[alan-crowe]

I recommend that people never use sarcasm in an online discussion, because the inversion makes it hard to check ones logic before clicking reply.

For example, just what is the most pressing problem? Well, the answer is pretty obvious: people get old and die.

What is also obvious is that we don't know what to do about this. More funding for research on Alzheimer's disease looks correct, but beyond that it gets very unclear.

So immediately you reject sarcasm it leaps out at you that "most pressing problem" in the simple sense of "most important" isn't a good criterion. You need to be thinking about whether a problem can be fixed or not. Repealing bad laws is a very attractive focus for activism because it is such a practical step; it will actually work.

Your own errors can only leap out at you before you click reply if you state your position directly. Once you give in to the lure of sarcasm, you bind yourself to smug stupidity.