"Flaming is a hostile and insulting interaction between Internet users. Flaming usually occurs in the social context of a discussion board, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) or even through e-mail. An Internet user typically generates a flame response to other posts or users posting on a site, and such a response is usually not constructive, does not clarify a discussion, and does not persuade others.
"Sometimes, flamers attempt to assert their authority, or establish a position of superiority over other users. Other times, a flamer is simply an individual who believes he or she carries the only valid opinion. This leads him or her to personally attack those who disagree. In some cases, flamers wish to upset and offend other members of the forum, in which case they can be called "trolls". Most often however, flames are angry or insulting messages transmitted by people who have strong feelings about a subject." ~
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaming_(Internet)WoN is a healing place. A shelter for people to develop supportive relationships with one another. We not only educate ourselves about pathological narcissism on WoN, we also learn emotional self-regulation.
We will experience occasional anger towards someone whose comments trigger our unresolved issues. That's okay. That's good, in fact. This helps us understand where we can probe more deeply into 'why' we are angry or upset. If we disagree with someone on the board, our responsibility is to state our disagreement as rationally as possible without personalizing or projecting our discomfort onto others. This is not easy to do by any means.
Stating our difference of opinion is healthy and healing. Calling someone a "stupid so-and-so" is not.
1-WoN managers will not tolerate name-calling, insulting, demonizing, or pathologizing fellow members of the WoN forum. Managers will delete inflammatory messages at our discretion.
2-Managers reserve the right to terminate memberships of those who repetitively attack or criticize other board members.
3-We also reserve the right to move threads to a more appropriate board on our forum. If we move a thread, we will redirect members to it's new location.This article posted on
The Chicken Coop board is an excellent resource about Online Communication:
http://www.thewebofnarcissism.com/forums/index.php?topic=571.msg729#msg729 Take time to read through Kelli Munroe's tips for successful resolution of online conflicts.
Hey, it happens. Most times, it's the limitation of the written message.
Love,
Charlotte
