Screw Trolls Or The Art of Dealing With Negative Comments

Okay, so maybe don’t actually screw trolls. We don’t need people like multiplying. I’m seeing scenes from Gremlins with disgusting online trolls appearing en masse to comment on every post with their negativity and utter nonsense.

I have no problem with constructive criticism. I honestly don’t care if someone comments just to say “You suck as a writer and should never write another word again.” Thanks for your opinion, I appreciate it.

What I don’t have time for is a troll. They don’t stop at a single negative remark. It’s not constructive. It’s just vitriol designed to destroy a writer, or even another commenter’s, confidence and self esteem.

I started my career on a site that didn’t do anything to filter out obvious trolls trying to stir up trouble. So, I got a thick skin quick.

You Put Yourself Out There So You Deserve It

I love this one. Maybe you’ve heard it to. Just because we write, we deserve whatever hate some ignorant, self-righteous, attention seeking idiot decides to throw our way.

Nope. It doesn’t work that way. That’d be like me walking in whatever place hired this sad person and telling them how much I hate them, without even knowing anything else about them. Oh yeah, that’s right. Internet trolls stay safely tucked away behind their keyboards where they think their words have no consequences and only their backassward opinions are right.

Dealing With Online Trolls The Right Way

Gets done reading a negative comment from a troll. *Ding Ding* The fight bell has rung and I must win by TKO.

Wrong! Never engage. You’d be better off throwing gas on a fire and expecting it to go out. Not only are you going to end up looking bad, but trolls always have far more energy and time to argue than you do.

I don’t know how. Maybe it’s all their pent up anger that no one ever agrees with them. Who knows.

Instead, do one of the following:

• Ignore the comment completely and let other commenters come to your rescue
• Delete the comment and ban the user (if possible)
• Respond respectfully and correct them (only one response, don’t continue to engage after this)

You have better things to do than care about what trolls think. I know people say everyone has the right to their opinion, but that doesn’t mean it’s right or should ever be said out loud.

You also have the right to ignore negative comments from trolls. They have freedom of speech and you have the freedom of selective reading/hearing.

Trolls Don’t Care What You Write About…They Just Hate Themselves

I once had a writing gig where writers were strictly prohibited from interacting in the comments. That didn’t stop me from reading them, of course. Most of the time, the comments weren’t too bad. I’d see the occasional troll, but even then, nothing super nasty.

Then, I wrote a post about exercise and feeling sore afterward. I never knew when I hit Submit, I had angered every closet fitness fanatic out there. Suddenly, everyone was an expert on the topic except me. I won’t even list all the names I was called. All I said was extreme soreness wasn’t a good thing and had medical research to back it up.

I admit I felt angry, upset, and questioned myself a little. Maybe I wasn’t good enough to keep writing if people felt this strongly about my words. I just wanted to help people, not piss them off.

It took a few weeks, but I noticed a fellow writer on the same site was constantly getting negative comments criticizing everything from her articles to the way she looked. Yet, she‘d been published on some major sites in her niche.

I finally asked her how she kept doing this. How did she deal with all the hate?

Her response floored me.

It’s not my job to make everyone happy. If trolls want to put me down to make themselves feel better, good for them. I love what I do. I feel sorry for them that they hate themselves so much their only solution is to troll others. Maybe commenting on my posts is some form of therapy for them. It’s kind of my revenge knowing I might have helped them after all. Either way, I’m happy and making a living doing what I love. They obviously aren’t.

She’s right. I have my life to live and I’m happy with it. I have better things to do than engage with negative comments.

Hate what I write? Great. Leave a comment and tell me why. If it’s not constructive and just hate, I’ll ignore it and move on. If it’s a legitimate comment that can help me grow or it’s a question, I’m happy to engage.

So, the moral of the story — life’s too short to deal with Internet trolls. The great news is maybe if they’re so busy living online, trying to bash others, maybe they’re not interacting with people face to face and making little trolls.

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