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| Acroama | A discourse given by a very "in the know" person to the "unwashed newbies". |
| Aleatory | Random ramblings. Postings where the interpretation is largely a matter of chance. |
| Amphiboly | A deliberate or accidental ambiguity of meaning (compare to double entendre which is unquestionably deliberate). I thought about you sitting behind a truck in a traffic jam. |
| Anonymuncule | Latin for "nameless little man". Someone who posts hurtful messages under the veil of anonymity. |
| Cacoethes scribendi | Juneval's Satires. Greek, roughly translating to "evil motivation in writing". This is the senior literary antecedent for the modern day "flame". |
| Epanorthosis | Greek for "setting straight again". A nitpick. |
| Epiplexis | A form of rhetoric where personal attack is used as a persuasive device. "Even idiots like you should be able to understand that." |
| Epitome | Greek for "cutting short". Abridging prior posts. Quoted text. Sometimes accompanied by editorial inserts like [snip]. |
| Euphuism | An overly ornate writing style, heavy with allusion, metaphor, and florid descriptors. |
| Excursus | An incidental digression or examination. The potential of any posting to spur follow-up posts which are only tangential to the original post. |
| Flyting | A ritualistic cursing match or vehement exchange between heroic contestants. By the middle ages, the heroic element had vanished, and scatological references had appeared ("The Owl and the Nightingale", c 1250). |
| Gamaliel | Another word for "guru". |
| Gobbledegook | Nonsense, drivel, heavy with jargon. |
| Goliardic | Wandering bards. Writings filled with gusto, caustic humor, and earthiness. |
| Gullaby | Apparently "gullible" + "lullaby". A malicious rumor passed on and believed by a wide number of people. An example might be "beware of a message with 'teamwork' in the subject, it contains a virus, and reading it will infect your system." |
| Idiolect | Language and form distinct to an individual. The AFU newsgroup, for example, has identified anonymous posters by their punctuation, grammar, and style. |
| Invective | Writing which is abusive. It can be directed towards an individual or a group. |
| Jeremiad | A sustained, recurring complaint. Using any pretext to introduce the same complaint. |
| Logomachy | Greek for "word contest". A dispute about the meaning of a word. |
| Logorrhoea | Excessive writing style. Verbal diarrhea. |
| Palinode | The act of retracting something said earlier. |
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