IMHO

What is it with the overuse of the expression IMO or IMHO? I understand what it stands for, but why use it? It's like an excuse to say something truly terrible, and then draw back a little bit with a polite euphemism. For all intents and purposes it says, "If you react badly to this I will mock you as overly-sensitive." It's like the Southern expression: Bless his/her little heart. You know if a Southerner 'blesses your little heart' they hate your guts, because it always follows some insulting observation. Example: "He's dumb as a bag of hammers, bless his little heart." It is a cowardly evasion.

Personally I find it contemptible. If you are delivering criticism, you can either aim to hurt (in which case you are usually merely trying to look clever to your peers), or aim to improve something, in which case it should be constructive, not destructive. Using an 'escape phrase' to try to shuck the emotional baggage of making someone feel bad is just lame. Either make them feel bad because you hate them, and own up to your pettiness, or offer something constructive. It takes someone of true and rare wit to deliver witty and sarcastic comments without merely looking like an immature tool. If you have the intelligence to make a worthy observation, you should also have the smarts to deliver it in a way that might actually affect the change you want, instead of alienating everyone involved. There are damn few Oscar Wildes and Mark Twains in the world, and odds are you are not one of them.

And lastly, just about anything that comes out of my cake-hole is either a fact/fiction or an opinion, and it's usually easy to tell which is which. If I say, "I can't afford that Ferrari", that's pretty much a fact, with just a smattering of opinion (because I could sell my house and buy it, but that's just stupid). If I say, "I hate Ferraris," it's either fact or a fiction (because it's obviously sour grapes), but it is definitely a statement of my opinion. If I say "Ferraris are great cars," that is again my opinion. Is anyone really confused by this? Do I really need to label these things with an IMO?

About the only time it has any use is when you are differentiating between statements of someone else's opinion and your own: "Everyone thinks Ferraris are high maintenance status symbol cars, but they're really an excellent tribute to a long standing racing tradition." Now either God's own truth is spilling out of my mouth, or it's my opinion there at the end. You decide.

It irks me when I see it used constantly on forum debates, because 9 times out of 10 it's a pointless add on. It doesn't increase the value of the message, or refine the meaning. And usually, it's just a way to insult someone and try to be polite about it. At some point, the rules of etiquette have to catch up with the digital age, and I for one am hoping we ditch this cowardly abbreviation.