On the internet nobody can tell what you actually meant.

[andrewducker]

Given the following conversation:

Person A: "OMG THIS EPISODE OF THIS THING I LOVE WAS AWESOME!"
Person B: "Really? I thought it was a bit contrived/boring/silly/not up to usual standards for x/y/z/ reason..."

[Poll #1780923]

Comments

[star-tourmaline.livejournal.com]

I would take it to mean 'Really?'. (I'm not being snide. I've had to work hard to get to that point.)

[andrewducker]

This is actually one of those situations where I wish people could add new options to a poll and others could then vote them up.

[sageautumn.livejournal.com]

Yup, the "did I miss something/wow, we had different experiences" thing.

Though the "you don't want to change you opinion" option could be easily true, depending on tone.

HRm... given that conversation ONLINE... I'd probably be more apt to think the first option than the second. I am fairly certain I don't use "really?" in text the same as I do verbally.

Though I do use really?!?! the same way... sort of as a "You've GOT to be kidding" that is usually directed toward a thing/person/situation/etc outside the conversation.

[woodpijn.livejournal.com]

I voted before I found your conversation with marrog on the previous post.

It hadn't occurred to me that anyone would take "Really?" as literal disbelief, at least not without some strong contextual clues that way. In conversation, I think of it as one of those fairly meaningless interjections that conveys "I'm still listening."

You've got me worried now, that I've unknowingly offended people by saying "Really?" to them.

Also, "Really?" is something I - and other people - often reply to toddlers when they've said something incomprehensible, but I want to indicate that I'm listening and paying them attention. I certainly don't mean to imply scepticism about whatever it is they've said!

(Interestingly, though, for me "Seriously?" does mean what "Really?" means for you. I would be a bit offended if I said I liked something and someone said "Seriously?")

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Fuck, you Brits are seriously broken by your schooling system, aren't you? Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Jeez.

[cheekbones3.livejournal.com]

Depends on the way it's said, but usually negative.

[cybik.livejournal.com]

Entirely in the tone of the person saying it. I've heard people say "really?" in ways which sound genuinely disbelieving and also in ways which sound like an express of mild surprise.

[octopoid-horror.livejournal.com]

It depends entirely on the tone, which you can't pick up online a lot of the time.

If I prefaced a comment with "Really?" I could be
a] Slightly surprised, since I would not have expected YOU to like it
b] Slightly surprised, since I don't like it and am curious as to why you do.
c] Being sarcastic, because it's an adaptation of Neuromancer, written for the screen by Neal Stephenson and directed by David Fincher, scored by Trent Reznor and of COURSE you're going to like it
d] being polite, since a flat "I didn't like it." feels slightly more abrasive than prefacing it with "Really?"
e] Pretending to be interested because I honestly don't care but just like posting.
f] Lying and trying to deliberately bait you into an argument. I like the show, but want to pretend that I don't for the purposes of getting to post "u mad?"
g] Utterly shocked because people who like this show are worse than Hitler crossed with Fred Goodwin.

Heck, look at how Meredith sometimes misses the subtext and humour in things that you, Hugh or I say because the three of us have a relatively similar degree of Englishness that she doesn't share which comes out in our speech. And that is during actual face-to-face conversation.

[andrewhickey.livejournal.com]

Were I to *write* that, I would mean something in the general area between "this surprises me, because I would have expected your reactions to be different. Still, no accounting for taste I suppose, to each his own, etc," and "That's odd, because I saw few redeeming features in it. Would you mind explaining to me what it was that you enjoyed, so maybe I can see them too?"

So I tend to assume that other people mean it in that way, unless they give contextual clues otherwise.

[hawkida.livejournal.com]

If I said "Really?" at the start like that, it would mean "You really surprise me with that comment, I would have expected your thoughts to be in line with my own opposing ones".

[chuma.livejournal.com]

"Really?" can be used like "Oh?" or like "Are you for real?!?" Depends on context and voical cues.

[xenophanean.livejournal.com]

Hmm... 'Really' means "I am surprised by this, and I disagree". Doesn't necessarily have a negative connotation, but it could do. Could also well be an attempt to start debate.

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

Context required. Can be either depending on the personality of the person in question.