2 ms·
I like your "performance art" comparison. The other day, a user posted a topic in a sub-forum I follow. I cited the sub-forum's criteria and recommended posti
by caminante 12y ago
I like your "performance art" comparison.
The other day, a user posted a topic in a sub-forum I follow. I cited the sub-forum's criteria and recommended posting elsewhere. The admins agreed, killing the post. The user responded with floral appreciation for the admins stewardship and bowed out.
Detecting something was off, I checked the user's post-history. I discovered he'd pivoted into this elaborate troll routine, crafting well-made Photoshopped summary screenshots, baiting the admins into commenting, then parsing and sub-parsing their comments with disregard for truth, all the while he cross-posted his progress with a "counter-culture" sub-forum to get their approval.
It struck me as a lonely exercise for him, however, it seemed like he was seeking an outlet for his creativity. Looking back, it's almost as if what happened didn't even matter, he could/would run the same routine.
- brudgers 12y agoFlaming is often a creative exercise because it can mean writing with full consciousness of its effect on the audience. A lot of flaming behavior is generated in an effort to create interesting discussions in the midst of cliche or superficial analysis. In many communities flame wars are some of the most interesting content and that's why it becomes an acceptable pattern. One of the things I love about HN is that there are so many Really Fucking Smart People® with something interesting to say that flaming [along with inside jokes] constitutes some of the least interesting content. Indeed HN has even suppressed snark.