No communication technique is going to be optimal for all purposes. Or for all language backgrounds.The issue is that usually doesn't carry across short written text, so on forums your "playful" is read as "intended to be serious but is unintelligible", people assume you need help and there's a question there but can't figure it out, and get frustrated/angry trying to figure out what you meant.
My default is playful. When I'm asking a serious question, I think it's pretty clear, but I'll pay more attention to that.
And of course, there's always the option of asking, in the presence of uncertainty...
Thx,
MM