and monetized the idea, but they didn't make it a social sensation first!
(best said in "You moved the headstones, but you didn't move the bodies!" voice)
posted by crapmatic at 3:23 PM on January 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

Inane. And hardly best of the web. Worse, the accompanying video appears written by someone who doesn't even know what sarcasm is.
posted by applemeat at 3:23 PM on January 13, 2010

Have you all not noticed that every paragraph extolling the benefits of the sarcasm mark in fact has the sarcasm mark?
posted by davejay at 3:27 PM on January 13, 2010

So the mark looks like something circling a drain? I think a better use of it would be for denotating an idea so stupid it's ultimately doomed to be an obvious failure.

So yeah, I guess what I'm saying is that this mark is applicable to itself.
posted by quin at 3:29 PM on January 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

I miss the dot-com era!
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:32 PM on January 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

Headline:

SarcMark draws Snark.
posted by bearwife at 3:35 PM on January 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

I think I just had a sargasm.
posted by Ron Thanagar at 3:37 PM on January 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

Don't need it...you guys are so fucking smart, you just know.
posted by iamkimiam at 3:50 PM on January 13, 2010

That commercial is really weird, sarcasm-man uses the sarcasm mark to indicate insults rather than sarcasm.
posted by bjrn at 3:52 PM on January 13, 2010 [2 favorites]

No.
posted by limeonaire at 3:53 PM on January 13, 2010

Wake me when there's an apathy mark.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 3:54 PM on January 13, 2010 [4 favorites]

SarcMark draws Snark.

Hark! SarcMark Snark!
posted by davejay at 3:54 PM on January 13, 2010

I have never found detecting sarcasm on the net to be a problem.

All it takes to do sarcasm on the net properly is a few italics tag on certain key words for emphasis and a modicum of intelligence from your readers.

Anyone left over who doesn’t get it can go fuck themselves.
posted by Effigy2000 at 3:56 PM on January 13, 2010 [3 favorites]

I really agree with that comment, Effigy2000.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 3:58 PM on January 13, 2010

Best of the web!
posted by fixedgear at 4:07 PM on January 13, 2010

In most fora, sarcasm is the default. What we really need is a sincerity indicator.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 4:09 PM on January 13, 2010 [2 favorites]

Indeed, Chocolate Pickle.
posted by Effigy2000 at 4:22 PM on January 13, 2010

Slashdot uses ~ at the end of a statement to denote sarcasm. Works for me.
posted by coolguymichael at 4:22 PM on January 13, 2010

Brilliant de haut en bas.
posted by tellurian at 4:31 PM on January 13, 2010

Wow, what a snarkgasm.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:43 PM on January 13, 2010

I thought that periods at the end of sentences implied sarcasm.
posted by mhz at 4:45 PM on January 13, 2010

I like HAMBURGER as it just feels more natural. Finding a new character would just be weird, and sad.

Plus, if you're having a dead serious conversation about hamburgers, you're leading an awful life. Hamburgers are a fun cookout food loved by children and adults, so you don't need to be so damn somber unless its about an e. coli outbreak.
posted by mccarty.tim at 4:47 PM on January 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

HAMBURGERS $2
posted by applemeat at 5:05 PM on January 13, 2010

.
posted by ob at 5:09 PM on January 13, 2010

You thought that periods at the end of sentences implied sarcasm?
posted by sebastienbailard at 5:23 PM on January 13, 2010

I will shortly be offering, for just $2.95, my invented character to mark instances of the Nigerian scam.
posted by zompist at 5:25 PM on January 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

Why would you need the sarcasm indicator anyways? Isn't part of the point of sarcasm being able to fall back on the literal meaning of what you said as a defense?

"No, seriously! Your sarcasm mark is such a good idea."

By giving away the "secret" you may as well just be speaking honestly and sincerely. And who wants that on the internet? {\}
posted by sambosambo at 5:31 PM on January 13, 2010

Hmm, a thread of sarcastic comments about sarcasm.

Maybe a little less meta, a little more filter?
posted by nanojath at 5:35 PM on January 13, 2010

Option-1 on OS X appears to make the already-established (in Ethiopia) sarcasm mark. It's sure a good think these guys invented a new one¡
posted by five fresh fish at 5:42 PM on January 13, 2010

Yeah, this is incredibly stupid. You won't be able to actually send anyone files with this thing. On the other hand they could have chosen any of the tens of thousands of well supported Unicode characters. Including the irony mark.
posted by delmoi at 5:44 PM on January 13, 2010

This sounds like an excellent idea perfectly timed to meet the needs of the snarkers everywhere.

TRIPLE BACON CHILI CHEESEBURGER
posted by armage at 6:03 PM on January 13, 2010

Hmm, a thread of sarcastic comments about sarcasm.

Maybe a little less meta, a little more filter?

Flagged. Take it to MetaTalk.
posted by sebastienbailard at 6:27 PM on January 13, 2010

What is the character for Flag It And Move On?
posted by _dario at 6:41 PM on January 13, 2010

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .☟ ☞ ?
posted by Solon and Thanks at 6:50 PM on January 13, 2010 [2 favorites]

⚐⇨
posted by tellurian at 7:15 PM on January 13, 2010 [12 favorites]

downside of the character for flag it and move on is once you get favorites it just looks like you're showing off
posted by Solon and Thanks at 7:45 PM on January 13, 2010

what
posted by klangklangston at 7:54 PM on January 13, 2010

I'm not a smiley expert but I always thought :p meant sarcasm
posted by llinear at 8:35 PM on January 13, 2010

Next up, cynicism.
posted by StickyCarpet at 9:15 PM on January 13, 2010

?
posted by Gilbert at 9:18 PM on January 13, 2010

I'm not being sarcastic. I've typed this way all my life.
posted by FatherDagon at 9:23 PM on January 13, 2010

That mark is like rain... on your wedding day.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 4:26 AM on January 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

I watched the little video ad. None of the lines seemed sarcastic at all, only mean.
posted by Neale at 5:14 AM on January 14, 2010

It looks like a turd in mid-flush.
posted by rocket88 at 7:29 AM on January 14, 2010

I can has hamburger?
posted by applemeat at 8:01 AM on January 14, 2010

What a novel idea¡
posted by howling fantods at 9:08 AM on January 14, 2010

Mark Twain and Jonathan Swift will be happy to know that FINALLY they can put sarcasm in text!
posted by Legomancer at 9:25 AM on January 14, 2010

Is the dead link the sarcastic part?
posted by Rarebit Fiend at 9:59 AM on January 14, 2010

It's not an indicator; it's a generator.
posted by ersatz at 12:03 PM on January 14, 2010 [3 favorites]

I'm tempted to start using it just to see if it will spread.

Can't bring myself to use it as punctuation, though. I still need a period.
posted by etoile at 8:46 PM on January 15, 2010

On second thought, I'm not usually very sarcastic.

And anyway I like this one better. Found it in the character map! ۞
posted by etoile at 8:47 PM on January 15, 2010