So...let's say a colleague sends a proposal to his boss and your boss, and in the proposal he says, "I think we should do THIS," and he cites five studies to support his case. As a side note he says, "the people who are on this certain committee have no idea what they are doing, or they would do THIS too," and then the proposal happens to be forwarded to someone on that certain committee, and that someone is ME.
I think that's snarky.
I wrote a counter-proposal, with references, and sent it to all the people who received this other person's proposal. I pointed out (very objectively) that this individual overlooked the 600+ studies that supported the committee's work and that if the person who wrote the proposal had done his research, this would be clear to him as well.
The person who wrote the proposal later said, "I didn't mean for you to see that proposal," as if that made his snarky comment okay. If a snarky comment isn't seen by the person it is intended to insult, isn't it still snarky?
Now, you tell me...
Yes, I do believe that would fit the definition of snarky. Also, JACKASS. And unprofessional. And gosh, don't they teach people that email is the least secure form of communication on the planet? Was the idiot thinking he's chummy enough with your boss that he wouldn't pass on his comments? What a dip shit.
ReplyDeleteWell, I must say, your response makes me feel strangely better about that stupid proposal (and colleague). Sheesh!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I have ever thought about the definition of a word so much as this... but I'd say it could be considered "snarky." But I agree with Lindy, I'd tend to categorize it as: rude, unprofessional, inappropriate, asshole-like, etc.... oi...
ReplyDeleteJody and I talked at length about the essence of snark, and our conclusion was that it is an ill-defined concept at best. When I think of snark, I think of condescension plus wit plus malice. It sounds like maybe this guy was heavy on condescension and malice, light on the wit.
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