Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!att!ll1a!cej
From: cej@ll1a.att.com (Jones)
Newsgroups: news.admin
Subject: Re: Too many flames - cut it down?!?
Message-ID: <7106@ll1a.att.com>
Date: 3 Oct 89 23:22:29 GMT
References: <10@dynasys.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T, Lisle, Il.
Lines: 46

In article <10@dynasys.UUCP>, jessea@dynasys.UUCP ( Sysadmin.) writes:
> Is there anything we can (should) do?  The first
>
>         Jesse W. Asher


	You can what I have done in the past.  E-mail the flamer, and,
in a very reasonable manner, let them know that:
	
	1)  The are making a fool out of themselves in front of a
		*huge* audience.
		
	2)  By flaming, their point (if any) is lost, and no matter
		what else they say, they lose.
		
	3)  Flamers quickly end up in kill files, and if they keep it
		up at some point they will just be talking to
		themselves.  (It's happened before.)		
		
	4)  Suggest alt.flame, if they must flame.
	
	If you happen to agree with the point (if any) the flamer was
flaming about, let them know.  And let them know that their flame was
*so* counter-productive that you are tempted to change your position,
just so you don't have to agree with them.

	Receipt of several dozen letters of this nature from 'news admins'
for each flame can work wonders.  (9 out of 10 doctors agree. ;-)

	Above all, don't flame at them.  And use e-mail only.  And if
they flame in response to your e-mail, don't answer.

	[Remember - it's the beginning of a new school year.  There's
lots of people at universities with usenet access for the first time.
(Happens this time every year.)  We have to teach them table manners
early.  Bad habits are hard to break.] 

	You can always e-mail threatening notes to their sysadmin
later. ;-) 

...att!ll1a!cej  Llewellyn Jones  [Just me, not AT&T]  cej@ll1a.att.com
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How many would vote for putting Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame,
	*and* taking his picture *off* of Wheaties?  -  Mark Russel