Flame war
Meaning
An intense, often personal, and prolonged online argument or dispute that involves angry or hostile messages.
Origin
The term "flame war" emerged from the scorching digital landscapes of early online communication. In the 1980s, as bulletin board systems (BBS) and Usenet groups pulsed with new forms of interaction, users coined "flame" to describe an intentionally hostile, insulting, or aggressive message. It was a digital scorch mark. When these individual "flames" ignited into an extended, venomous exchange between multiple users, the phenomenon quickly became known as a "flame war." The vivid imagery of a battlefield engulfed in fire perfectly captured the intense, destructive, and often personal nature of these prolonged online disputes, where arguments burned hot and bright across modems and monitors.
Examples
- The comments section devolved into a full-blown flame war after someone criticized the band's new album.
- I quickly exited the forum discussion once I realized it was spiraling into another flame war about political ideologies.