Whats a flame and why is it bad?
A “flame” is a message whose primary purpose is not to foster discussion, but to promote argument, dissension, and ill will. Overt insults are flames, but there are very subtle messages that also come across as inflammatory. Everyone has been misread, or has misspoken themselves, and been accused of flaming. If no hostility was truly meant, you are within your rights to explain yourself, but the best course of action is often simply to say, “That wasn’t what I meant; I’m sorry it came across that way.” If you DID mean to flame, I hope you have the good grace to apologize. It should go without saying (but doesn’t, so I’m saying it) that neither flames nor annoyed responses to flames belong on the list. Remember that the height of good manners frequently consists of not hearing a nasty remark; this is easily accomplished by swift application of the DELETE key.
