Wrath of the Swarm said:
Obviously your suggestion has a few problems.
Name one.
I assume you're attempting to demonstrate irony, perhaps because you believe that I've said something to the effect that irony is impossible in written communication. I in fact said no such thing. I said that we (that being folks posting on ENWorld) should always give our fellow posters the benefit of the doubt and do our best to avoid being insulted by the presumed tone of their comments.
Your ability to overstate a position so dramatically does not justify claims of insult based on tone, at least not in normal posting conversation. My point is that when we feel that the tone of somebody's post is insulting, we owe it to our fellow posters to reconsider that insult and try to respond to the content of the post, rather than the insult we assume is contained within. Posting is a medium too fraught with inaccuracies to do otherwise.
If we (or at least a majority of us) each follow this practice (as I think most people here do), ENWorld will continue to be a pleasant and useful place to exchange ideas, points of view and resources on d20-related matters. You're free to behave otherwise, of course, within the limits imposed by the mods. And indeed, if you think your method (whatever it may be) is more likely to enhance the pleasantness and usefulness of ENWorld, put it forward and let's examine it.
I'm not saying that insult via tone is impossible. I'm saying that when we feel insulted, it is our obligation as good citizens of ENWorld to consider that perhaps the insult is contained in our interpretation, and not in the actual fact of the post itself.
