[FORUM] A plea for consideration for others

[fh1805]

I would respectfully remind all users of this forum that use of humour in a post can be counter-productive. Not everyone has the same sense of humour. Nor do they necessarily share the same attitude to the subjects that are often implied within the attempt at humour.

I would especially remind all the forum members for whom some form of English is their native tongue that not all forum members are blessed with a skill in our glorious language. Some of our overseas friends rely on web-translation packages to assist them in converting posts from English to their own native tongue. These packages are rarely adept at translating humour.

The problems can be made worse if the basis of the humour is sarcasm or sardonic wit. These rely on subtle nuances in our language which often do not translate well, even in the hands of a skilled translator - and in extreme cases might come out as a direct insult!

Humour has it's place in this forum as it does in like itself. But do please think carefully before using humour to get your point across. Mis-placed or mis-handled humour could well have directly the opposite effect to that which you intended.

regards,

Peter