Granted this is just perpetuating what by now should really be, and hopefully soon will be, a dead horse, but interesting article on the psychology of flaming:
www.newscientist.com/blog/technology/2007/11/dont-flame-me-bro.htmlSummary:
People say things online they would never say face-to-face. "Deindividuation" is getting lost in the mob, losing one's individuality, and applies to being "invisible" online. Words, the only communication tools we have on the net, do not convey facial expressions, voice tones, etc., and inevitably lead to misunderstandings. Good example is a joke put online, which may not be nearly as funny as when told face-to-face. Also, there is never the possibility of physical retaliation for a provocation delivered online.
A personal observation, please. I know, I know these "personal observations" are getting out of hand, but I do want to make this one. Some of you may even find it a bit morbid, and I'm sorry, but I think it's an observation that needs to be made.
For starters, let's remember that we are all here trading discussions on a topic that can kill us. How many net forums can make that claim? Hence, much stress and tension generated, much of it at a subconscious level. Good test results and such reported by members relieve it a bit, but negative reports increase it again.
Add to that the sorrowful fact that we have recently lost some brothers to this wretched beast: silverlace's husband Jerry, c.c's husband "Rockstar," and most recently sequioaranger. (Am I missing anyone?). More stress and tension, again much of it at the subconscious level. Sooner or later this subconscious stress forces its way out and expresses itself in negative words and insults put online.
We are all carrying around an enormous stress load which for many of us just gets heavier all the time. Add that to the "normal" stressors which produce flaming, and can it be any wonder that explosions such as the one we are seeing are going to occur once in a while on a list like ours?
My point: whenever one of these flaming explosions occurs, let's all please just stop and remember the extraordinary pressure we are all living under, both in our online world and in our real ones, and remember that this pressure, when it comes out, is the real cause of much of our online frustration and verbal unhappiness.
Let's let that knowledge help us get a grip on what's really happening when a flame explosion does occur.