This morning I received yet another comment written by “Emma” who did not agree with one of my writings about Demand Studios, a company hiring writers to extend their website (i.e. so-called content mills). While I do welcome comments to my posts, I did not appreciate Emma’s personal attacks. Originally I had accepted her first comment and wrote a friendly response, but she continued her attacks (including a bizarre accusation that I don’t pay people who post comments). We all have the right to disagree, but the level of personal insults became unacceptable. Under the motto “I don’t have time for the pain” I took the liberty of removing her comments and mark her as a spammer.
Blogging is supposed to be fun – well, mostly it is, unless you have to deal with rude comments made by readers.
Eric Hoffer once said, rudeness is the weak man’s imitation of strength, and it is usually rudeness that dominates negative comments. As a blogger you should not dispose of negative feedback, but you need to deal with it. I try to use them to my advantage under the motto, if life is a lemon make lemon juice.
I usually – but not always – approve comments made on my blog, and I respond to most of them, specifically the rude ones. Not only do I call these people on their rudeness; I also contradict them while staying as sober as possible. It’s like a chess game where you know several moves ahead of time that your opponent will be checkmate. The rudeness is a dead giveaway, indicating emotional distress, and the inability of expressing a sober and profound counter view. However, it is not as easy to deal with the outright nasty ones (like “Emma”), not intended to discuss the facts, but to hurt.
My bible on blogging, The Huffington Post Complete Guide To Blogging – See my post Oprah, Statue of Liberty Praise FrogenYozurt.Com - comments on responding to comments:
“Before you start blogging, have a long talk with your favorite shrink or best friend. … You can respond to each comment individually or in bunches, which is one of the merits of blogging. But do not expect that you will win over all your critics.”
Steven Weber, actor and Huffpost blogger, wrote about the difference between being a humble and charming actor and a truthful, not-so-humble blogger:
“People are usually pleasant but rarely critical, at least to my face. Rover [Weber's blog] has changed that. People fucking hate me. Hate me. … What a schmuck. Again, not being humble. Being truthful. I am potentially biting the hand that feeds me and my family. … So essentially I have learned, as a blogger, to be truthful and humble, but to pay careful attention to the possibly labored technique of my little forays into social commentary, rather than worrying about offending people with the content.”
Source: The Huffington Post Complete Guide To Blogging.
Personally, while treating every comment with the necessary respect, I don’t quite agree with the humble aspect. I write my posts, and I try very hard not to offend, but I do dare to provoke. There is nothing wrong about being provocative with the intention to trigger a thought process, and those who have a brain will get it; those who don’t may feel offended, and they usually use insult to express their mind.
During the lifetime of this blog I have written a few “controversial” posts, may it be about the British handling of the Irish Troubles, or the aspects of writing for Demand Studios. I put the word “controversial” in quotation marks, because all I did was expressing my personal opinion. Nevertheless, some people may feel offended, and, unfortunately, only few of them keep a professional attitude.
That being said, I do respect any deserving comment to my posts, whether they agree with me or not. I do enjoy a good discussion, and in some cases I do learn from comments. I may even learn that my assessment of a certain situation was wrong. I can live with that. What I don’t enjoy is insult, and I don’t practice it. I think I can expect the same from people who feel inclined to comment on my writings.
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Nasty Comments – A Blogger’s Lament
Blogging is supposed to be fun – well, mostly it is, unless you have to deal with rude comments made by readers.
Eric Hoffer once said, rudeness is the weak man’s imitation of strength, and it is usually rudeness that dominates negative comments. As a blogger you should not dispose of negative feedback, but you need to deal with it. I try to use them to my advantage under the motto, if life is a lemon make lemon juice.
I usually – but not always – approve comments made on my blog, and I respond to most of them, specifically the rude ones. Not only do I call these people on their rudeness; I also contradict them while staying as sober as possible. It’s like a chess game where you know several moves ahead of time that your opponent will be checkmate. The rudeness is a dead giveaway, indicating emotional distress, and the inability of expressing a sober and profound counter view. However, it is not as easy to deal with the outright nasty ones (like “Emma”), not intended to discuss the facts, but to hurt.
My bible on blogging, The Huffington Post Complete Guide To Blogging – See my post Oprah, Statue of Liberty Praise FrogenYozurt.Com - comments on responding to comments:
Steven Weber, actor and Huffpost blogger, wrote about the difference between being a humble and charming actor and a truthful, not-so-humble blogger:
Personally, while treating every comment with the necessary respect, I don’t quite agree with the humble aspect. I write my posts, and I try very hard not to offend, but I do dare to provoke. There is nothing wrong about being provocative with the intention to trigger a thought process, and those who have a brain will get it; those who don’t may feel offended, and they usually use insult to express their mind.
During the lifetime of this blog I have written a few “controversial” posts, may it be about the British handling of the Irish Troubles, or the aspects of writing for Demand Studios. I put the word “controversial” in quotation marks, because all I did was expressing my personal opinion. Nevertheless, some people may feel offended, and, unfortunately, only few of them keep a professional attitude.
That being said, I do respect any deserving comment to my posts, whether they agree with me or not. I do enjoy a good discussion, and in some cases I do learn from comments. I may even learn that my assessment of a certain situation was wrong. I can live with that. What I don’t enjoy is insult, and I don’t practice it. I think I can expect the same from people who feel inclined to comment on my writings.