Flaming, why do people do it? What do they get out of it, and why do we let ourselves get down over it?

Q:What is flaming?
A:Flaming is when someone comments on your art/page/forum/news/reply with the sole intention of brutally insulting you in such a manner as to belittle you.

Having only been here for around a year and a half, I have fallen victims to the dreaded flaming, as well as many whom I know and associate with in the DA community. Why this has become such a problem is quite unknown. There is virtually no way to research why it has become this way. If you respond to a flame in hopes of gathering why these people do this, they will usually only flame you again. I am not here to point fingers or name names, just perhaps to shed a mere spec of light on the situation.

Seemingly this is done only for some twisted measure of fun by the attacker, but at what cost? Many of the countless victims are able to shake it off and ignore it, but what of those that cannot? Many are discouraged by said flames, and therefore become more distant from DA, as well as not posting their pieces for fear of more flames. Some give up entirely and leave DA. This seems to be becoming another form of online bullying in leaps and bounds.

There is no way to fully make it stop, the admins have no way of keeping up with the repeat offenders, which causes more deviants to become discouraged and down over it. It is unacceptable for anyone to strip away the hopes of an artist/photographer/designer, just to make themselves feel better. So in turn spread respectful comments on others art, and constructive criticism, not flames.

The bottom line is we cannot let ourselves be discouraged any longer. We cannot allow ourselves to be victimized by said flames, and we must hold our heads up high and be proud of our art, and the art of others in the community. Respect your fellow artists, in turn they will respect you. If You find yourself needing to respond to a flame, don't insult them back, if so they win. Instead, try giving them a truthful nice comment on a piece of theirs, or if they have no pieces simply wish them good luck. If we don't let flames hurt us, then they will slowly slip away until they are nothing more than a faded memory.