X the Unknown says,"I found some really interesting stuff on net aggression and how to post positively..."
I took a look and indeed, it is quite interesting.
A redacted version is posted below. For the entire essay refer to:
egodeath.com
--fl
-----------
SI: StockTalk: Coffee Shop: Sharks in the Septic Tank
Message 19385206
To: X the Unknown who wrote (77038)
From: X the Unknown
Thursday, Oct 9, 2003 9:43 AM
The most important principles of constructive posting
Take a constructive attitude. Think of everyone as fellow explorers comparing ideas in the pursuit of mutual edification.
Flaming is not usually a flaw or sickness of a single individual: rather, it is a plague that affects the majority; it is a widespread *mode* of interaction. Learn how to keep to the constructive, stripped-down mode, and not resonate with the flaming mode.
Be extremely terse in how you say things, though you may include a large amount of concisely written information. Let all the flaming and junk (and chit-chat) that comes to mind just slip off like Teflon.
Avoid sarcasm and irony. Talk straight.. Deal straight with people.
Practice having a perfectly flat, even zombie-like lack of affect. Be neither angry nor chummy. Flaming and humor are two sides of the same bogus coin. A little sprinkling of wit can add seasoning, but only after you have mastered dealing straight with people even when they flame you.
Learn how to assess any expression or phrase: is it signal, or is it noise? Install a mental filter so that you only let the signal through, whether you are writing or reading. Let all the noise, all the flaming, shunt to ground through its own force.
Post specific criticisms of specific assertions; otherwise your vague comments carry no weight other than a vote of disagreement.
When someone flames you, either don't respond at all, or respond as follows: rewrite their message to de-flame it and whittle it down only to their substantial point. If there is anything left, respond to that point. Often they allude or imply some set of assumptions. Express this assumption, which is often some sort of cliched stance and attitude, and then respond rationally.
De-personalize the postings.
Avoid the pronouns "I" and "you" as much as possible. Address general attitudes floating around, instead.
Only post material that is good and positive enough to publish on your personal Web site.
If people would not want to read your posting in the context of your personal Web site, then the posting is not worth that much in the newsgroups either. Most postings fail this test; they are noise, flaming, junk, and chit-chat.
For some good examples, check out the character of the postings in the alt...postmodern and the better postings in the ....philosophy.misc newsgroups. The programming newsgroups have many constructive, to-the-point postings as well.
The net has great potential, and it can and should realize this potential. The first step *you* can take to save the net is to serve as an example of nonviolent response -- that is, dedication to the constructive attitude. This group and the net at large probably have a higher than average IQ but the standards and role models are sorely lacking, so far. Spread the word, set an example, and we'll all benefit greatly.
The importance of good composition skills for online posting
Spelling *is* important. Clear communication is required to get your thoughts across and to keep the focus on the subject at hand. Grammar, usage, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, and so on are important. Correct writing makes writing transparent, so that the ideas shine through more clearly. Especially if the ideas are complex.
I encourage everyone to develop their writing skills and take that extra time to read and fix typos and grammatical errors before sending.
I can feel my writing skills developing rapidly because of my greater care in online postings. It's important in the same way that speaking intelligibly is. It's a good feeling to increasingly master writing. I wouldn't worry about the occasional typo or poorly formed expression, but there should not be several.
I wish the newsreaders had spellcheckers, and very good ones. The Word spellchecker is useless for me -- it only seems to be a 6-th grade dictionary. But most errors could be caught quickly enough if the writer skimmed and fixed them before posting.
You can read a carefully written posting faster than a garbled one. Writing mistakes are distracting and bring down the overall quality of net communication. |
