How To Avoid Flaming in a Thread - REVISITED

[scratchONtheBOX]

How To Avoid Flaming in a Thread - REVISITED

“HOW-2-AVOID-FLAMES-IN-A-THREAD”.

I hope the subject falls in here, otherwise, please move to a much better place... Thanks a bunch!

What is flaming? It is a word that means blazing, burning, glowing, fiery, red, fierce, blazing, furious and a lot more. In forums and chats, it is a war (in exchange of words) going on. A simple S2PID post could start a war of word, exchanging non-essential words, leading to non-ethical way of communication. It is not a BAD IDEA defending your opinion, but if it gets worst (the situation), then it is time to STOP IT (like the moderators do).

Lately, I am disturbed by flaming in few of the threads made by newbies like me, in-fact, I was involved in some of the flaming thing (arrrgggg, can’t avoid it).

Can’t avoid it? Really? Yes we can try if we do some orientation thing (again).

Re-orientation about posting a thread

To start of, I have an additional suggestion for AO mods and admins, after a new member signs up, can he/she receive an e-mail about some of the most stickiest sticky(s) in AO for newbies? Since I firmly believe that upon doing this add-on “WELCOME SCHEME”, they could be encouraged to RTFM or at least be reminded of what ‘first comes first’ before posting. IMHO, SPECIFIC FAQ should always show very readable/visible for the starting page of newbies and prospect members. Until certain time that they’ll get used to it and be a better thread starter or poster after reading some FAQ about it. – Should be on the SUGGESTION SECTION.

Going to re-orientation, I had setup few of the most common guidelines needed to be given emphasis to really avoid flaming amongst us AO members here:

1. Firstly, DO A SEARCH!
a. Search from http://www.Google.com about the issues you want or plan to post here, if not much answer had been given…
b. Search AGAIN from http://www.Google.com, re-phrase it… 2 times is better than one.
c. Search from AO SEARCH (THAT FORUM SEARCH ON THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER OF THE AO MAIN PAGE)
d. Once searching for the issues you are looking for may have taken you to the answer already, it could save time, words, and space. And even avoids redundancy (I HOPE THIS THREAD I STARTED DO NOT COUNT TO REDUNDANCY).
e. If after searching for all the possible keyword for the issues you are looking, then you can start from procedure 2.

2. Threads should follow the standards (what? You will say… wait…), simple standards of a thread which had been mentioned way back, but still being ignored by members especially newbies. Most of the flames that I had seen as a response to the post falls in the following:
a. Post that implies bad/suspicious goal – TRUE or NOT TRUE SITUATION, you could do better than piss off the AO community with starting a post/thread like “how can I do things illegally while implying that I will do it legally…”, sooner or later this idea will start fire as soon as the guys get suspicious, too many times posters get interrogated and found guilty of not telling the truth at the first place, ONE PIECE OF ADVICE, BE HONEST… But avoid S2PID posts.
b. Bad way of posting (technically) (m!$$p3Lled, too much grammatical errors, both by laziness, deliberately or not)
i. – For spelling and/or grammar, like one AO senior had mentioned before, it only takes you a matter of seconds to at least spell-check your post or use a word processing program (like M$ word) to do wonders for you.
c. Details – any specific problem or issue or idea has details. Try to think of it like “IF YOU NEED QUICK AND EFFECTIVE REPLY, make your inquiries more like a detailed (but straight-to-the-point) kind of an inquiry and with sense.
3. Post reply is very important in the continuity of an on-going thread (specially issues pertaining to SECURITY), so your post could drive the thread into a worth-to-read-and-to-learn thread instead of a thread full of flaming and un-answered issues. Please, avoid being suicidal!
4. Ahhhh, DON’T REPLY TO VERY VERY OLD THREADS unless you have a really really BIG ISSUE about it that could qualify to be enough reason to be AWAKEN again. Even some S2PID OLD MEMBERS (quoted by others) knows this and avoids this kind of annoyance. Somebody will disagree again with this issue, but I would like to clarify again, DON’T REPLY UNLESS YOU HAVE SOME DEVELOPMENT ABOUT IT THAT WOULD OR COULD INTEREST THE COMMUNITY.

I know most of the above-mentioned ideas had been covered or mentioned already, but for refreshing purpose and as an eye-opener (again), I hope this thread could not start flaming, hence could receive a positive response from you guys out there (both new and seniors). Please add important points that I missed (really I am paranoid sometimes).

LASTLY, please again, kindly take a little (much) time to read the FAQ, and STICKY(S), it could improve the way threads and posts could be treated and/or answered.

Now, /me comes back to reading security-related threads… Have a nice day!

Cheers!

Yo!

[guardian alpha]

Ahhhh, DON’T REPLY TO VERY VERY OLD THREADS unless you have a really really BIG ISSUE about it that could qualify to be enough reason to be AWAKEN again. Even some S2PID OLD MEMBERS (quoted by others) knows this and avoids this kind of annoyance. Somebody will disagree again with this issue, but I would like to clarify again, DON’T REPLY UNLESS YOU HAVE SOME DEVELOPMENT ABOUT IT THAT WOULD OR COULD INTEREST THE COMMUNITY.

Balls to this. If someone wants to open a thread with new information regarding the parent subject or a sub-subject within that thread, let them. If it is just "lol", then I can understand it being annoying. But for updated information, questions that remain unanswered previously in the thread, or similar even if they are not OMFGWTFBBQ going to change the face of the earth... need to be tolerated.

