# What is the lowest form of human discourse? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 26, 2015, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771 "2015-10-26T04:43:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771/1 "2015-10-26T04:43:55Z")
A friend of mine once told me that his friends think sending Onion articles over instant messenger is the lowest form of human communication possible. But as an inveterate Onion fan I can’t accept that answer. In fact, I view that activity as the _highest_ possible form of communication. What’s your candidate for the lowest? My answer: comments on political YouTube videos. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771/2 "2015-10-26T04:52:52Z")
Presidential debates. Closely tied with commentary on the Golf Channel. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771/3 "2015-10-26T05:19:47Z")
Bad puns are often given that honor. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771/4 "2015-10-26T05:23:29Z")
Facebook. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771/5 "2015-10-26T05:43:56Z")
I would agree with the Facebook comments comment. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771/6 "2015-10-26T06:29:26Z")
Cat-calls and whistling as women walk past a construction zone. Straw-man fallacies. (“So, all construction workers are pigs, is that it?”) Potty jokes. Photoshopping pictures of Barack Obama, with Nazi regalia, or with a noose around his neck. Condemning others… ( 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771/7 "2015-10-26T06:35:21Z")
Most any that involve anonymity and vile behavior, regardless of the arena. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771/8 "2015-10-26T06:58:10Z")
Writing in the bathroom stalls, graffiti, bumper stickers, genre fiction. Just kidding. Graffiti can be pretty neat. Even on the lowest of internet sites and glurgey click bait e-mail you might get a back and forth and a link to an outside source, so they’re not so bad. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771/9 "2015-10-26T07:05:15Z")
Malicious gossip, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771/10 "2015-10-26T07:12:57Z")
> [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](#): > > A friend of mine once told me that his friends think sending Onion articles over instant messenger is the lowest form of human communication possible. Huh? Why would you send it over instant messenger? And why would that be “lowest”? For that matter, what exactly is meant by “low” discourse? I think there’s a difference between _empty_ and _low_, and already the two are being conflated in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771/11 "2015-10-26T07:56:55Z")
Prayer. Even writing in bathroom stalls, graffiti, bumper stickers, click bait e-mails, Facebook posts, presidential debates, Onion articles and comments on political YouTube videos have an actual audience. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771/12 "2015-10-26T08:04:09Z")
My elderly cousin sending me anti-Islam glurge with no commentary. That gets my vote today. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771/13 "2015-10-26T08:49:25Z")
Yahoo! Answers ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771/14 "2015-10-26T08:52:54Z")
Emailing me Facebook glurg about 5 things I didn’t know about Obama or Islam or cupcakes or whatever! These same people still send me emails about Microsoft will give you a dollar if you pass on this email. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771/15 "2015-10-26T09:25:20Z")
When you’re talking to someone whose had too much to drink or not a lot of education, and his response to your point is to say it back to you in “retard” voice. Lower still, he hits you instead. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771/16 "2015-10-26T09:30:04Z")
Farting contests. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771/17 "2015-10-26T10:18:36Z")
The Facebook “like”. It says “I want to communicate with you, but not enough to actually communicate”. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771/18 "2015-10-26T13:51:33Z")
I think it’s when some responds to a post with just the cartoon roll-eye smiley face thing (go ahead and reply to this post with it, you know you want to). ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771/19 "2015-10-26T14:15:06Z")
Chain letters, which fortunately seem to be going out of style. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771/20 "2015-10-26T14:30:25Z")
Having a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent. But for real, gossip is the worst. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-lowest-form-of-human-discourse/735771.md?page=2)