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11 April 2008

Flame - Hell in Cyberworld

A minority the blogs that I happen to visit in the month of April claimed that someone or something flamed them. I hardly come across such stories before March 2008. For some reason, March&April seemed to be the period of flames and fire.

Being the sarcastic person I am, I try to understand why people love to FLAME each other in the net (especially in blogs, forum and online gaming) and this is what I came up with by compiling various idea available in the net.
Let me clarify my definition of flame.
In the context of this blog post, a FLAME is a piece of language used to inflict ego burns on others. This is unconfirmed but its highly suspected that flames are commonly used by emos that hate everyone on the internet.

Lets take a look at the brief history of flaming.
Back in the good old days, emos need to heat up a piece of charcoal, fling it as hard as possible targetting victim, flaming them. World War 1 & 2 changed all that as flamethrowers were invented solely for flaming purposes. With recent technological advancement, anyone can now FLAME through the cyberworld.

Alrite, history shows that flaming has been around since the dawn of civilization, but what benefit does flaming bring?
Flaming is considered by many as a recreational activity. It provides an opportunity to battle each other with witty comments and also the chance to express their creativity with words through sarcasm. Some say its a technique to lure people to the other side of the coin where as some argue that its a test to determine the victim's firmness in their believe system .

Rite... Then why is it that flaming happens more in the cyberworld?
It is noted that Internet users are more likely to FLAME online than insult others in the real world, as the latter can lead to embarrassment and physical altercations, which online "anonymity" can avoid. [source]

So then, Is anonymity an act of cowardice?
The answer would be yes if you detest Naruto, James Bond, and people with nicknames. Anonymity are ninjas and spies favoured element. I'm pretty sure that AnimeFreaks love Naruto and MovieBuffs adore James Bond. Also, I'm pretty sure everyone has a nickname of some sort. For instance, 3POINT8 is my nick. Instead of act of cowardice, I see them as a mysterious representation of my persona. (Everyone loves mystery, don't they?)

I don't get it. If flaming is perceived as something negative, why would society allow this?
The role of flaming is still somewhat ambiguous. Some believe that it is the Net's way of regulating itself. Cyberspace has evolved with no central authority and therefore no way of enforcing "netiquette" or the normal conventions for proper behavior. The responsibility for correct conduct therefore falls upon the individual. As a result, certain individuals have taken it upon themselves to flame others who violate group norms. The flames can range from wild rebukes to venomous personal attacks. The flamers may utilize devices such as humour, irony, or sarcasm to make their point, though profanity and name calling are not uncommon. [source]

Geez Great! Flaming is an essential part of the cyberworld. But I don't like being flamed. How can I avoid this?
Advice from InternetSuperHeroes: Until you get to know someone very well, it’s always best to stay away from controversial topics, like politics, religion, race, sex, nationalism, war, special physical or mental limitations, money and gender-based issues. Once you get to know each other well-enough to know what is acceptable, you can get into these topics online, but even then, be very careful. Most cyber-problems start when people are talking about these and similar topics.

Great tip boss! I'm curious, Is there such thing as a Flame-Proof thing.
Sorry. The only things that are flame-proof are Chuck Norris, Mr.T, Ultraman, and nuffnang innit.
To be flame proof, you must have at least one of these elements: A beard, a mohawk hairstyle, a Hadouken. Nuffnang innit seems to have all 3 of them.
[To Nuffnang Team: Can I post this picture up?]

Enough of Flame defense. How can I flame someone elegantly?
May your flames be witty, insulting, interesting, paradoxical, funny, illogical, caustic, sarcastic,
even inconsistent - but never, ever, let them be boring. [source]

Random thoughts that came to my mind while writing this post:
Never provoke your maid. Her ability to use a stove makes them a deadly person to find fault with.

What do you think of this post?

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

One word : BRILLIANT!

Nothing much to say, really THIS IS A MASTERPIECE! :)

Apple said...

Nice post.
I think flaming in cyberworld is just an entertainment, but cruel to the victims because words normally can hurt someone for a very long time.

Anonymous said...

I guess another reason why ppl flame is because of jealousy?

Marc said...

haha. At least my incident gave u insipration. Well, all i can say is anonymity IS cowardice!

Nikkiko said...

awesome; as usual ;P

some people just can't get enough of it. i've got "popular" classmate bloggers who flame/get flamed other "popular" girls (in other schools) for the most nonsensical things, such as the stealing of xiaxue's hair.

ps: wow. nuffnang innit's got a bear & mohawk hairstyle! i've got to see that o_o

Anonymous said...

Hi, thank u for replying my entrecard drop. i have blogroll your site in my serious droppers list. I visit all the sites in this list almost everyday plus most of my visitors too. We all have the same idea of getting return drop cards. Hope that you can blogroll my site back in your web too.

Thank you,
Reena

Hwei Cheng said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Hwei Cheng said...

