Linguistic markers


 * Ill-omened word constellations:


 * In any public forum, the use of the words n-, f-, or c--- will cause an immediate collapse in the quality of the discourse. This effect is not governed by the validity of their use. Simple physical presence is enough to do it.


 * Any comment which contains the constellation censorship, hypocrite/hypocrisy, and ad hominem has an excellent chance of being flamage or trollage.
 * The same goes for the appearance together of so-called, hard-earned dollars, and cold, hard facts.
 * When the last word of a post is a single-word sentence or single-word paragraph consisting of the word Frightening, Pathetic, or Sick, the poster is probably a flamer, a troll, or someone who listens to too much political talk radio. The word Nice also belongs in this constellation, though more reasonable users will also sometimes use it as an ironic one-word terminal summary.
 * Any assumption of the mantle of Devil's Advocate
 * The assertion of willful misunderstanding on the part of the reader.
 * Use of the word 'objectively' to modify an adjective, as in "your piece is objectively pointless," is a marker for the Galactic Observer.


 * The introductory "um" as a marker of passive-aggressive verbal attack:


 * Um, I love how everyone feels the need to put words in my mouth. 


 * Um, looks like someone has too much time on their hands. 


 * Um, looks like I struck a nerve.


 * The use of the deprecating "just," "all," and "only" in defense of the indefensible. ( --Abi Sutherland)


 * I was just suggesting that ... 


 * I just said ... 


 * It's just that ... 


 * All I said was ... 


 * I was only trying to ... 


 * "I expected when I came here that --"


 * The speaker asserts that he began the discussion with the expectation that it would be civil, reasonable, and well-behaved, and accuses his opponents of having willfully turned it into something considerably nastier. Translation: I thought I was going to win this argument, or I thought more people would agree with me.
 * It generally gets used when the speaker has clearly lost the fight, and is about to flounce. While this occasionally reflects the speaker's actual expectations, and/or his behavior in the thread, in most cases the speaker has been as least as hot-headed as anyone else.
 * For this reason, persons attempting the maneuver will often describe themselves as having been "reasonably polite," or somewhat less frequently as "reasonably civil."
 * See also, Disclaiming one's own rudeness and The Flounce: That's it! I've had enough! This time I'm leaving for good!