X-Message-Number: 6284
Date: Tue, 28 May 1996 22:18:52 -0700
From: Tim Freeman <>
Subject: Do Not Feed the Energy Creatures

The following text is excerpted with permission from "Usenet
Personals: Advice for Straights FAQ (3/3)", a periodic post to
alt.personals and other newsgroups by  (Dean
Esmay).  The whole thing is available from
http://www.syndicomm.com/straight-faq.html.  Disclaimer: I'm quoting
from a FAQ for heterosexuals because that's what I happened to have on
hand; this is not an implicit statement about a particular sexual
orientation, political group, species, phylum, cryonics organization,
philosophy, dietary practice, religion, color of the rainbow, race,
ethnic group, phase of matter, hair color, or toe length.  :-).

Tim Freeman

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.


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