We can't expect each and never new person to AO to follow a contradiction of rules. "Search N00B!!!!11. Oh, and when you find the post that has something of what you need.. DUN reply to it asking for more information!!! start a completely new thread that requires you linking from the older thread and reexplaining things rather than continuing where others left off".

Pftt. I never understood why it was such an annoyance that deserved people getting negs. Don't like old threads? That's fine, and that's your choice. Don't read them. Want to see what new information or question may have been brought to light that someone needs help on? Read it. But don't neg someone just because they don't want to start a brand new thread for a subject that already exists in a thread elsewhere.

[thehorse13]

The best way not to get flamed is not to post threads called "How to avoid flaming in a thread".

Common sense goes a long way. Use it and you wont get flamed and/or negged.

[scratchONtheBOX]

guardian alpha,

Hi there!

Pftt. I never understood why it was such an annoyance that deserved people getting negs. Don't like old threads? That's fine, and that's your choice. Don't read them. Want to see what new information or question may have been brought to light that someone needs help on? Read it. But don't neg someone just because they don't want to start a brand new thread for a subject that already exists in a thread elsewhere.

- I wish there is a better way to change or at least enhance this feature. That's why idea like what me, you and other concerns are openning just to avoid things like this, the negging, since everybody has their own opinion, being brought to seek for answer, the main problem is many (amongst us) cannot deliver the idea they want to present in a manner that the AO guys would expect it. Sometimes asking a very "brilliant" idea but could not express it in a better way to be understood, then comes the NEGGING part. But we could not also blame the culture here, that's tradition, if we could do things to have a work-around or something to re-orient majority of people falling at this scenario, we could make this forum a better place to discuss which matters most.

Everybody has their own way, but they should come to think of it that in any organization, there are "RULES", and these rules should be presented especially to new and prospect member in a manner that could encourage them to get involved in harmony or in a way that could get the communities attention and criticism in a positive way at least. So, discussions could be in a right way, a meaningful way and there comes learning and giving more informative and technical-rich or even to a non-biased opinion and response.

I hope people who will read these exchanges of thoughts and opinion and take it as an encouragement and positive criticism. "Fair play" is one of the words to be described also.

*

Common sense goes a long way. Use it and you wont get flamed and/or negged.

- Sorry, thehorse13, I've been 4 minutes editing without seeing your post . But this, I think is out of it right now, we cannot say that people asking right questions or important questions in a not-well-understood-way or misinterpreted-way could lack common sense, the ability to be able or not much able to express your opinion doesn't mean you lack common sense, there are reservations aside from 0.02. And that's what I am pointing out here. They just need to be straighten and NEGGING sometimes get them to even more trouble. For me, I've been NEGGED some and it taught me a lot but it doesn't stop me from seeking some answers and solutions, I find ways to understand GOOD CALLS and BAD CALLS (by means of NEGGING). But I don't request that we should have counselling here. Just plain discussion.
*

Yo!

[guardian alpha]

...there are "RULES", and these rules should be presented especially to new and prospect member in a manner that could encourage...

blah blah more blowing smoke and FUD around the forums. You and I have gone through this before. The "tradition" of banning people for replying to old threads, even if their reply is entirley relvent, is something that needs to be stopped. Just because the elders and majority have done it for years, doesn't make it right socially or ethically. You speak of rules, but I've QUOTED the rules to you before that talk in regards to old topic postings. It says to keep in mind the date of the thread you are posting, mostly due to "don't always expect a reply to a thread people may have forgotten about" and NOT in anyway forbidding people to reply to older posts.

Ditch the habit of slaming people who take the advice and search the forums which then leads to them replying (as natural human conversation usually evolves) to responding to a conversation already in progress that directly applies to what they need to know.

This is also a online-forum, not a class in which people pay to attend. Things do not have to continually be meaningful and informative 100%, thus why we have a multitude of people that come on and ask questions that will in no way be informative to anyone but themselves and the people who read it later on. Let people enjoy themselves. Some love stirring up trouble, some love negging for ego, some just love getting greenies. But a good portion of us are here to learn, help, and encourage the freedom of information.

If that freeom involves letting a new person bring back to life an old thread because a question they have is 100% relevant, then I will defend that until the ancients here either neg me into oblivion, or we get over our own green points and continue to help people regardless of 'where' they post.

[scratchONtheBOX]

If that freeom involves letting a new person bring back to life an old thread because a question they have is 100% relevant, then I will defend that until the ancients here either neg me into oblivion, or we get over our own green points and continue to help people regardless of 'where' they post.

- That's fair enough. And I could also mention, we are not SUPER HEROES to save the world, just here for the same reason,

But a good portion of us are here to learn, help, and encourage the freedom of information.

- and that my friend cannot be taken away from us by the so-called BIG GUYS, they could understand that, right? They should.

Peace.

Yo!

[zENGER]

Originally posted here by scratchONtheBOX
- That's fair enough. And I could also mention, we are not SUPER HEROES to save the world, just here for the same reason

Says who? *folds up cape*

[thehorse13]

LOL!! Who are the "BIG GUYS"? Are they members of a secret club? If so, how do I join and when can I pick up my cape?



I guess what I'm saying is that this topic has been beaten to death and one element exists that makes it pointless to continue with it. No matter what you write, people are free to neg, flame or whatever they like. The bottom line is that everything you mention makes perfect sense but none of it is enforceable.

[AngelicKnight]

If you don't want to be flamed, just be like Angelic. He never gets flamed. It's because he's so cool, I think.

[The Grunt]

You can neg someone even for a good post if you feel like it... That's the way this system is based... Doesn't matter what the post is, you can always assign + or - depending on what you feel.