To:
Editor
The Washington Post
1150 15th Street NW
Washington, DC 20071
Dear Editor,
Writing a sarcastic phrase can be dangerous. Too often, the writer’s intent is lost to the
readers preconceived notions. Because of
this, I am asking that the Washington Post join in making Comic Sans the
official font of sarcasm.
The need for such a device is evident. A routine sarcastic response like “Oh yeah, I’d
love to” is easy to confuse with a genuine answer. Comic
Sans
fixes that confusion. Now when a friend
asks if you would like to help him move out of his third story apartment, he won’t
be misled by your response of “Oh
yeah, I’d love to”.
I’m not the first to suggest this solution. It pops up every now and then on Facebook or
Tumblr, then bounces around for a bit before disappearing into obscurity. The problem is that no voice of authority
steps in to give the idea credibility. The Washington Post can be
just such a voice. With the Post's rich history of being a leader and pioneer in the written word it is uniquely qualified to propel this idea into mainstream usage.
It will take some time for texting technologies to adapt
to the use of Comic Sans. But as usage increases, users will that demand
this feature be included into their texting applications. Let’s not forget that once upon a time
emoticons were not a standard feature.
If this plan works, we could share a world where sarcastic words are used
without fear of misunderstanding. A
world where writers can finally harness the full power of sarcasm. With
your help, we can make this dream a reality.
Thank you,
James Billingslea
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