I was reading on another website about ”Forum Rage.” It was likened to ”Road Rage” where the nicest of people can turn into aggressive drivers when they get behind the wheel. Does the same thing happen when some people sit behind a keyboard while making postings on an internet forum? Symptoms of ”Road Rage:” Tailgating Weaving in and out of traffic Cutting others off Cursing or ”the finger” Running red lights, stop signs or other traffic control devices The list is endless… Symptoms of ”Forum Rage:” Becoming highly offended when another poster disagrees Insulting others for no apparent reason (known only to the one who is angry) Insert your experiences here: _____________ This can be a real problem for moderators. And even moderators can occasionally suffer from "forum rage" (not the moderators at this website). Well? Is there an explanation for "forum rage?"
Hey, this is a potential dissertation in the making for a Ph.D since: Household internet usage is a somewhat new phenomena and No research has ever been conducted on ”Forum Rage.” The following is a compilation of select snippits of interesting conclusions that readers from various forums have drawn about why "forum rage" exists in the human personality. Enjoy! Paraphrase of PaulL: Just like "road rage" where driving seems to transform normally respectable citizens into raving and language abusing characters, it seems that forum discussion has a similar effect. It seems that the forum releases some hidden gremlins inside of people, to get at each other. A greater than in real life percentage have the "forum rage.” Its human nature. When you think you can get away with certain behaviour/actions without consequences, people will do it. In an in-person setting, such behaviour will bring disaproval (and "shunning"), but here you can do and get away with it. This is the same reason is why some people go to extreme and violent actions -- thefts, murders, wars, etc. People do it because they figure they will get away with it -- where normally they would not do it Paraphrase of MattW: Words have a great deal of power. There's enormous potential for misinterperetation and when it happens, people think they've been insulted. The medium seems to encourage people to get madder than they would [if they weren‘t online]. So, people get mad and post vicious things, and other people post back. People I thought were rational human beings, respectful of others, kind and caring, have posted some really vicious personal attacks. (And being threatened by some members I had formerly considered to be rational with Hell, eternal damnation, etc.). Only yesterday someone (on another site) posted something to me which accused me of blind ignorance and stupidity in the very subject I'm studying for a degree in. I hope I misinterpereted that. But it's amazing what a feeling one paragraph can raise inside. Paraphsrase of SamWise: In real life, one can see a wink and a smile to know that the person is joking. On a forum, one takes insult over what was meant to be a joke. Some people know when to leave a fruitless discussion, while others keep going back and forth, and the argument escalates into something that is very unpleasant. Paraphrase of Charlie: I suspect there is "forum rage" because people feel more free to express any opinion without any fear of any consequences. And, their identity is unknown. There is no immediate consequences to the offender. The mild mannered person outside the NET becomes something else entirely once online. Paraphrase of BruceN: The anonymity of the Internet tends to bring out the worst in people. They think they can say anything and that it will not come back to haunt them. False ID's are common and people use them to say what they think (not thinking about the consequences). Paraphrase of NTEA Director: People on forums have a bad day or they get a person (or topic) that just rubs them the wrong way. The unfortunate part is that once people become adversarial, they tend to stay that way. The reason I say it's unfortunate is because most of them would probably get a long in real life. Paraphrase of RT: Personal attacks are way out of bounds. Romie the sports talk guy says "have a take and don't suck." Translation: Make your point and don't resort to personal attacks. I have seen it on forum sites plenty of times. Paraphrase of Eileen: [Some] people have a problem. But it isn't with their fingers or the keyboard: It's in their heads. Paraphrase of Gail F: Some people are going to be angry no matter where they are. Online communication is tricky. We need to try to give the other person the benefit of the doubt. Nothing is worth getting all riled up over. Paraphrase of Markb98: Whenever we communicate in a setting where facial expressions, eye contact, body movement, posture and affirmative verbal expressions are absent, it's easy to thrust all of our emotions into abrupt and abusive keystrokes. Paraphrase of NEISHA: I don't think forum rage is natural, mature or healthy. In order to become enraged at someone, you have to let the other person's opinion bother you and effect you. I think only those who are insecure and haven't reached maturity will become enraged by someone else’s opinions. Paraphrase of Lil Star: Without the person "being in front of you" or being able to "hear" the other person, it is hard to know how it was being said or the tone behind it. This makes all the difference in the world. Paraphrase of CWilson: Forum Rage is just the result of an uncontrolled temper. One will find that the same people who flame people have a problem with their tempers in real life. The insight of all these forum readers is facinating!
