What does flame bait mean?

It means some sad, trouble making bugger has felt the need to post something inflammatory concerning either another user, or their belief system.

For a list of reasons to be moderated, check the guidelines. Violating these is the main reason for moderation.

Flame bait is something that is worded in such a way as to attract ‘flames’ (hurt, anger), whether intentionally or not. An example would be a racial slur, but there are many other types of flame-bait.

The stock reasons for moderation are:

spam
personal attack
unhelpful (in the general section)
off-topic (in the general section)
obscene
flame-bait
doesn’t meet writing standards
and
something else (for when those categories aren’t quite right)

I don’t know if you managed to graduate from high school, but clearly they didn’t learn you much sense. Or you weren’t paying attention. Everyone knows (except you) when someone is baiting them and trying to get them pissed off so they say something even stupider than the things you’ve already said.

Insults, eg. But also making comments that sound just plausible, and yet invite people to see red. Like if this were about abortion, and someone said you’d had an abortion and you were a baby killer who didn’t deserve to live.

Anything that invites someone to go off.

The problem is, that it can be hard to distinguish between legitimate comments that happen to cause people to get angry, and comments that are made purely to anger someone and for no other reason. One hopes that legitimate comments can be handled and left up without moderation, but it takes calm people who are slow to rise to bait to be able to have those kinds of conversations.

By the way. Thanks for the question. That was fun. No offense meant.

@wundayatta I’ve been around the block a time or two and I didn’t know what flame bait was either. Or were trying to illustrate the term by example? If so, it wasn’t blatant enough.

Flame-bait is a comment that is purposely rude in order to “bait” another person into fighting over it. It should never be confused with Shark Bait, Ooo Ha Ha!

Props to anyone who gets ^^ that.

Shark Bait Ooo Ha ha to you. Are you Deb? Or Flo? ;P

I’m Flo. Hi.

Auntie Deb says I’m not s’posed to listen to you ;)

IT MEANS YOU NEED TO SHUT THE FUCK UP RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

^^ Ya. Something like that. :D

Thanks for the the thorough definition and the willingness to demonstrate the concept. I know it was painful. : ) Sigh what hero’s.

@wundayatta Yeah well you know what? You suck ass! You hear me? YOU SUCK.

GA lol, I just hope people picked up that it was an example before you got in trouble. XD

But aye aye, flame bait is when you piss someone off through insults and the like and incite them into a fight on the Internet. A debate, even a heated one is acceptable, but flaming is when you add absolutely nothing constructive to the conversation, and just bash a user. (the topics on which a person may be flamed/bashed can be many, if not endless) And that sucks. Like @wundayatta. Don’t listen to him, he sucks complete and total ass.

Flaming doesn’t always include swearing, either. If you don’t know who Auguste Rodin is I can flame you and go;

You’re a fucking idiot and you know jackshit, asshole.

Or

Your lack of education is laughable, and most certainly, society doesn’t need you.

I’m flaming you right there, in both examples. Flaming can be a little confusing sometimes, in that it always depends on what the online community allows or doesn’t allow. Some restrict all cuss words, yet you can say whatever else, while others will go further into depicting insults and the like.
Anyway, here on Fluther, flame baiting is what has already been said; trying to stir up a fight through insult or otherwise bashing and degrading another member. It just ain’t cool.

Also, @wundayatta doesn’t suck, he kicks severe ass and I like him. ^^

@Symbeline I’m sure everyone thought you liked me up until you actually had to go and say it. Now they know you were actually flaming me, because no one likes my tattooed ass!

Can you flame yourself? Because if you can, I just turned into a flaming asshole!

Anyone good with photoshop? ‘Cause I would kill to have some kind of flame coming off my avatar!

Only “Moderated’ 138. Its my middle name. LOL :)

@Symbeline He kicks his own flaming ass

@wundayatta better to be a flaming asshole then a burning one.

@Only138 I don’t know you but I am guessing “moderated” should be more then your first name?

I think I am getting the hang of this, or do I need more practice?

@wundayatta Flame yourself? I denno, let’s try!

@Symbeline You horrendous bitch. Go fuck yourself and die. Burn in Hell!

@Symbeline I saw that! I’m gonna flag it and see what happens!

It isn’t working.

Well, it’s a good sign. It means the mods know we were just fucking around. (I suspect that if we do get flagged for this, it will be for fucking around too much and derailing the thread, but it won’t be for flaming) I used to attend a site called gameFAQ’s where I tried this very experiment; flaming myself. They modded me, even though it was beyond obvious that I was screwin round. XD

I kind of wanted to mod just Wundy, just to piss him off. Love you, Wundy. ^_^

I’m sure I could manage to get pissed off if one of you frickin moderators would just do something stupid—like moderate—again!

Love you, too, Seek, baby. ;-)

I like Wundy no matter what everyone says about him.

Awwwww :-)

So it is the same as trolling then? (iconic face)

@dxs It can be a type of trolling, yes (though not always). But trolling can take many other forms, too.