Comment Saboteurs
Posted by Amateur Blogs
When it comes to comments, dealing with spammers can be nerve-wracking. I resent the time I have to spend removing their handiwork from my posts. Fortunately, Askimet helps immensely with this endeavor. It’s included in Wordpress 2.5.1 but if you have an older version you’ll need to download the Akismet Comment Plugin. Askimet doesn’t catch everything, but it gets a lot of the spam.
In my opinion, a group of folks almost as bad as comment spammers are comment saboteurs. You know the ones: they relish in leaving nasty (and sometimes personal) comments on your site. Just when you think you’ve published something really spectacular one of them comes along and slashes your work to shreds.
Those of you that have been blogging for some time may have already experienced this problem. I got my first "heckler" the other day. Check out the comment from “Befuddled.” I think I addressed the comment in a professional manner. Kudos to Bloggrrl for her clever response to the heckler.
Actually, that wasn’t so bad. The one that really shook me was a comment left by someone at Shoemoney’s site. Shoemoney put out a call for guest posters last week. He solicited bloggers to submit posts that would be published on his site while he attended PubCon. The post had to follow the format of "What Internet marketers can learn from X." He’d recently done a post called "What Internet Marketers Can Learn From the Pickup Artist" which was really well received. Thus, he asked that people submit what they’d learned from tv shows, rap lyrics, etc.
I submitted my Oompa Loompa post from a few months ago and he selected it. The comments were overall very positive; people were really getting into the comparisons I’d made. Until this one guy came along. He felt compelled to throw darts at the post. A co-worker of mine responded to him but it just made things worse - he submitted another comment that was harsher than the first. He felt that comparing bloggers to characters from a film was juvenile (odd because it followed the format Shoemoney asked for). Interestingly enough, one of his statements was suspiciously similar to the one left by the aforementioned heckler on this site, i.e., "get a life, get off the PC, and go to the park." Hmmn.
I read both of his comments and almost responded, but decided to let it be. I got the feeling that responding would make things even worse and quite frankly, I was a little hurt.
Ironically a guest poster on John Chow’s site just wrote a great article called “The Guest Posters Guide to the Blogosphere.” Sure enough, as I was reading through the comments I came upon a fairly harsh response. I thought: now here’s a really well-written and informative article. It’s sad that a hater had to throw stones at the writer.
Yes, I’ve read that some people do this deliberately because they think it will bring traffic to their sites, but do they think they’ll actually attract loyal readers? Sure, I checked out the site of the guy that slammed my guest post, but as you can imagine, I have no intention of returning there.
I’ve read that you should never delete negative comments; you should take the bad with the good. However, constructive criticism is one thing. Attacking the validity and credibility of someone’s work is yet another. And I wonder if comments like that deter other readers from commenting . . . . your thoughts?
I hate those hecklers, but some of their comments make me laugh. Have you heard about Israel, the rude commentator at John Cow?
Jug: Yes, I have! I read the post in which he banned Israel from leaving comments. Actually, I think he banned the guy from even accessing his site. I’ve just recently started reading the Cow’s site regularly so I don’t have all of the backstory but I gather the guy was notorious for leaving scathing comments.
Comment Saboteurs…
How do you handle comment “haters”? Not constructive criticism mind you, I’m talking about commenters that question the value of your work and attempt to use their negative opinion of one of your posts as a way to challenge your legitimacy as a blo…
Hi Chanya,
This post is somewhat similar to the one I had read in BZ also (I left the link so you can communicate with each other if you wish to), so I felt I’ll copy-paste my comment since it also applies here.
I just hope it’s okay with you.
Here’s what I posted there…
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As for me, I haven’t received negative comments yet, but I had received sarcastic and comedic ones.
I approved those. At the end of the day, it’s just a comment of one person who “visited”, and loyal readers sometimes know that. I don’t feed the troll so as not to make a big deal out of it.
Trolls come and go. When someone gives a negative (but constructive) comments, the first logical things to do is to consider the source. Is that person credible? Does he really know what he’s talking about?
Leaving those comments in your blog is okay, as some readers might join the discussion and learn from each other. And like you said, better to learn from them than deflect them.
