No matter how silly they say something sounds, or the date. I will automatically assume someone is being serious unless they say it’s a joke after saying it because if it isn’t a joke and I take it as a joke that could be harmful. I’ve been bedbound due to CFS for the last 7 years so I don’t have a good idea of what is normal and what is not anymore.
No, there’s also tone of voice, wording, facial expressions, smile/laugh and gestures indicating a joke. Also, once one person joked it can be followed up by more jokes, like a session.
See my comment above, I explain the context for this.