When is playful humor inappropriate? How do you know where to draw the line?What

1. 73

   somethgblueposted 11 years ago

   When is playful humor inappropriate? How do you know where to draw the line?What is accepted?
   
   When corresponding to a fellow employee do you think saying or putting it in writing in an email 'crawl back to the gutter that spawned you' is to harsh and why?

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2. 59

   Insane Mundaneposted 11 years ago

   I don't think it is too harsh at all.  Then again, I rarely practice the incorrect, weak, pathetic "political correctness" stuff, either.  As for your primary question, "When is playful humor inappropriate?" I think it is one of those things that the limit is learned over time, as you'll know where to draw the line or even if there is a line at all (ha!), as you get to know the person you are dealing with.  It's a sensitive world out there, but there are still plenty of us with a good sense of humor that can take it just as well as we can dish it out; cheers!

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3. 95

   DrMark1961posted 11 years ago

   I like Insane Mundane´s answer because it IS a sensitive world out there; we have to be PC whether or not we think it is correct. You may tell one person to crawl back in the gutter and he will laugh about it, tell another and he will say "huh..what" and reply "Why don´t you want to take this drug test? I don´t understand". Wait a minute, am I being inappropriate laughing at your marijuana hub? Time for you to head back to the planet Niburu and think about it!

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   1. 95

      DrMark1961posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Did you read the interview from the Papillon breeder in the Ferocious Dog Breeds hub I wrote? Jean Blue from Tennessee. I was surprised you did not have a comment about it.

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4. 62

   Lisa HWposted 11 years ago

   Some people will find no humor acceptable, so I don't think anyone can ever aim to meet one, universal, standard of what's acceptable.
   
   Personally, I keep my own humor aimed at either myself, the world in general, life in general, etc. - and don't ever use humor that (even if I were to think it's funny) could at all be mistaken for putting someone else down.  Although I do use some light self-deprecating humor, even with that I stick more with things like "what a dummy I am" (because I left my keys at home), rather than "I'm a general loser" type of humor.  I just see humor in too many things that don't put anyone down (someone else, or myself) that I don't think it's necessary (and know it runs a risk of being misunderstood/misinterpreted. 
   
   Also, sometimes close friends understand one another's humor more than, say, a co-worker or less close friend may; so as with so many other things in life, I think some types of humor are yet something else that can be appropriate between close friends but might be "risky" with someone not as close.
   
   I wouldn't call your example "too harsh".  I'd instead call it "taking a chance one doesn't really need to take (and that may not be advisable) in the workplace".

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