Diane's Patented Magic Flame-Retardant Elixir

[Guest guest]

An excerpt from " Diane's Patented Magic Flame-Retardant Elixir " :

" This is for any person who may find themselves intimidated by the

occasional, or sometimes frequent, flaming that occurs in your favorite

newsgroup(s).

If you are intimidated into not participating on the net, this is sad,

because it leaves you in the position of having to wait and hope that

someone else raises the same issues that you are interested in. Hiding

and waiting leaves you powerless to find answers to the questions that

you need to have answered.

But at the same time, participation on the net may seem risky. What I

would like to do is to show you a way to reduce that risk.

The first thing to remember about the net is that anybody can use it.

Anybody. Keep that in mind.

The second thing to remember about the net is that anybody can say

anything. Anything. Keep that in mind.

When Anybody can say Anything, the result is chaos. Flaming is one

example of chaos. So is lying, with its many variants (half-truth,

unbelievable presentation of the whole truth, outright fabrication, and

infinite variations on these themes). So is trolling, which is

deliberate baiting of others.

There are more subtle variations on chaos. There is no requirement that

a post be rational, for instance. There is no requirement that people

behave in a civilized manner. Nothing about the net enforces respect for

other people's views or feelings.

Anybody. Anything. Keep those in mind.

In a sense, the net is absolutely safe: it's just you, your keyboard,

and a piece of glass that has words on it. "

For the rest of this insightful article, please see:

Diane

" Diane's Patented Magic Flame-Retardant Elixir " :

http://www.firelily.com/support/recovery/flame.retardant.html

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org