Good post. *thumbs-up*
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I am also going to give you thumbsup for this post and for your professional manner of dealing with the trolls. You are correct, sometimes we don’t have to reply to them because attention is all what they wanted.
-Saedel
Saedel: Thanks for sharing some of the great advice from your post. I think it’s funny that we both submitted posts about the same thing today.
In addition to asking ourselves if the person is credible, I guess we need to ask ourselves if, in the midst of the negative comment, there lies a shred of truth . . . .
If they violate your TOS, like using obscenities or bad links, then delete them.
Just ignore them if they aren’t offering anything but insults. They’re probably just looking for attention.
If they’re like the comment you mentioned where there is a real opinion offered, answer them with something like, “Thanks for you opinion on this matter” or “Thanks for adding a dissenting view”.
Frank: Agreed. I’ve not received any comments containing profanity (I’m actually amazed at the number of big name bloggers that do) but if I did, I’d delete them.
Thanks for the advice.
Doggone you Chanya! Here I am trying to get some work done and I have to stop and comment on your post
A certain percentage of the population are trolls. That’s just a fact. The more people you are exposed to, the more likely to meet a troll.
Invariably, they think they are the smartest person they know and are dying to prove it. They spew their foul language and insults (Or worse) freely because they think it proves their superiority.
I’ve found you have to be super careful dealing with them because they love a fight. They usually have nothing to lose because they already have a reputation as a troll and would love nothing more than to push you over the edge in public. Most of the time a response is actually just elevating their platform, or lowering your own.
I have noticed though, they don’t seem to have much to say about my last troll post. HaHaHa!!!
BTW - Congrats on getting on Shoemoney!
Adsense: Thanks for the advice. I agree, it’s probably best not to acknowledge them. I think a natural reaction for some is to defend yourself. I’ve seen sites where the site owner and commenters duke it out; that’s never pretty.
Thanks for visiting. Okay, you can go back to work now!
no, angry trolls won’t garner much traffic, or popularity. unless they’re funny angry trolls. but then, whining about these haters, or censoring them doesn’t exactly endear you to readers either.
if anything it makes you look weak and small minded. i think you need to have a thick skin to be a writer. unless you’re coughing up pablum you’re sure to offend someone.
Cojito: Thanks. I’m not sure the trolls respond the way they do because they’re offended though. However I do agree that you have to be somewhat thick-skinned when writing, especially since we, as bloggers, deliberately place our work on the Internet for people to read.
Thanks for visiting.
I hate comment hecklers! Sorry you have to deal with them too.
Jessica: Yes, they’re a curious bunch. Thanks for visiting!
If I had an issue with spam comments on my blog, I would definitely use this…but hardly anyone comments my blog anyways…
We have a bouncer over at our blog. If you get too feisty he throws you out the door
Unless, of course, it’s Monday Night Brawl. then Gerri will take care of troublemakers with her rusty knife.
http://redneckbarandgrill.com/2007/12/03/monday-night-brawl-for-yall/
Send your hecklers over, we’ll rough em up for yah!
Tim: I love it! I may have to take you up on that offer!
[...] of Chanya’s most popular articles addresses comment saboteurs, where she talks about how she feels about commentators who have nothing constructive or helpful to [...]
Sure that kind of comment might make others not want to comment. What blogger who considers themselves a serious blogger wants to possibly be followed around and be the next target of some jerk? It’s like you said, constructive criticism is okay, but vicious attacks are not helping anyone. Well, that’s my opinion anyway.
teeni: Yes, and after a while, if the heckler persists in submitting comments the blog owner may just delete them. If the behavior continues the blog owner may ban them from the site, like John Cow did to one of his commenters.
It sounds good, I love the simplicity. Your posts are easy as a pie and really attractive at the same time.
I think those hater think by making a controversial comment is a good thing to attract attention. They could be learn wrong seo book. lol
I just stumbled upon this blog, and I can fully understand. I JUST got my blogger blog up and going when I had a heckler. Honestly, you should pat yourself on the back. This blog is superb and obviously successful, and the person was probably jealous. I wish you the best of luck with your blog and it’s special visitors. Don’t let them get under your skin! That’s what they aim to do.
Thanks so much for the words of encouragement!