Comments on: Tuesday questions: Mean comments

By: Melissa

Melissa — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 04:24:52 +0000

Just ignore the mean comments. These people who write them have no class, raised in a barn, sociopathic and lack of real intelligence. Name-calling is so immature. Don’t let them bring you down to their level-just say I don’t feed internet trolls.
Melissa´s last blog ..Woman living with the dead bodies of husband and twin sister

By: Siel

Siel — Fri, 22 May 2009 21:25:21 +0000

Thanks everyone for weighing in. So far, main strategies include 1) waiting for either to gain your own perspective or for others to weigh in, 2) having a note atop the comment box that discourages mean comments.

Ideas about actually responding to the comments seem to vary widely, from a private email saying “thanks for yr opinion,” to naming and shaming, dooce-style….

By: maureen

maureen — Fri, 22 May 2009 15:45:45 +0000

Great post, Siel. Mean comments can suck out the fun from blogging. Sometimes my initial reaction includes shock or hurt feelings, so I try to back away from the computer and get some perspective. maureen’s last blog post..hemp dog carrier

By: April

April — Thu, 21 May 2009 12:12:26 +0000

I love how you say “mean comments suck a lot of the fun from blogging” and boy, do I agree. But in my two years of blogging for a major site with a LOT of comments, and some of them quite mean, I can say….WAIT! Don’t respond when the first icy needle of the meanness sinks into your chest. Let all your inner demons moan and cry before you commit any words of reply. Let all the “taking it personally” subside before you decide whether you even want to reply. If the mean comment is precipitated by a mistake you made, honest or otherwise, then I believe you should comment, but not in defense, rather just to acknowledge the person. Most of what we want, I believe, in commenting, is acknowledgment for our perspective, our experiences, and our POV. Always giving commenters that acknowledgment is a good idea, I’ve learned.

By: Condo Blues

Condo Blues — Thu, 21 May 2009 02:59:20 +0000

I have a blurb above my comments box that says that it's OK to disagree with me as long as there's "No hair pulling or name calling." Condo Blues’s last blog post..Race for the Cure Columbus