Confessions of a flamer!

My name is Trudy and I am a flamer! It has been 4 days since my last flame. Actually, it's been 4 days since my first flame. But I couldn't help it. It wasn't my fault. Aliens made me do it and now I have crossed over to the dark side.

So what made me do it (apart from aliens, that is)? Well, I quote from Virginia Shea's Netiquette for some insight into my flaming episode:
1) "Although flames often get out of hand, they have a purpose in the ecology of cyberspace. Many flames are aimed at teaching someone something (usually in overstated language) or stopping them from doing something (like offending other people)".
My purpose was to get something off my chest that had been bugging me for a while. My aim was to teach a bit of common sense, which apparently isn't that common. Now I did choose sarcasm as my method of delivery for the flame. Perhaps not a wise choice for the teaching of common sense. The thing I was stopping them (and hopefully others) from doing, was asking any more stupid questions.
2) "Flame messages often use more brute force than is strictly necessary, but that's half the fun".
I wouldn't say that I had fun, but I certainly did enjoy the sense of release that accompanied the flame being delivered.
3) "Netiquette does ask that you consider the art of flaming before pulling out the flame-thrower. Any wannabe with an email account can ignite a firestorm of ill-conceived and boring flames. It takes diligence and creativity to pull off an artful flame".
I did think carefully about how to frame my flame. I know sarcasm is the lowest from of wit but I had to strike while the iron was hot.....meaning, that if I thought about it for too long, the moment would have been lost.
4) "If you must flame, don't flame gratuitously. Choose your target with care. In other words, hold back on flaming the newcomer to a discussion group who asks a dumb question".
Well it wasn't a newcomer but it certainly was a dumb question!
5) "Any time you flame you're going out on a limb.... Submit the flame to a sanity check, remembering that the net never forgets".
I did anticipate a bit of a backlash but was surprised to only receive one reprimand. I was even more surprised to receive a message of support that articulated what my own flame didn't, i.e. a little lateral thinking is required at post-grad study level. I guess others had been feeling the same way but were able to suppress their flaming desire.
6) "One sure way to escalate a flame war is to expand the battleground.... The skillful flamer keeps the heat in the proper place and avoids needless escalation".
Well, I certainly didn't escalate. In fact, I am leaving that discussion board alone - too tempting to replace my sarcasm with some more straight-to-the-point flames. Does this make me a skillful flamer? Well, I don't think I'm ready to list "flamer" under the Skills heading of my CV. However, I think I did flame with restraint and restraint, I believe, requires tremendous skill!

So what have I learnt from all this?

Ms Shea states that "Flame wars can be amusing for the twisted among us to read". I suppose then I have learnt that I am a little bit twisted. (Maybe not such a revelation for those who know me.) I admit I have found the sometimes inane, sometimes potentially flamable comments on this particular discussion board slightly addictive. I guess I have also learnt that discussion boards are easier places to vent than face-to-face interactions. Even though my name appeared alongside my post, there are still fewer consequences than face-to-face sledging. After all, you can always flame and never return to the site to read the responses. Definitely the cowardly option.

Finally, I guess I have learnt that we are all capable of dumb questions and perhaps I should have given the "questioner" a break. I have had many a blond moment (no, that wasn't a flame, merely an overused cliche) and will probably continue to do so. That's what happens with information overload - continuous partial attention (Linda Stone). At this stage of the semester, I think we are all in a state of CPA.