Most everyone has been either involved in one, or seen one occur. The flame war. Two or more bloggers, posters, chat room participants go head to head in virtual combat.
Now there’s science as to why:
Readers misinterpret the tone of an e-mail message about half the time, according to a new study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. But people think they’ve correctly interpreted messages about 90 percent of the time, the study found.
‘That’s how flame wars get started,’ University of Chicago psychologist Nicholas Epley told Wired. Epley conducted the research with Justin Kruger of New York University.
Part of the reason for the problem is that people are too self-centered, Epley told the magazine, and aren’t very good at seeing how their messages might be misunderstood.
That whole “when you point a finger, three fingers are pointing back at you” thing…