The Sincero-Mark and You: Partners in Earnestness

You may have heard that a company named SarcMark has trademarked a new punctuation mark intended to denote sarcasm. This new sarcasm symbol looks like a backwards ampersand (@), but since SarcMark is actually trying to sell the thing, I won't reproduce it here.

UPDATE: After seeing how the SarcMark is making money hand over fist, I changed my mind. Behold!

Although the free market dictates that SarcMark can charge what the market will bear, have we really come to the point where we sell each other punctuation marks? I had always been taught that are an infinite number of all the other punctuation marks out there, and they are all free for the taking. And in the 21st century, EVERYTHING is supposed to be free.

Another dream comes crashing down.

With regard to the SarcMark, it's not even that useful. True sarcasm masters (like my brother, Peter) are ALWAYS sarcastic. So if he used the SarcMark, his prose would be pockmarked with SarcMarks!

Because of dyed-in-the-wool people like him, I offer a pre-existing emoticon that can be used to designate a little something I like to call SINCERITY.

It is a charming little fellow giving two thumbs up, to wit:

b(^_^)d

Just looking at it makes me smile (b(^_^)d)! And the beauty of the Sincero-Mark is that it can provide different gradations of sincerity. Thus, the emoticon above would be for something totally heartfelt. Happy Birthday! b(^_^)d

But for a sincere thought with a tincture of irony, one could opt for this:

b(~_^)d

Ha! Nothing like a knowing wink to inform your writing with the perfect tone. Anyway, I intend the Sincero-Mark as freeware, so feel free to begin utilizing it right away... provided that you always make it a hot-link to this page.

User expressly acknowledges and agrees that,

by downloading and or using the Sincero-Mark,

user is consenting to the terms and conditions

of the Sincero-Mark License Agreement.