BS: Are some flamers corporate toughs ?

Subject: RE: BS: Are some flamers corporate toughs ?
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 Sep 00 - 08:44 PM

I read the article with interest, but I am skeptical. No doubt the guy is a flamer, but I bet he does it mainly because he likes it, and he rationalizes it by pretending he's doing it for someone else's benefit.

It does show some interesting insight into the mind of a flamer, however. Here's a plausible scenario: A burned-out customer service rep, or maybe tech support person, is sick and tired of dealing with customers' questions and complaints. Maybe he is under stress for various reasons and hates his job. He comes to hate the customers, and considers them stupid. He is forbidden by his employer to show them any disrespect - the customer is always right, you know. So he bottles it up in the workplace, and then goes home, gets on the internet, and, under the cover of anonymity, spews his wrath on humanity. He likes to think he is flaming the same type of people who have been annoying him all day long, but they are probably innocent bystanders. He searches out some people who have some superficial resemblance to his customers - they don't know everything he knows, for example. He flames them with variations of that favorite refrain of techies everywhere: RTFM ("Read the f***ing manual!")

Cool huh? Makes me think I have a short story in me somewhere . . .

Subject: RE: BS: Are some flamers corporate toughs ?
From: GUEST,Luther
Date: 07 Sep 00 - 09:01 AM

well, chalk this one up to cultural disconnect -- maybe the closest parallel is what used to be called "the generation gap".

And another, possibly equal factor is it's a really bad article, written by a guy who at best occasionally rises to mediocrity. Nick Mamatas is an editor at Soft Skull Press, a publisher of fringe social criticism connected to the NYC punk scene. I would guess their biggest seller is the cheesy Bush bio "Fortunate Son", which they picked up when St. Martins dropped it.

I can more or less follow what he means, but an exegesis is more trouble than it's worth. Everyone can relax, though -- as DougR suspects, there's no evidence GE and IBM are paying anyone to post mean things on web forums.

Subject: RE: BS: Are some flamers corporate toughs ?
From: DougR
Date: 06 Sep 00 - 09:00 PM

Well, Liz the Squeek, using company equipment for personal use is usually frowened on by most employers, I think. Monitoring emails and telephone calls may not seem fair, but I would guess that companies probably have the right to do it while employees are on the job.

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: Are some flamers corporate toughs ?
From: kendall
Date: 06 Sep 00 - 03:12 PM

AND I am NOT comparing pimps to football fans either.

Subject: RE: BS: Are some flamers corporate toughs ?
From: kendall
Date: 06 Sep 00 - 03:10 PM

Now, I didn't mean to degrade pimps! I'm in enough trouble with football fans LOL

Subject: RE: BS: Are some flamers corporate toughs ?
From: SINSULL
Date: 06 Sep 00 - 02:10 PM

Pimps make more money and have more self respect.

Subject: RE: BS: Are some flamers corporate toughs ?
From: Naemanson
Date: 06 Sep 00 - 02:06 PM

Actually, Kendall, I think there is a difference between him and a pimp. The pimp sells a parody of pleasure that can be mistaken as good. This guy is just plain sick.

Subject: RE: BS: Are some flamers corporate toughs ?
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 06 Sep 00 - 01:59 PM

In one department alone, every single E mail, even if it is just one word, is secretly carboned to a person whose job is to rat on colleagues.....

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Are some flamers corporate toughs ?
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 06 Sep 00 - 01:57 PM

Ooo, don't you believe it..... My local council pays someone to listen in to all phone conversations made on council phones, and to check all E mails - they bagged an internal mail porno ring 2 years ago, but got a lot of people unwarranted verbal warnings over the phone usage.....

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Are some flamers corporate toughs ?
From: DougR
Date: 06 Sep 00 - 01:21 AM

The whole thing sounds fishy to me. A corporation can consist of as few as one employee. The title of this thread implies that the major corporations are participating in campaigns like this. Somehow I doubt G. E. or IBM pays folks like that to flame anybody.

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: Are some flamers corporate toughs ?
From: katlaughing
Date: 06 Sep 00 - 12:30 AM

well phooie on the html chart that lied to me! Taskemus, sorry!

Subject: RE: BS: Are some flamers corporate toughs ?
From: katlaughing
Date: 05 Sep 00 - 11:25 PM

Very interesting TeskamOpt=+i,us.

If he isn't physically ill now, one would assume all of the vitriol will come back at him eventually. Pretty sick way to make a living, IMO.

Thanks,

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Are some flamers corporate toughs ?
From: kendall
Date: 05 Sep 00 - 10:59 PM

is there adifference between him and a pimp?

Subject: RE: BS: Are some flamers corporate toughs ?
From: paddymac
Date: 05 Sep 00 - 09:59 PM

Just a paid hack in a still evolving medium. Maybe a bit sick as well, but where the name of the game is often reduced to numbers of hits, such people do indeed have some market value. Example? Well, look at the reaction of 'catters to dear old conrad. At the moment, he is clearly the guy 'catters seem to love to hate the most. He seems to relish the attention, and in the process gets more people to look at his materials than would otherwise ever do so. Hits means sales, whether its widgets or ideas, good or bad, warped or not. Thanks for the post, T.

Subject: RE: BS: Are some flamers corporate toughs ?
From: SINSULL
Date: 05 Sep 00 - 08:51 PM

Sad case. Firestone could use him right now.

Subject: RE: BS: Are some flamers corporate toughs ?
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 05 Sep 00 - 08:44 PM

Boy does HE have a sad life!!

If I spent my working day doing that sort of thing, I'd be certifiable before the end of the first week!

LTS

Subject: Are some flamers corporate toughs ?
From: T in Oklahoma (Okiemockbird)
Date: 05 Sep 00 - 07:38 PM

Here is an interesting article in the Village Voice which purports to be the confessions of a flamer. The author seems to be stating (the meaning isn't always clear) that his purpose in life is to denigrate those who show disrespect toward his employer, and to attract attention to his employer.

T.