Date: Mon, 06 Jan 1997 10:15:01 -0500
From: Phil Plasma 
To: Ahuva 
Subject: Re: Paper on AGM

At 18:32 05/01/97 +0200, you wrote:
-> Hiya everyone,
-> I'm taking a course on internet, and have to write a final paper.  I'm
-> writing one about the flame war that was going on just a few weeks ago,
-> and hopefully is over (touch wood....).

     I do think it is done with, for now, anyhow...

-> A few things.  I've been saving posts and mail that I've received about
-> this topic.  If anyone would not like to be quoted, please let me know,
-> and I'll make sure not to include any of their letters/posts.  In general
-> I'll leave out all E-mail addresses, but was planning on using original 
-> names. If anyone would prefer I change names, please let me know. 

     Well, for me I suppose Phil Plasma is as good a name as any other... :-)

-> Now for the hard requests.  Besides describing what happened, I also have
-> to discuss how it influenced the newsgroup community.  I'm going to be
-> looking at the following questions:
-> 
-> -why is the anti flame rule so important to AGM?  How is the AGM 
-> community shaped so that flaming is considered a serious offense? (or as 
-> serious as they come in a newsgroup...)

     The anti-flame rule is important in AGM because of the nature of the group 
- we are an oasis in the flood of unkindness which makes up Usenet, we
are a break from the chronic dispair that follows Flamers wherever they go.

     How is the AGM community shaped such that flaming is
considered bad?

     AGM is shaped like a fish - it has eyes on both sides of its head to
be better able to care for people both when they are having good times, and
when they are having bad; it has gills which filters in the good postings,
and filters out the flames (by the act of AGM'ers ignoring flame posts); and
AGM has a dorsal fin which allows the group to steer itself along the path
for which AGM is destined, a destiny which I believe to be simply to provide
a source of warmth, peace, humour and love to those who have a need for it,
and to provide those who have some a place to give it.  Flaming is
considered (and _is_) bad because it opposes quite dramatically those 
ideals of warmth, peace, humour and love...

-> -How did AGMers deal with the "invasion"?  (i.e. this mailing list that
-> evolved, suggestions to move AGM to another name, deciding to just 
-> ignore, and the side issue of what happened with Karl.)

     Clearly ignoring flamers was and will always continue to be the best
route to take.  It does not take a psychologist to come to the understanding
that flamers are on a quest for attention, and that without a fan base to
support them, they will likely look elsewhere for people to respond to them.
The mailing list was a response of AGM'ers who were fed up with the flamers,
but knew that if they expressed it in AGM, that would rile the flamers even
more.

     As for the issue with Karl, there were some in the group who
suspected that he was part of the flaming group, others who thought simply
that he was naive and too newbie to know what he was doing, and needed 
only some time to learn what should be done, and what should not be done.

     Personally I forego any conclusions on an individual until after
meeting them irl, and so when the situation with Karl was at its worst, my
only hope was that he would soon stop replying to the flamers.

-> - What were the healing proccesses that occured in the group?  (I was
-> thinking along the shape picture created by Alex and Morten and others,
-> and Phil's "dangerously inclined to Eggplant" continuos post.) 

     I think it took a few weeks or so for it finally to sink in to
everyone that ignoring the flamers was the only way to do it, and once
everyone was successfully doing that, the flamers left.  I don't know that
AGM had much of a healing process - my 'dangerously inclined to Eggplant'
post was sort of in response to the whole flaming issue: I wanted to return
the group to the values we had been suggesting all along.  It took no more
than a day or two after the flamers stopped for AGM to return back to normal
(or at least as normal as AGM ever is).

-> - Any aftermath effects.

     Not any that I see, but then, my newsservice is rather lacking at
the moment, and so I have not been getting many postings.  :(

-> If anyone has anything to say on any or all of the above topics, I would
-> love to hear lengthy responses ;-> .  A very important part of my paper 
-> is how AGMers feel about this all.  If any of you feel like taking the 
-> time to send me an E-mail with thoughts or feelings about the flame war, 
-> it would be extremely helpful to me, and I would appreciate it immensel

     Was what I provided enough?  Hopefully I provided you with a
PlasmaInsight that will allow you at least one more voiced opinion in your
paper.  I wish I had had it as easy as you, writing a paper about AGM 
would be a pleasure!  :-)

-> Hopefully the paper will turn into a webpage, and I'll let you know when
-> it's up.

     Looking forward to it!  :-)


---== Phil Plasma ==---
            Mike


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