Quote:
Originally posted by Warren Willson
Just for FURTHER clarification -
Saying "Joe, you are an idiot" is obviously a flame.
Saying "Joe, all your ideas are idiotic" is equally a flame.
Saying "Joe, that's an idiotic idea" is, IMHO, not a flame.
What is absent in the third example is any sort of personal pronoun. As soon as someone says "you" or "your", whatever follows MUST be personal.
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A pronoun may be absent but there ARE those that would disagree with you about example number three as they perceive that they may be "guilty by association" or possibly insinuation. This may not be a flame in your view but it might NOT be very nice in another person's view. Would it not be better to abstain completely from such potentially perceived innuendo?