Borrowed this from another message board. Feel free to add crucial items that haven’t been covered.
Flame War Rules
Accuse the other party of your worst
faults.
Insist that you are an avatar of the Truth and that the other person is Falsehood incarnate, or at least “misled.”
Dwell on errors. Correct them in others at every opportunity.
Never apologize unequivocably. If forced to apologize, justify yourself in a way that makes it sound like the other party was responsible for your actions.
Write in such a way that the other party looks stupid if they don’t respond.
Try to be many things at once, so that you can deny everything that is said about you. Say the same thing over and over again.
Always strive to get the last word.
Never let a debate rest. Never allow the other party to withdraw without making it clear that they have lost.
Insist that you are misunderstood.
If you can’t find something to flame the person about, make something up. Convince yourself that you see the “real” motives.
Remember: Winning is everything.
“Wednesday the 15th - Chris made one of her rare good points today.” Guanolad
Don’t respond to the good arguments the other poster made
Dwell on a mistake in the post which is not relevant to the argument.
Alternately, if such a mistake does not exist, change his arguments to something completely different from their orignial meaning and point out the mistake in the new ones.
Always demand more than you are prepared to deliver, thereby revealing your opponent’s paucity of preparedness.
25a. When in trouble or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout. (With apologies to E. Leiderbach, should he be listening.)
Dr. Watson
“Whaddaya mean yer allergic to latex?”
“People must think it must be fun to be a super genuis,
But they don’t realize how hard it is
to put up with all the idiots in the world.”
– Calvin and Hobbes
(__) /
“People must think it must be fun to be a super genuis,
But they don’t realize how hard it is
to put up with all the idiots in the world.”
– Calvin and Hobbes
(__) /
Be derisive, sarcastic, patronizing, or faux-bored in your response, so as to attempt to make your opponent’s point seem stupid and/or unworthy of a substantive response.
If your opponent does not agree with you, insist he or she does not understand your point, misread your point, or is ignoring your point. Do not, however, articulate how you were misunderstood, misread, or ignored.
Do not exhibit any sense of humor. If your opponent makes a comment making light of the debate subject or, God forbid, of you, take immediate offense and then over-react.