Flame

Flaming is verbal hostility over the Internet, malicious or occasionally unintentional. Examples of flames include personal insults, hateful remarks (e.g. racial slurs), and any other use of language designed to provoke the target rather than help them.

Flamers
Flamers are people who are known for flaming others. Flamers may be part of a tight-knit group that reacts hostilely to newbies as a form of hazing or purposeful intimidation to get them to leave, or disliked outcasts that occasionally troll and snipe other users.

In fandom, flamers tend to be fans who feel so strongly about a particular opinion (such as who should be 'shipped with whom) that they will defend their opinion to the death, no matter who they have to insult.

Flamers often participate in flame wars.

Flame Wars
Flame wars are examples of large-scale flaming between two opposing sides. It may be a (mostly) playful battle between flamers, or it might be complete all-out warfare with trolls.

Flame wars are often shaped by the strongest personalities taking part, and a once-amusing flame war can quickly turn offensive and personal to all involved if this precarious balance is changed.

Generally speaking, it is impossible to win a flame war, since neither side is prepared to hear the other's point of view, let alone give up on their own. However, an interpretation of Godwin's Law suggests that any debate on the Internet is officially over as soon as somebody invokes Hitler or the Nazis, with the side doing the invoking automatically losing.

Flames in Fanfiction
Often on the Pit, summaries or author's notes will include phrases along the lines of "No flames please!" or "Flames will be used for s'mores."

Generally this is to show that the writer would prefer compliments or concrit. However, some more sensitive fanwriters will construe anything that is not strictly praise to be a flame.

Flaming on the Board
Flaming is generally disapproved of on the PPC Board. In fact, rule two of the PPC Constitution is "Do Not Flame."

Flaming badfic authors on the Board or off it is strongly discouraged and, if seen, will usually be met by other Boarders with polite but firm requests to knock it off. Although we all slip occasionally, on the whole, the PPC recognizes the difference between hating a written work and hating its author. If you must flame, please do NOT do it in the name of the PPC.

In PPC Stories
Flames, usually those sent to the PPC (either its agents or the Organisation itself), appear in narrative as literal flames, and have on occasion been used as an assassination method for a Sue. Agents are required to handle them with the same fireproof equipment provided for the care of mini-Balrogs, i.e. oven mitts and a flame-retardant apron. Some of these flames, when used, scream out whatever the flamer said. This has led to some cognitive dissonance, especially when an agent throws flames unrelated to the PPC.

Literal Flames
Fire. Combustion. A chemical reaction consuming oxygen and producing light and heat.

See Flamethrower or DOGA.