Have you ever posted an entry with the intent of communicating to someone an opinion or message? To the viewers the post looks like any other, but to someone else the context may have a different meaning? Have you ever then had the entry taken in the wrong way by many people? Did it ever influence your life in ways that you never intended?

I guess the first thing you have to ask is why you would do such a thing?

Is it cowardice? Is it cruelty? Is it as a weapon? Is it out of politeness? Is it to spare someone of hurt? Is it to hurt someone? Is it to be subtle? Is it a game? Is it psychological? Is it opportunistic? Is it frailty? Is it strength? Is it clever? Is it stupid? Is it an attempt to be civil? Was it on purpose? Was it on accident? Is it something else?

I have done this in the past, and you know what, I am never going to bother with this any more. The reason I did it was to be subtle and let someone know that I have moved on without having to confront the issue head on. The situation that was referred to in the post should have been self-evident but for whatever reason may not have been to the other person. Or if it was, it was not clear to me that it was clear to the other person. So the reasons for doing it may be all of the above and many more.

Secondly, you could ask if it worked?

I think that when you take the time to write like this it generally does work unless the person the secret message is aimed at is simply too dull to get it or is a guy. OK, I know I am going to hear it from some guys on this, but sometimes us guys need the message spelled out in bold letters to get it. We men do not read into messages the personal aspect that we as writer may want to convey subtly. We read it for what it is and ignore the deeper meaning.

Women on the other hand read too much into some posts. In fact, they read so much into it, it may not even be there to be read into. It makes it hard to please everyone.

So, did it work? That would be up to the poster to decide, and the results may not be what the writer intended.

Third, was it worth it?

Once again, we have a judgment call for the writer, but I can tell you that it does not seem to be the case for me. I see what I write, I know why I worded certain things the way I did, but others to not see it and thus the means get skewed. Plain talk, I guess that is what is needed. Subtlety, it is an imperfect art.

Secret messages, let’s leave them for Sunday Puzzles and decoder rings.