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Give Flamers the Cold-Shoulder
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Baker's article about Usenet activity resonated well
with me. I have been witness to many online 'flame
wars.' They are never pretty and I am usually one of
the first to bow out of the discussion.
It is said that, "Outing is one of the most effective
means of rendering the hypocritical impotent." Baker
says this is because "outing can alter the identities of
those involved." The problem with outing as a solution
to flame wars is that more often than not, either the
offender just plain does not care about his/her history,
or there simply isn't any history to look back upon.
While many forums require a person to register before
participating, the registration process is usually an
anonymous one. This permits single users to have
multiple identities on the same server. If somebody is
determined to be a jerk, but doesn't want to be
immediately known as one, then he/she can easily
re-invent their existence by creating a new account.
Baker goes on to say that "everyone has the potential to
ignite or contribute towards moral panics." Put
differently, moral panics are a two-way street: They
cannot come about unless those whom are offended take a
stance against the perpetrator. For this reason, I
suggest that while 'outing' may be an effective way to
minimalize flame wars, the very best way to rectify the
situation is to ignore the offender entirely.
This means that the whole group must maintain discipline
and ignore the person collectively. All too often,
established group members have an inability to refrain
from being goaded into a response that is either to or
about the offender... thereby perpetuating the flame
war. They needn't do this. It is better to just dismiss
the antagonist as being exactly that. Do not dignify
him/her with a response.
A radical who is unable to garner attention will
eventually fade away. By definition, "online identity
construction is a joint process between a performer and
an involved audience." In other words, one cannot
formulate an online identity (be it positive or
negative) without receiving feedback. Thus, completely
shunning an outlandish person renders him/her powerless
in an online environment.
If imitation is thought to be the most sincere form of
flattery, than it is my argument that being truly
ignored is the epitome of rejection. |
