1.4a Flamewars and crossposting (alt.music.smash-pumpkins)
Description
This article is from the Smashing Pumpkins FAQ, by Mike Hamilton michaelh@ualberta.ca with numerous contributions by others.
1.4a Flamewars and crossposting (alt.music.smash-pumpkins)
On Usenet, be sure to check the "Newsgroups:" line if something seems
unusually strange or off-topic. Things like "What is the best
alternative band of the 90s?" (usually in caps) are giveaways, and are
simply posted to many newsgroups (cross-posted) to start people arguing.
Many people demand to know why a post about another band is in "their"
newsgroup without realizing that it's in the other as well. If you
reply to a cross-post, remove the other newsgroups from the "Newsgroups:"
line, so that it doesn't go to every other group.
Flamewars erupt often, and there's little that can be done about it. The
best thing you can possibly do is ignore it. Some people just say
something extremely rude and then leave immediately, so they won't even
see your reply. Others will just TRY to get you pissed off at them and
generate angry replies. If you must reply, do it over email. If it
continues to bother you and won't go away, killfile that thread, or just
don't read it. Just don't feed the fire.
Likewise, don't start flames, as they're obviously not on-topic. Sure,
you can yell "BUSH SUCKS!" and get a lot of people to agree with you, but
some people won't. Besides that, it's alt.music.smash-pumpkins, not
alt.flame.bush (or Manson, or Spice Girls, or Hanson, etc.). If someone
casually mentions liking a band that you don't, explain why if you must,
but don't simply yell "They fucking suck!" and leave it at that. Such
pointless arguments go nowhere.
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