Not being sarcastic

[jack]

There's a title I didn't expect to use :)

I've always enjoyed sarcasm: not as a put-down, but as crafting just the perfect thing to say. And I still do, when I'm not arguing with the person I'm talking to. If I'm expressing frustration, or ranting, or humorously exaggerating, or doing anything where I don't expect someone to disagree, I often express things sarcastically if I find it funny.

But inspired by ciphergoth, I've recently been noticing that I often have an impulse to be sarcastic when someone says something I massively disagree with, but it usually means that I'm very certain, but I *don't* have any facts to hand which will be convincing to *someone else*. (It may be effective to onlookers who aren't already entrenched against what I think, but not at persuading someone who disagrees.)

If I think, "how would I phrase the basic point I'm making in a non-sarcastic way", it's generally something like, "I think that's really wrong", but without much specifics. And I've been making an effort to say nothing, or say the straight-forward version.