Laura Marble wrote:
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To my surprise, I learned of all kinds of shady lurkers that probably every teenager knows about but were new to me.
First, there are "flame throwers." They personally attack you in ways that would backfire on them outside the anonymous world of Cyberspace.
Then there are "trolls." They find sport in watching people go ballistics. So they pick carefully chosen fights just to see what will happen.
"Flame wars" occur when trolls cross-post messages to forums vehemently opposed to each other's causes. Sometimes people put on "flame shields" as protection from flames.
And get this - not only are people anonymous on the Web, they're more anonymous than I thought. Often they have more than one account name so when they want to be outrageous they don't have to sully their regular personas' reputations to do it.
It's a wild realm, Cyberspace. Which is why next time I'm looking for productive conversation, I'll talk to people with real names.
What an angry, small minded 'flame' we have in Laura. Bet this article was easier to write. So much to prove; so much to hate.
Yes, you can never know who is 'real' on the Internet. Sometimes it happens face to face, skin to skin - year upon year. What's the use in bagging the Internet when you haven't worked out its benefits. Perhaps being anonymous is not so bad. It's a personal choice for some. Who does it really hurt? Yeah, I know the horror stories...but really. Hey, smell the coffee - real people do exist (not just 'shady lurkers').
The Internet is a 'wild realm', but so what? Be thankful. And, please, try and remain balanced in your prose. Take deep breaths; consider your thoughts. Just compare the 'tone' of your Landmark article to this one...polar opposites, I think, and your next article will be better.