Thomas Wictor

Posts Tagged ‘flame wars’

Online outrage porn

I just read a piece titled “Why We’re Addicted to Online Outrage,” by Michael Brendan Dougherty. In his essay Dougherty links to “Outrage Porn: How the Need for ‘Perpetual Indignation’ Manufactures Phony Offense,” by Ryan Holiday. According to Holiday all the online outrage is fake, just a way for Websites to get publicity. He doesn’t…

 

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Reining in the wolf

I used to spend hours engaging in online fights with strangers. Every single day. For years. It was a way to express my rage. And it was utterly destructive for everyone. It attracted maniacs, one of whom stalked me for about seven months. After long online fights, I felt worse than I did before. I’d…

 

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The chimp in my spoon Meniere’s Diet

I finally caught the bastard. He appears only at night, and only when the spoon is in a bowl that’s filled with water and set in precisely the right spot in the sink. I noticed him a few weeks ago. After I eat cereal, I fill the bowl with water and put it in the…

 

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Detox

I did it. Through sheer willpower, I’ve broken the last of my really bad habits. This was one of the most corrosive. It’s been several days now, and I’m still clean. The detox worked. After changing so much about myself that I didn’t like, I couldn’t stop going on a particular Website and fighting with…

 

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