Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!gatech!udel!princeton!mccc!pjh
From: pjh@mccc.UUCP (Peter J. Holsberg)
Newsgroups: sci.psychology
Subject: Curiosity
Message-ID: <598@mccc.UUCP>
Date: 25 Apr 88 16:20:30 GMT
Organization: Mercer Co. Comm. College, Trenton, NJ
Lines: 14


After having been on the net for a few months, I described "flames" and
other less-than-polite responses to questions to some clinical
psychologist friends.  Each expressed the thought that it would be
interesting to observe a few of the more vociferous flamers in an
attempt to understand them.  I have been a little surprised that no one
here has done this -- or at least, if you have, you haven't posted any
results of your observations.  I'm fascinated by these folks, my
previous experience with networks included zero flaming behaviors:
people who made errors were corrected as gently as if they had been in
the same room, say, at a users group meeting.

What is it that causes otherwise "nice" people to rant and rave on this
medium?