Large, Red and Bold: Is This Shouting Too?

Many online forums and Blogs allow users to post messages with added smileys and to format their text for font, size and color. Many a forum/message board participant have contacted me about why other users, when posting in a normally-laid-out post, would then increase the font size, make bold, and change the text color from black to red. To the majority, this is perceived as shouting and they respond in kind.

When the poster is replied to based on this perception, he/she more times than not is surprises as that was not their intent. In my view that is simply not fessing up to what you know you did and meant at that time.

So you didn’t mean to come off that strongly? Then why did they increase the font size, bold the words and turn them red? Those three formatting actions were specifically taken to increase the emphasis of their words. Of course they were making a strong point by doing so!

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