The trouble is that tone is
so hard to convey by text alone.
When a friend tells me something, and I say, "Really?" I am expressing amazement, shock, sympathy. When I
say this, it comes across the way I mean it. But I'm almost afraid, anymore, to
type it. Especially when it's so often seen as snarky.
I think there's a sort of reverse Occam's Razor in effect: if it's possible to read something as snarky, some folks will (and no, I don't mean here specifically; I mean forums in general).
I think it's very possible that when a person expresses amazement, that they simply are amazed. When I see the word "Really?" I read it kind of like this:
Me: "Wow, people in Ruritania really eat grilled parsnips? Amazing!"
Politia: "Yeah, Ruritania is really cool, and I was surprised how good grilled parsnips were!"
And not this:
Me: "Wow, people in Ruritania really eat grilled parsnips? Amazing!"
Rudine: "Saphie, how dare you say that? Politia LIVES in Ruritania, she should know! And as a fellow Ruritanian, I'm offended by your attitude."
The latter exchange would leave me scratching my head, trying to figure out what I missed.
The former exchange would have me fishing for a recipe.