I was once called a flamer, which I still think I do not deserve such a title. I know I posted One nasty word about that very person, whom I don't even know who she is...but it was purely because of one of her inhumane posts. The effects of me "flaming" were... whoa..... i was not only featured on her blog, but was called with so many awful names by her mates. I would say everything is very ambiguous in the cyber world, as you are basically interpreting things from your very point of view.. when there is actually a big possibility of you misinterpreting the details. I did not intent to make myself a flamer. I was just telling people how I feel.

Anonymous said...

Yes it is really Month of flam. We Maldivian it is the hottest days of the year so it is really flaming.

Nikkiko said...

i see ya did something bout the mohawk hair =X

Anonymous said...

Nice one. I didn't know about flaming before reading it ur post.

Anyway, I have a "stalker" in my blog(my friends call him that...) who is always disapproving things with me. Sometimes I got a bit angry, but heck? Why should I be affected by this some kind of stranger who is such a damn coward?

I do flame people but I never hide my identity. I don't need them to support my beliefs but I want them to know who has such beliefs. So, staying anonymous is an act of cowardy to me.

Anyway, I am starting to enjoy flaming from people in my blog on certain issues because I just love knowing what the others think. From the way they talk and argue, I just know little hints of their backgrounds and stuffs. So it's kinda cool! Like guessing game...

Just my two cents, peace!

3POINT8 said...

[ced]
Your words are powerful! Therefore, I chose to label this under 'Masterpiece' after reading your comment. Thanks!

[Apple]
Words hurt because we allow them to hurt us. I guess that is why it is important for 'victims' to treat it as an entertainment rather as a critism. Don't you think so?

[vortrack]
Yup, that could be a valid reason. Got any examples?

[Marc]
Thanks for the inspiration marc. well, about anonymity.. you are entitled to your opinion.

3POINT8 said...

[Nikkiko]
Thanks for the kind remark. Also, thanks to your suggestion, I did a parody of nuffnang's innit logo. Haha, cool eh?

[Reena]
Suggestion taken.

[HweiCheng]
Agreed. I'd say some people are biased to their own opinions that they fail to notice a 2nd possible interpretation to a certain post. I mean, its good to take a stance too, to tell the world of your personality and your ideas.

[Maldives Live]
Haha.... This is the most random comment here in this blogpost. Thanks for the randomness. It broke my serious routine of replying comment and it did made me smile.

3POINT8 said...

[Nikkiko]
Yea. I treat suggestions from my blog reader seriously. Thanks for the inspiration to do something like this.

[Chien]
Agreed. Its good to take a firm stance on your own belief. Now that you mention about it, it does makes sense that I can judge how people think from the way they argue. Hhmmm, this is interesting! I've never thought of it that way.
Yay! I managed to learn something new from Chien. Thanks for idea.

curryegg said...

Nice post 3point8..
And true.. you're a sarcastic blogger and each topic that you've raised here are interesting..

talking about flame.. most people use to be so is to gain others attention. ;)

LeangFM said...

for the likes of us whom uses nickname, (or they call it pseudonym)
we still have an identity just it's not that open(half-hidden)

on top of that,we(means u and me included) still put a link so that ppl can get back to us


but using the international nick aka anonymous, or by just simply put a nick and start flaming people,leaving the "victim" no idea who u r,
that, i call as cowardice

buta chan said...

lol kif!
hven't really had the time to read blogs in detail these days ... but ha ha u have been updating so faithfully! indeed, bloggig is yr hobby ha ha!!! :)

Katherine said...

I think flaming can be seen as sort of flattering--like someone thinks that you are worth talking about.

3POINT8 said...

[curryegg]
Thank you for the compliment curryegg. Your feedback has just motivated me to produce more interesting topic. Thanks ya!
=D

[Mc_Bone]
Oh, ok.
100% anonymity = cowardice.
Half-hidden nick = still ok.
Noted! thanks for your feedback.

[ButaChan]
Harlo! Yea, blogging is my favourite hobby now, so much so that I'm addicted to it. XD

[宝茹]
Flaming is a form of flattery? That is a whole new perspective. Hmm, I should really learn how to treat all flaming as flattery. Thanks for the comment ya!

Deimos Tel`Arin said...

[Never provoke your maid. Her ability to use a stove makes them a deadly person to find fault with.

[What do you think of this post?]

I think the best advice in this post is the final paragraph before your post-closing question.

The indo maid who cooks for us is best left unprovoked, at all cost.

Regarding flaming, I think it is an beautiful art of debating if done properly.

Regarding Nuffnang, I have no love for it since it is a local advertising company.

Local advertising firms sucks. Period. Yes, they do. At least that is what I think about them.

Anonymous said...

A lot of those flames are seriously lousy!

'You're just jealous of her',blah blah.No brainer 'flames' as such.-_-"

3POINT8 said...

[Deimos Tel Arin]
Local advertising suck? Then I should really focus more on adsense then. Thanks for the advice!

[Evolna]
Er....ya, those are lousy. But I do respect flamers who can produce a strong argument with some sort of evidence backing them up.

Linora 'Aronil' Low said...

lol, why la you always seem to kena flame.. this is also not in the sense the same as being danged right?

3POINT8 said...

[Aronil]
Haha, I guess this is not as bad as being danged. Being danged is such a miserable feeling...