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<blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 5268117" data-attributes="member: 177">Okay, &quot;complaining&quot; is perhaps a poor choice of words.&nbsp; My bad, there.However, there is a negative note - &quot;I wasn't impressed, as I like my games a little more serious than that.&quot;&nbsp; &quot;I'm not impressed,&quot; is not typically a phrase used neutrally.&nbsp; It's more commonly used to denote a superior, negative tone - it assumes your being impressed is somehow important.&nbsp; By implication: You being impressed is good, therefore you not being impressed is weak or bad.I think there's a subtlety in presentation.&nbsp; Consider two different ways of getting at the same discussion:&quot;My buddy and I were talking about X.&nbsp; Do you like X?&nbsp; What do you think about X?&quot;&quot;My buddy and I were talking about X.&nbsp; I don't like that sort of thing in my games.&nbsp; Do you tolerate that sort of thing?&quot;The first is neutral, as you give no opinion on it one way or another.The second's not exactly what you said, but the difference is to clarify somewhat.&nbsp; In the second, the person has already noted their own position, and it is already set against X.&nbsp; That's going to frame the rest of the discussion - you draw your line in the sand, and others are dared to show where they sit relative to it.Your phrasing fits the second's structure, rhetorically speaking.&nbsp; Lacking tone of voice, you can expect folks to react to the structure.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Umbran, post: 5268117, member: 177"] Okay, "complaining" is perhaps a poor choice of words. My bad, there. However, there is a negative note - "I wasn't impressed, as I like my games a little more serious than that." "I'm not impressed," is not typically a phrase used neutrally. It's more commonly used to denote a superior, negative tone - it assumes your being impressed is somehow important. By implication: You being impressed is good, therefore you not being impressed is weak or bad. I think there's a subtlety in presentation. Consider two different ways of getting at the same discussion: "My buddy and I were talking about X. Do you like X? What do you think about X?" "My buddy and I were talking about X. [I]I[/I] don't like [I]that sort of thing[/I] in [I]my[/I] games. Do [I]you[/I] tolerate that sort of thing?" The first is neutral, as you give no opinion on it one way or another. The second's not exactly what you said, but the difference is to clarify somewhat. In the second, the person has already noted their own position, and it is already set against X. That's going to frame the rest of the discussion - you draw your line in the sand, and others are dared to show where they sit relative to it. Your phrasing fits the second's structure, rhetorically speaking. Lacking tone of voice, you can expect folks to react to the structure. [/QUOTE]

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