[Air-l] Reflections on flame wars.

[jeremy hunsinger]

>
>
>
>I'm afraid I'd have to disagree, at least slightly. Yes, it's a sign of some
>sort of emotional or social commitment. But there are well-crafted,
>intelligent flames, and there are measly, dippy flames which indicate some
>sort of breakdown of normal social controls and constraints.
>
I agree.  But the question here is "to whom do they appear dippy, and 
why?"  what norms are constructed, etc?

>
>
>Jeremy, your view is a little utopian. Yes, there are artistic, even elegant
>flames that neatly defuse an argument while manically ranting about the
>state of the world. But there are also flames that are simply obnoxious,
>off-the-cuff responses to a message that is irritating.
>
actually they can be the same thing from different 
perspectives/audiences, but nonetheless they have some merit in either 
case I think.  It is easy to see that flames serve some sort of function 
though and it is not always negative to either the group, the writer, or 
the recipient, and that was my sole point.

-- 
jeremy hunsinger		http://www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy
cddc/political science		http://www.cddc.vt.edu
526 major williams hall 0130	http://www.dromocracy.com
virginia tech			-under construction
blacksburg, va 24061
540-231-7614