Can we ban the use of a snotty, smarmy & condescending "Uhhh..." or "Ummm..." or "Hmmm..." at the beginning of a post. Its part of a trend of many posters to talk down to or lecture other posters.


For example for those who dont know what I mean, someone will make a sweeping statement or throw out a fact:

Everyone knows blah, blah, blah...

Someone else will reply like this:

Uhhh.... actually its well know that blah, blah, blah is not in fact true as evidenced by blah, blah, blah...

Like I said above, I find it childish, smarmy and condescending, not to mention a easy way to flame someone and imply they're stupid without repercussion. I'd like to see a ban on this type of thing.

uhh, actually i dont think its offencive. :mischief:




-just think of it as the poster having to think... so in a way, they are flaming themselves!

That one doesn't bother me so much, but I know what you mean. The one that bothers me most is when "people" say:

"Personally, I think that.... blah blah blah"

How the fook else can you think of something? 'Personally' just makes it sound stupid and childish. I've restrained myself from insulting certain "people" on several occasions just for the incorrect use of that word.

Sometimes I use Hmmm to show that I'm thinking about an idea somebody said.

Yes, I don't see "Hmmm..." as condescending. That merely indicates that the person is thinking about an idea suggested by someone else, and will probably require further thought after they've posted.

"Uhhh..." I must admit to using occasionally, but only when someone has responded with a post that is either inane or unintelligible.

"Ummm..." I also use occasionally, as a polite introduction to pointing out someone has said, or done, something truly moronic or embarassing (or both).

They aren't intended to be particularly condescending, but provide a concise way of expressing my feelings on some posts. When someone posts something that looks like it's been put through 30 different languages on Babelfish, and then had every word misspelt with the result it is completely unreadable, I feel "Uhhh... what?" sums up my feelings fairly well.

Sometimes I use Hmmm to show that I'm thinking about an idea somebody said.

Same here.

Frequently used to express retrospect.

It have never crossed my mind that this can be interpreted in a negative way. On the rare occasions where I say "hmmm" it means I'm not quite sure - it's something I am thinking about.

Maybe some posters use this in a negative way. But to determine if someone is talking in an offending way we need to look at the whole post, not just single words.

What irritates me is this:

:rolleyes:

Ban it!

First i thought it was about the user "ummm..."

On topic:
Is this a joke ?
Is this a spam thread ?

Using umm... at the begining of a post doesn't make that insulting at all. (Maybe only in the offtopic forum ...)

I usualy use :hmm: instead but i sometimes write it too.

People are alawys going to get annoyed by something or other, best approach is to try and be respectful to all and try not to get too bothered by little things like putiing an 'umm' or something in a sentance!

As always, if a post offends you, report it.

Just remember that while we respond to all reported posts, sometimes our response is to do nothing. ;)

Just remember that while we respond to all reported posts, sometimes our response is to do nothing. ;)
That did happen on several ocasions. :mischief::p

Can we ban the use of a snotty, smarmy & condescending "Uhhh..." or "Ummm..." or "Hmmm..." at the beginning of a post. Its part of a trend of many posters to talk down to or lecture other posters.

Sometimes what the prior poster said was ridiculous enough to warrant a "ummm...."

Seriously, outside of profanity, you shouldn't police a forum to this degree. You'll turn it into a bunch of rules lawyers and grammar brownshirts. It lacks humor enough as it is. :)

I dont know why its offensive.

I say things like hmm, uhh, and meh all the time

Discussion forums rely on written communication. Unfortunately, in not being able to see or hear other people, you lose a lot of aspects of communication that are important in conveying meaning - body language, intonation, pitch, etc.

As such, there are frequently cases where people take offence to things that they would normally not take offence to. "Umm" in a post could be meant like "eh?" - as said in surprise.

We can't really go banning people for things like this.

why use hmm..., when you can just use :hmm:.

Colorful AND expressive.:D

Except if you have a black skin, then the hmm part blends in...

First i thought it was about the user "ummm..."

I'm glad someone did. I was feeling downright unloved . . .

Umm... I really do not know wha to say. Bah.

its so hard to not start this post with 'hmm' but really i dont see the problem, it could merely imply that someone had been thinking about it.

Hmmm... Well I guess that it could be used in a sacrastic way, but, so can everything!

