It's an example of "pecking order" behavior, I think.
I just ran across this thread, and wanted to share an insight. Insulting behavior seems to be endemic on message boards like SI. So it cannot be the result of a few "bad apples". It has to be the result of normal human behavior. In the book "Lucifer Principle" there is a good discussion of the "pecking order" behavior of humans and other animals. When the chickens all know each other, no pecking. When a new chicken gets thrown in, lots of pecking until the new chicken finds its place. We all have to feel superior to someone else, but we bow to our betters rather than waste energy trying to beat them. In the real world we have clothes, houses, careers, looks, cars, and all sorts of other ways to signal where we are, or think we are, in the pecking order. Overt fighting is relatively rare. But throw a bunch of humans into cyberspace, and how are we going to know whether some stranger is above or below us on the pecking order?
Easy. Insult the other person, and if (s)he slinks away, then you have won. If the other person attacks back, then either attack back with more venom or back off. It has to escalate until it gets resolved as to who is the dominant one. No different than the chicken yard.
If only SI could issue us numbers showing our rank in the hierarchy, then we would relax and exchange information. |
