Sarcasm on the internet is really not a good idea.
it's never the readers fault when sarcasm isn't obvious
I completely disagree on both counts. First of all, just because some people get duped doesn't make sarcasm a bad idea. In fact, getting duped by sarcasm can be an educational experience.
Second of all, there is a lot of sarcasm and satire out there that is so obvious that it is a clear reading comprehension failure to miss it. If there is enough appropriate context, voice, and tone in a piece of writing and you fail to detect any of it, it may not be the fault of the writer. You can't just take a whole style or mood of expression and say it's not appropriate for written form. The most you can say is that it should be used with care. In this particular piece, the proposals and ideas put forth were very obviously constructed to be self-contradicting. If someone didn't mark this as satire when reading through it, they have a reading comprehension problem.
it's never the readers fault when sarcasm isn't obvious
I completely disagree on both counts. First of all, just because some people get duped doesn't make sarcasm a bad idea. In fact, getting duped by sarcasm can be an educational experience.
Second of all, there is a lot of sarcasm and satire out there that is so obvious that it is a clear reading comprehension failure to miss it. If there is enough appropriate context, voice, and tone in a piece of writing and you fail to detect any of it, it may not be the fault of the writer. You can't just take a whole style or mood of expression and say it's not appropriate for written form. The most you can say is that it should be used with care. In this particular piece, the proposals and ideas put forth were very obviously constructed to be self-contradicting. If someone didn't mark this as satire when reading through it, they have a reading comprehension problem.