I like your point that context and audience are the problem, but I don&#x27;t think it&#x27;s an issue with <i>text</i> as much as it is <i>the web</i>. If I give you a hand-written note, I know exactly who is reading it (at least at first, how many embarrassing stories involve a note that ended up in the wrong hands?) and I can presume that in my writing.<p>But when I write a blog post on the web, it&#x27;s stapled to a bulletin board that has the eyes of the entire world. I have no idea who will read it today, tomorrow, or years from now. I don&#x27;t know who will take pieces of it out of context and repost them elsewhere.<p>It is honestly scary. I was going through some old posts of mine a while back and felt like they were funnier and a more brave. Several years have slowly but surely toned me down, often for the worse.<p>I have to constantly remind myself to be courageous in my writing. I have to remember to focus on how the <i>right</i> reader will experience it, and tune out the wrong ones.