Mailing List Archive

OT - Re: DNFTEC - was My apologies
On 8/5/23 1:51?PM, Kevin A. McGrail wrote:
> REDACTED is the definition of something I learned decades ago as an energy
> creature.

Is there anything to differentiate an Energy Creature from a Troll?

The tricky thing about this particular ${ENTITY} is that they are
seemingly on topic and seem to have a significantly different opinion
about something than their target.

As such, it's too easy for a target to be drawn into what they probably
initially think as a legitimate technical discussion with someone of a
differing opinion or different experience.

I personally think that it is good to understand differing opinions /
experiences. I find that when I take the time to understand them, even
if I don't agree with them, that I usually end up learning something,
often reconfirming my opinion, but sometimes showing me that there might
be a better way, or at least something that warrants further
investigation / learning.

So, open minded people like myself seem to be easier prey for an
${ENTITY} like you describe.

> DNFTEC is an acronym to live by. Suggested reading:
> http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/dsp.cgi?msg=6284

Intersting.

Copied here for other's convenience.

--8<--
Q: SOME PERSON HAS POSTED SOMETHING REALLY RUDE IN RESPONSE TO ME, OR IS
PICKING ON ME. WHAT DO I DO?

A: There is a certain type of being that's all too common in the online
world. I call them "Energy Creatures," a term I first heard on one of
the commercial services. Energy Creatures are a bizarre lifeform which
grow and feed off of the negative energy generated by others.

Energy Creatures' favorite feeding tactic is to try to hurt people's
feelings or get them angry. Then they can feed off the pain and anger
they've generated. Their second favorite tactic is to hurt one person or
group's feelings while gathering the sympathy of others. That way, when
the injured party lashes back, others will jump to the Energy Creature's
defense. Then the Energy Creature need do nothing except feed off the
attention and the negative energy generated by the people fighting.

We'll never be completely rid of these noxious beings, but we can do a
lot to keep the herds under control by remembering this simple formula:
DNFTEC. This stands for Do Not Feed The Energy Creature. If you
encounter such a beast, your best bet is usually to say absolutely
nothing. No matter how hard it is, sitting on your fingers and posting
NOTHING in response is usually the best bet.

Remember, if you fight them, they just get stronger. If you ignore
them, eventually they weaken, wither, and go away. This may be hard to
remember, but in the long run, that's exactly what you need to do. The
temptation to fight back is incredible, but remember, fighting them only
makes them stronger. Believe it.
-->8--



--
Grant. . . .
Re: OT - Re: DNFTEC - was My apologies [ In reply to ]
On Sat, 2023-08-05 at 14:06 -0500, Grant Taylor via users wrote:
> On 8/5/23 1:51?PM, Kevin A. McGrail wrote:
> > REDACTED is the definition of something I learned decades ago as an
> > energy
> > creature.
>
> Is there anything to differentiate an Energy Creature from a Troll?
>
Yes given that he is, invariably in my experience, at worst abusive and
never less than condescending in his tone and seldom if ever offers
useful and relevant advice, this makes him somebody who is best ignored.
So, add him to your most-unwelcome list if you maintain one:
otherwise create a local rule that drops his messages straight in the
discards bin.

To put it another way: if you don't like his attitude or find his advice
irrelevant to any problems with unwanted mail that you've received,
write that 'unconditionally discard messages from him' rule, add it to
your private ruleset and be sure to update it if his headers or address
should change in future.

Martin
Re: OT - Re: DNFTEC - was My apologies [ In reply to ]
On 8/5/23 6:42?PM, Martin Gregorie wrote:
> Yes given that he is

Sorry, I as asking for differences between Energy Creatures and Trolls.

I agree with your advice about the particular EC / T.

I'm still trying to understand the conceptual difference between an EC
and a T or if they are synonyms for the same type of individual.



--
Grant. . . .
Re: OT - Re: DNFTEC - was My apologies [ In reply to ]
On Sat, 5 Aug 2023, Grant Taylor via users wrote:

> On 8/5/23 6:42?PM, Martin Gregorie wrote:
>> Yes given that he is
>
> Sorry, I as asking for differences between Energy Creatures and Trolls.
>
> I agree with your advice about the particular EC / T.
>
> I'm still trying to understand the conceptual difference between an EC and a
> T or if they are synonyms for the same type of individual.

For the most part they can be pretty much interchangeable but slight shading:

EC -> alignment: neutral/chaotic
T -> alignment: evil

IE an EC can be unpredictable and occasionally positive but at a cost
T is pretty predictability undesirable

Just my U$0.02, YMMV

--
Dave Funk University of Iowa
<dbfunk (at) engineering.uiowa.edu> College of Engineering
319/335-5751 FAX: 319/384-0549 1256 Seamans Center, 103 S Capitol St.
Sys_admin/Postmaster/cell_admin Iowa City, IA 52242-1527
#include <std_disclaimer.h>
Better is not better, 'standard' is better. B{
Re: OT - Re: DNFTEC - was My apologies [ In reply to ]
On 8/6/23 12:04?AM, David B Funk wrote:
> For the most part they can be pretty much interchangeable but slight
> shading:
>
> EC -> alignment: neutral/chaotic
> T -> alignment: evil
>
> IE an EC can be unpredictable and occasionally positive but at a cost
> T is pretty predictability undesirable

Ah ha!

That makes perfect sense to me.

Thank you for helping me understand Dave.



Grant. . . .