WarningSignals

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Difficult persons often shared certain behaviour that deviates from common standards. This is not about the topics of their discussions or aggressive style, this is obvious and there are other pages that talk about that. There are subtle elements of style, that can act as a warning signals to the online community. Don't start fighting, the WarningSignals are just indicators that something may be wrong. Be more careful, think twice about your words, read between the lines. WarningSignals can just be habits of individual style or happen accidentally.

Deviation from CommunityExpectations.

deviating ways to sign: for example ~~UserName (or signature before the posting)
very careless spelling: no example
excessive use of upper case: this is REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT, you know
...

Appeals to ego (theirs or ours):

large percentage of self-description. For example: "you know, I'm a big fighter for freedom."
outright flattery. For example: "this is a great place and you XYZ are a true scholar and gentleman."

Excessive energy

unusual redundancy or repetition
excessive RecentChangesJunkieness
rapid replies to anything
excessive editing
...

Power plays

editing other people's words
replies interleaved between other people's text (called colloquially interruptions)
AntiAuthoritarian rants
claims of fascism, Nazism
anonymous postings (cf. AnonymityIsPower) -- with the caveat that usually it is a AnonymousDonor, not an aggressor
...

Deviations seem to have the meaning to set the person apart from the community, to draw a line, to show to be different.

A single signal means little, but three or more of these signals add up to a serious warning.

CategoryDifficultPerson

WarningSignals

Discussion