From: alex@vmars.tuwien.ac.at (Alexander Vrchoticky)
Subject: a lengthy and somewhat boring explanation
Organization: Technical University Vienna, Dept. for Realtime Systems, AUSTRIA
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992 18:30:11 GMT


we've seen the flames. we've wandered around the charred fields, the 
last clouds of black smoke rising up into the yellow sky. 
we've smelled the napalm. it smelled of defeat. they have survived.

the following is an attempt at reason. never did i think that it would 
be necessary to resort to this desperate means in this forum. i was wrong. 


to whom it may concern:

the misconception that flames on alt.peeves are just our pleasant 
neanderthal way of being nice to each other is just that: a misconception. 
flames are an attempt to bring a point across to an individual, while
at the same time entertaining the other readers.

so, if you've been flamed in this forum:

    o   honestly and seriously consider the possibility that
        you might have made a mistake, especially if several 
        people flamed you. 
        
    o   consider that you're facing an audience of thousands. 
        standing corrected in a world-wide forum is 
        bad enough. standing ridiculed is worse. 
        coming crawling back for more is the worst. doing that 
        indicates that you're either a masochist or (more likely)
        entirely unaware of the situation.

it follows from the above that you should *not* attempt to 
flame back, unless ...

either the following three conditions hold:

    o   you're absolutely sure that you're right (and the others 
        are wrong).

    o   you're confident that your skill with words is excellent 
        and that you will be able to entertain your readers.

    o   you're prepared to lose. 

or these two conditions hold:

    o   you actually *enjoy* being the global village idiot. 

    o   you don't mind annoying a large number of people. 

if you *do* flame back, remember that your readers will soon find out
which of the above sets of conditions applies in your case. 


so what *are* the mistakes you could possibly make here? actually, 
once you've understood the concept of a peeve, there aren't too many. 
most prominently offensive are:

    o   lack of care for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and layout
        (failure to delete included text being one of the worst offenders).
        
    o   blatant unawareness of the culture of the newsgroup.

    o   petty insults. we've read the word `twit' a few times too often
        here already. 

    o   missionary zeal for *any* cause.

the purpose of this newsgroup is the entertainment of its readers. 
if you're having fun reading the articles here, you're welcome: that's
what they were written for. if, after reading the group for a while, 
you feel you can contribute something worth reading, go ahead. 

if you're receiving indications that your articles are not, in fact, 
considered entertaining, please do something about it. if you feel
you've not yet given your best, do it; if you must admit that you have,
consider desisting.

thank you.


-- 
Alexander Vrchoticky             alex@vmars.tuwien.ac.at
TU Vienna, CS/Real-Time Systems  +43/1/58801-8168