What irritates me is this:

:rolleyes:

Ban it!
I agree with my backwards comrade here.

Rolleyes should be removed.

It does not ocnstitute a response, let alone a counter, or valid point, and serves only to make you look like an idiot.

I agree with my backwards comrade here.

Rolleyes should be removed.

It does not ocnstitute a response, let alone a counter, or valid point, and serves only to make you look like an idiot.
No. I have found it helpful many times to express my feelings about the AI.. and perhaps towards myself in some few cases! :mischief:

I agree with my backwards comrade here.

Rolleyes should be removed.

It does not ocnstitute a response, let alone a counter, or valid point, and serves only to make you look like an idiot.

good plan! let's ban all emotions that don't make us feel good about each other, and ourselves! Group hug!

must resist urge :rolle phew

To be honest, I don't respond to people who use "rolleyes" very often, because they clearly know more about the subject than I do :rolleyes:

As for "Umm...", I use it when I'm quite sure that I'm right (i.e. if it's about a subject I happen to know a great deal about), and I agree that it's condescending, that's why I use it! That said, it's also true that people would respond better to a post without such condescending remarks. That's for bringing it to my attention. :)

I don't think others using 'uuummm' is offensive, it just makes them look silly.

.

I agree with my backwards comrade here.

Rolleyes should be removed.

It does not ocnstitute a response, let alone a counter, or valid point, and serves only to make you look like an idiot.I see value in the :rolleyes: smiley outside the Colosseum. In the colosseum I find :rolleyes: very insulting.

I use Um when I want to point out that something somebody said is compleately wrong in some way. I only use it when I'm sure I'm right. For example I might use it when pointing out a math error(that I checked over atleast twice).

I can immagine that being condecending, but only because of the confidence it implies.

I use Um when I want to point out that something somebody said is compleately wrong in some way. I only use it when I'm sure I'm right. For example I might use it when pointing out a math error(that I checked over atleast twice).

I can immagine that being condecending, but only because of the confidence it implies.
I thought "um" was just another way of saying "hmm".
Although it's kind of international, the meaning may wary a bit from place to place. I guess.

Ummm, such hesitation markers are quite common in spoken discourse, especially in order to make a dispreferred response (i.e. disagreement) less offensive.

A: Will you come to my party tomorrow?
B: Well... I'd .. I'd rather not.

is in fact far less impolite and much more natural/common than

A: Will you come to my party tomorrow?
B: No.

(actually, an apology or excuse would make the dispreferred response even more polite)


In written discourse, hesitation markers have a much higher markedness than in spoken one, so I see why you find them odd or even offensive. Personally, I just see them as spoken features entering the written discourse in internet conversations, something which can also be perceived in other languages.


Harrharr, starting a lecture with "ummm" is fun... :D

uhhhmmm It doesn't anoy me.

I thought "um" was just another way of saying "hmm".
Although it's kind of international, the meaning may wary a bit from place to place. I guess.
Well Mise seems to agree with my use.

No, even in speach, "Um" is closer to the eqivilent "Er", as in "to Er is human". It is what you would say when you are at a loss as to what to say.

Is ummm... really a problem? I mean, does anyone really have a change of opinion about a certain post because of the use of a staller that people often use in regular speech? I personally find it much more insulting when someone singles you out and makes a stab at a point you made rudely, such as...

@RameNoodle: No. How could you possibly think that blah blah blah. It would be ignorant to have your opinion.

Is ummm... really a problem? I mean, does anyone really have a change of opinion about a certain post because of the use of a staller that people often use in regular speech?
Usually I don't care. But it can be annoying if it's too much of that in a post.

If a thread begins with much "ummh" or other sounds, is written in SMS/chat language, or contains a lot of smilies, I will probably never read that thread.

And if I can go slightly off topic: Thread titles. I usually overlook threads with a topic title that contains no spesific information, typically titles that calls for attention.

You want to ban how certain people express themselves on these boards?

Of course, I disagree with the proposal from start to finish.

Who uses ummm....? I've never seen someone use it, or maybe i've not been in the OT much?

Who uses ummm....? I've never seen someone use it, or maybe i've not been in the OT much?


yer its use is mainly in OT

umm.... to be honest, i find starting with ummm to be very useful when i am posting in a thread i know nothing about. It makes me feel like i can be special. :D