That would be how I think you'd react after reading the comment below left by a troll:
This ‘Jason’ person will be charged under the Sedition Act in Chapter 290 of the Statutes of Singapore for attempting to ‘promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Singapore’, had he made direct insults at us.
Unfortunately (and fortunately), he did not speak of Singaporeans, nor are there laws strict enough on the Internet.
I wanted so much to reply him, but that would mean I’d to ‘Approve’ his comment, and that would be an invitation for a torrent of rage from all directions. On top of that, his impoverished soul would be feeding on all the ensuing comments, and I didn’t want to let the devil win.
On another note, I found his comment utterly hilarious, and it truly showed how shallow of a human being he is.
And so I went:
As you would have read from the previous post on Why People Leave Negative Blog Comments On Blogs, there are many reasons why people would make the effort to put down a name, email address – regardless of legitimacy – and write things just to tell you how sad and pathetic they really are.
Dealing with negative blog comments requires more than just the ability to click ‘Delete’ – it requires some skills and mental strength. We are not all saints or zen-trained mediators.
Here are some useful tips on how to deal with negative blog comments:
- Categorize the comment
- Talk To Rectify
- Ignore and delete
- Relish In Your Web Existence
- Know That You Are Not Alone
1. Categorize The Comment
You can refer to the previous post on what are negative comments and how to differentiate the types.
Is it spam?
First of all, every blogger ought to have anti-spam software programs such as Akismet, to automatically sieve out spam. If you haven’t got it, please do.
Is it constructive criticism? Is it a comment made by a troll? Does it serve any purpose other than to make you feel bad?
Before you hit the ‘Trash’ button, it is best to read the message a few times, as unpleasant as it is.
2. Talk To Rectify
After reading the lines a couple of times, you would be able to comprehend the intention of the message.
If it is an objective message targeted at correcting a mistake (eg. Inaccuracy of information, delay in response, technical issues), let the comment sit for a while while you take action and think of a response to the comment.
You will learn from these reasoned points, even if you might not agree to all that’s been said.
3. Ignore And Delete
If, however, the comment is an outright inflammation like ‘YOU ARE UGLY!’ or ‘I hate your website’, it’s rather obvious that these should not see the light of day.
I guess it’s rather hard to prevent that on YouTube since comments need not be moderated, but if you are the administrator to your blog or a shared blog, you have the grand power to delete comments at will.
Deleting the comment tells the hater or troll that he or she or it will not have any hold over your positive attitude and you don’t give a sh*t about what they think.
4. Relish In Your Web Existence
There are billions of website on the Internet and cyberspace is getting more crowded with information from sites competing to provide the best information in each niche.
Do not take a negative comment personally, especially one made on the Internet.
Instead, think of all those nice people who bothered to write to you, with their words of gratitude and encouragement, and extension of friendship. These people have become your online friends, and are your web of support (pun intended).
Don’t forget also, readers who don’t leave a message. They might not know what to say, they may just enjoy reading and looking at your pictures, but you know they always come back and are there for you, just by looking at your Analytics.
No matter what you do in life, there will be people who will say negative things.
So be thankful that your blog has garnered enough attention for people to post comments – many blogs only have crickets chirping in the moonlight – good and bad, regardless.
Remember this quote: It is funny how the people who know the least about you, have the most to say.
5. Know That You Are Not Alone
That one negative comment I received today is NOTHING compared to what I’m going to talk about next.
Do you know that there is a website dedicated to slam makeup gurus? Each guru has his or her own forum channel and the community feeds on one another to see who can say the most horrible things about people (the gurus) they know hardly anything about and have never seen in real life before.
I imagine every negative comment made to be a flame carried by the author, adding to a raging bonfire that will burn themselves all in hell when they meet their Maker.
Just sayin’.
It’s a community filled with vile creatures who do nothing but pick on the slightest things about the gurus – like her weight, photography skills, facial features, hair color, nail health, teeth color, complexion inconsistency, change of boyfriend, etc.
I’m not encouraging anybody to visit that site nor join the community, but just to let you know that it exists and you are a bad person if you ever engage in a conversation to further inflame the negative comments. http://www.gurugossip.net/
It’s very sad that people trash a guru 14 times more than they care to rave about a guru.
I’m sure the more popular you get, the greater the absolute number of negative comments you receive. I can’t imagine how much flak famous bloggers and YouTubers like Temptalia, Michelle Phan, RayWilliamJohnson, Xiaxue have to deal with each day. Temptalia receives on average of 500 comments PER DAY. Just clicking on the ‘Approve’ button must give her wrist and index finger cramps. @_@
Diversity In Opinion Is Inevitable
Best quote ever:
Opinions are like assholes,
everyone’s got one
and everyone thinks everyone else’s stinks.
Some people want to show off how much they know by putting you down, some want to portray an air of superiority by telling you should have done this, not done that, some criticize because they feel threatened by your achievements and want to squash you before you push them into the drains of obscurity.
One of the reasons people blog is to connect with like-minded people and this was my intention as well. I have made new friends, learnt from my readers, and helped many people with their makeup techniques. It has been an incredible learning journey for me and I appreciate all that’s happened. I do realize that it’s the obstacles met that helped me grow and acquire skills and knowledge I would otherwise not have if I didn’t embark on this voyage.
I also understand that no one is perfect. We just don’t need that many trolls.
You must probably have noticed that the tone of this and the previous posts are quite unlike my other posts. I also chose to publish them before Chinese New Year because the year really starts only then (heh heh). I want to leave the bad stuff back in the past, and enjoy a great year ahead!
How do you deal with negative comments on your blog? Or in life, for that matter? Do you confront, control, or ignore?
