Animation Source Forums

There needs to be some serious enlightenment around here. I am sick and tired of the "Stop flaming!" comments when there is a disagreement that is healthily being debated. What really makes me blow a fuse are the "....I think I see a flame war coming!" comments. That in itself can act as an instigator!

I am going to clearly show what is, and more specifically, what is not a flame(war). But first, attention is due to word choice....If one decides to view something as a flame war, there better be at least two participants. Hypothetically there cannot be a war without 2+ participants, and when someone calls "flame war!", it makes all active participants in the topic look bad.

What is a Flame?

A "flame" is when someone blatantly, vulgarly, (and possibly abruptly) attacks someone else about some idea or opinion stated in the forum. This generally does not include any intellectual backing, the author of such a post or posts does not deem it necessary to put any effort into defending their point. They see their vulgarity and attacks as more than enough reason to prove the other person wrong. Added to this is a general disregard for respect and likely the forum rules.

What is a Flame War?

A "flame war" consists of the above, except there is more than one participant. Do not call out a flame war if there is only one individual behaving like a flamer....it is disrespectful to the rest of the posters, because it essentially makes them look bad too. Be very careful when accusing persons of this, because if it is a disagreement being civilly discussed/debated, such an accusation may provoke one. Again, recall that a "Flame War" requires two participants. By definition of war, there is more than one involved.

What IS NOT a Flame (War)?

A disagreement in which there are two or more people involved, and each party is posting to prove the other party wrong or prove themselves correct, but attention is being paid to respect and detail, with well supported arguments. Each side takes into consideration the site rules and debates their points within those thresholds. Will not contain vulgarity or profanity in most circumstances.

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Example of a Flame:

You *****, that is not ***! Go *** *** *** *** ***. Just shut up!

or:

How can you possibly not like [insert object/place/etc]????!!!! You're stupid! Just stop!

(Note: Again, if this were to include two or more participating in this behavior, then it becomes a Flame War.)

Example of an Argument That is NOT a Flame (War):

Although a lot of people like this, I really do not because. .......... I'd much prefer .......

or:

I don't not think that is a good stand for these following reasons. ............ Because of these reasons, I do not agree with that.

(Note: I hate these kinds of examples, because they are extremely overused in rants. Apologies, I did not think of a way that I could avoid them and still (thoroughly) get the point across.)

Just an FYI for the community. Thank you for your time.

A lot of people should read this, about time someone made a topic like this, Nice Job : Ghost-Unit

Thank you!

I am sick of seeing this in the shout box. I've had to put up with it multiple times. Once when I was discussing with another member the pros and cons of a controversial subject (Calmly) a member joined the conversatioon and said exactly what you quoted here. "I see a flame war coming!" which, as you also said, was what caused it to burst into an argument as people who had been originally 'spectating' the conversation jumped at the newcomer, causing myself and the other member to get annoyed. It's like a vicious circle.

Then there are situations like a recent one where I pointed out to a member that what they were calling an 'animation' was actually a slideshow, providing an example of an actual animnation by a friend. I didn't bash the work, I just tried to help. But according to said member and their 'E-brother!!' I was insulting him and saying the one I linke dot was much better. That I "said it sucks!!11". And whilst I admit that I got caught up in the moment and frustration and argued back, I afterwards calmed down to try and patch it up with the member (Who was later banned for cursing at anything that moved amongst other reasons) by asking what I said to offend her. Response - "Kei - I don't talk to backstabbers!!!"

All of these things could be avoided if people learned the difference between an isnult and the truth. A discussion and an argument. A flame war and a conversation.

Personally I think this should be locked, maybe plastered on the Topic Line for a while. People need to take notice of this topic. Seriously.

That is so true. There are some people who just refuse to accept any difference in opinion or any criticism, constructive or otherwise. For some reason, they see people disagreeing with them as a personal attack, when that is often not the case. This is a world-wide-web, full of people of many different nationalities, upbringing and opinions, and if people just accepted that, we would all get along better with each other.