Reply #79: Written word easy to misunderstand.

[Robson]

Excuse the intrusion. I'm neither a long time poster nor a regular here but I recently got a little taste of the emotions in the forum when I decided to respond to a post that addressed what I thought was an unfair issue about Poland, that didn't seem too controversial at the time. Btw I was not totally without guilt as intensity and emotions do escalate.

The written word is easy to misunderstand when the communication on the personal level such as this forum. It takes a true word smith to get points across as intended without unintended offense.

Posted words are one dimensional only. They lack body language, facial expression, the occasional twinkle in the eye and no intonation or inflection. Smilies help...maybe. When communication is anonymous between strangers and with complete candor, it's easy to put common courtesy in the back seat, unlike in a live person to person communication. If the discussion is on something that is emotional it is very easy to misunderstand or over analyze.