Flaming, to me, can include dismissing a person's views by calling them an idiot or stupid; I don't consider it flaming if you say someone outside of the forum is an idiot, but calling another member an idiot can be.

But more, flaming is something said with the intent to incite a strong and negative reaction. It also tends to lead to what I'll call "wasted space": One person posts, "You're an idiot, you know that?" and the next says, "I'm not an idiot, you BLEEP BLEEP!" and the first person replies, "You wouldn't know a reliable source from a hole in your head!" and it goes back and forth like that. That's not only off-topic, but it just wastes space, instead of having a productive conversation.

I was once on a mailing list where they let you say anything you wanted, including flaming. There were a lot of immature people who just broke down cussing back and forth, and it was boring and stupid, and I quit that list shortly after joining.

Yes, sometimes I want to call people names, but it's more mature and intelligent to argue (if you're arguing or debating) with information and resources than just swear and insult each other back and forth. It's also more interesting.

That's what I feel flaming is.