2

Is asking for general feedback on my posting, OK on meta?

I like this site, but I worry I come off a more authoritative than I am, in my tone?

3
  • Are there any specific answers of yours you want to discuss for example?
    – ChrisW Mod
    Jul 11 '20 at 7:26
  • no really, no @ChrisW recent ones?
    – user2512
    Jul 11 '20 at 7:26
  • i've banned myself from a few places, so i may start asking even more questions lol... that ok @ChrisW
    – user2512
    Jul 24 '20 at 0:59
1

If I compare our answers to this question for example, my answers references two other authors and yours doesn't.

Therefore yours "comes off as sounding more authoritative" because you're literally the author (instead of quoting or deferring to another author).

OTOH this site allows people to answer without references -- What about providing sources?

Your not doing so might make you sound as if you think you're expert -- or as if you think the reader is an expert who doesn't need a reference, e.g. they can understand a sentence like,

People are born from their karma: that is what dependent origination teaches anyway, the abhidhamma version at least.

And perhaps you're right, that the OP can understand that.

Also I tend to qualify what I say. Instead of "X and Y" I might write, "I think that X and Y", or "I suppose", "maybe", "perhaps", "I guess", "it may be that", "it might", and so on.

I do that to avoid misleading people (I can't guarantee that X and Y but, I can tell you, it's true that I think so).

It may be that my speech goes too far in the opposite extreme -- i.e. to avoid sounding too authoritative, I use too many circumlocutions.

2
  • thanks for replying, chris... i think i'm ok with what i say, until i make a mistake, then i feel foolish haha
    – user2512
    Jul 12 '20 at 18:15
  • qualifying answers can provide readers with better understanding of whats meant by the words in an answer, especially when somewhat familiar with the writing style of the answerer; also, traditionally, citations have been used to provide information to readers & future readers re source material & context and assist with further study, statistical analysis model evaluation etc if readers are inclined to: cf to present them only to prove their point. Specific citations, if included, can be helpful in this way; hopefully, inferring that all answers are honest & attemptedly accurate is reasonable
    – M H
    Jul 17 '20 at 13:13

You must log in to answer this question.