Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site sdcrdcf.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!genrad!decvax!decwrl!greipa!pesnta!pertec!scgvaxd!trwrb!sdcrdcf!faigin From: faigin@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Daniel Faigin) Newsgroups: net.news.group Subject: Purpose of Net.Flame (Summary - I of III) Message-ID: <2115@sdcrdcf.UUCP> Date: Fri, 5-Jul-85 16:45:37 EDT Article-I.D.: sdcrdcf.2115 Posted: Fri Jul 5 16:45:37 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 8-Jul-85 05:28:54 EDT Reply-To: faigin@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Daniel Faigin) Organization: System Development Corp. R+D, Santa Monica Lines: 123 Summary: Extraction of purposes of net.flame from messages recieved. [DPF speaking... Although it has only been a couple of weeks since my request went out, due to the tremendous response I have gotten, I have decided to summarize whenever my condensed reply file gets to around 300 lines or so.] Before we can look at what net.flame is for, we must first understand some basics. According to the USENET documentation, (e.g., the messages posted by Gene each month), the purposes of net.flame are: 1. For flaming on any topic. 2. Normal standards of courtesy are not observed here. If we use the definition of "flame" in the Hacker's Dictionary, we would thus arrive at the following definition for the purpose of net.flame: 1. a place for speaking incessantly and/or rabidly on some reletively uninteresting subject or with a patently ridiculous attitude. The replies that I have received to date have been many and varied. Some could fall into the above definition. Some are *way* off the mark. It looks like much of the problem with net.flame is that people do not understand what it is for. The summary posted today consists of three parts. This part (I) is a true summary of the basic points made about the purpose of net.flame. Since some of them a basically repeats of others, I have only numbers the first occurrance of semi-unique or significant ones. The next message in the summary (II) is my personal commentary on the messages received. Lastly, part III is a condensed and reformatted version of the messages received to date. Net.flame is... 1. a place to flame or criticize any topic, statement, or person who bothers you. These criticisms need not have a basis in logic. 2. a place to let out anger, frustration, hate, and other emotions. 3. a place to rant and rave. 4. a place to try satire, or off the wall ideas, knowing that the readers won't be too offended if they don't see what you were trying to say. 5. a place for people who feel a need to be abusive or offensive. 6. a place to have pointless arguments that don't belong in a particular newsgroup. 7. a place to send stuff that would be considered unreasonable in any other group. 8. a place for bored people to have fun, vent general frustrations, and generally mess around. 9. a place where angry people get sent from other newsgroups so they can yell at each other rather than at people who don't like angry people in other newsgroups. 10. a place to provide articles serving as sparks to start heated discussions, possibly quite silly, i.e. women's use of toilet paper. 11. a place to allow a no-holds-barred discussion of anything. 12. it is not a place for pre-emptive, abusive, personal attacks, or any stupid tomfoolery or drivel anyone chooses to post, nor was it designed to encourage it. 13. a safety valve to keep the rest of the net relatively civil. 14. A place where people play the game of erecting personnas that they would never use in a real world face to face situation. Other opinions are... a place to absorb heated arguments from other groups which have become too acrimonious or voluminous to stay where they started. a place serving as a catharsis where people posting articles in this newsgroup should consider themselves open game for any sort of abuse from anybody. a place serving as a source of enjoyment for people such as myself, who don't post to the group, but sit back and watch the mud slinging across the screen for a lighthearted break. a place that has no purpose. a place for all the uninhibited graffitti that would otherwise be posted elsewhere. a place to allow people to vent frustration, anger, and other emotions that would be inappropriate to other news groups. an overflow point for arguments. a place for satirical humor. a place for messages with whine content. a place for articles which are complaints, harangues, criticisms, which are usually more emotional than logical. it is not a place for written abuse of other netters. a place for discussions started in other groups to go to when they got too long, drawn out and noisy, and or became arguments rather than discussions. a place to vent their rage, e.g., a sort of electronic primal scream therapy. To be continued... Daniel -- UUCP: {akgua allegra ihnp4 hplabs sdcsvax trwrb cbosgd}!sdcrdcf!faigin ARPA: sdcrdcf!faigin@UCLA-LOCUS.ARPA --or-- sdcrdcf!faigin@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU W: SDC, 2500 Colorado MD 52-46; Santa Monica CA 90406; (213) 820-4111 x6493 H: 11743 Darlington Avenue #9; Los Angeles CA 90049; (213) 826-3357 Don't have good ideas if you aren't willing to be responsible for them. -- A. J. Perlis, SIGPLAN 17:9 Sept 1982