Assumption of Audience

A lot of misunderstanding and offense online comes from assuming the audience.

When we read posts, we tend to assume we are the audience. When the content doesn’t fit us, we assume it’s wrong.

Whenever I witness this, I think of the scene in Star Wars, “This is not the post you are looking for”. If it doesn’t click for you, move on. It’s probably not for you. Whether positive advice that seems dumb to you, or a negative attack that seems incorrect to you, odds are it’s between two parties you don’t understand and they aren’t writing with you and your situation in mind.

Trying to educate the poster on your situation and let them know they their content doesn’t fit it is almost never a good idea. Because they assume you’re part of their audience too. And if you say, “Hey, I’m not your audience but I don’t agree with this”, it signals a waste of both of your time.

Before you respond, ask yourself who the intended audience is. It helps.