“Yes, he is, at least, entertaining”

This paper investigates facework and identity construction on a pro-community water fluoridation Facebook page, drawing on rapport management ( Spencer-Oatey 2000 ) and Culpeper’s ( 1996 , 2010 , 2011 ) taxonomy of impoliteness in English. In contrast to previous work on conflictual political talk on social media, which focuses largely on right/left or socially conservative/progressive polarised topics, it addresses discourse on a topic where...