I found this surprising - not the comment, but that anyone would take it so personally. It's the internet. You will get called names. Everyone does. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you.
I suspect this is a generational issue. People who 'grew up online' know, as Penny Arcade explained, that
The sad fact is that there are millions of people whose idea of fun is to find people they disagree with, and mock them. And they're right, it can be fun - why else do you think people like Jon Stewart are so popular? - but that's all it is, entertainment. If you're on the receiving end, don't take it seriously.If you write something online, and a lot of people read it, you will get slammed. Someone, somewhere, will disagree with you and they'll tell you so, in no uncertain terms. This is true whatever you write about, but some topics are like a big red rag to the herds of bulls out there.
Just to name a few, if you say anything vaguely related to climate change, religion, health, the economy, feminism or race, you might as well be holding a placard with a big arrow pointing down at you and "Sling Mud Here" on it.
The point is - it's them, not you. They are not interested in you, they don't know you, it's not you. True, they might tailor their insults a bit; if you're a young woman you might be, say, a "stupid girl" where a man would merely get called an "idiot". But this doesn't mean that the attacks are a reflection on you in any way. You just happen to be the one in the line of fire.
What do you do about this? Nothing.
Trying to enter into a serious debate is pointless. Insulting them back can be fun, just remember that if you find it fun, you've become one of them: "he who stares too long into the abyss...", etc. Complaining to the moderators might help, but unless the site has a rock solid zero-tolerance-for-fuckwads policy, probably not. Where the blight has taken root, like Comment is Free, I'd not waste your time complaining. Just ignore it and carry on.
The most important thing is not to take it personally. Do not get offended. Do not care. Because no-one else cares. Especially the people who wrote the comments. They presumably care about whatever "issue" prompted their attack, but they don't care about you. If anything, you should be pleased, because on the internet, the only stuff that doesn't attract stupid comments is the stuff that no-one reads.I've heard these attacks referred to as "policing" existing hierarchies or "silencing" certain types of people. This seems to me to be granting them far more respect than they deserve. With the actual police, if you break the rules, they will physically arrest you. They have power. Internet trolls don't: if they succeed in policing or silencing anybody, it's because their targets let them boss them around. They're nobody; they're not your problem.
If you can't help being offended by such comments, don't read them, but ideally you shouldn't need to resort to that. For one thing, it means you miss the sensible comments (and there's always a few). But fundamentally, you shouldn't need to do this, because you really shouldn't care what some anonymous joker from the depths of the internet thinks about you.
21 comments:
so true. plus-it says something about the authors of such personally offensive comments as well rather than yourself. For one, they don't seem to have manners, usually limited command of the English language and most of all - too much time on their hands to pollute the internet with their cognitive aborts! Gosh I wish there was a way to block their internet access - that would be the only censorship that would make sense!
True. I got a troll comment on my post once, a very offensive one at that and I was rattled for a while. But in retrospect, I realize that people can be very rude for no reason, and heck, it is not a reflection on who or what I am. Nevertheless, it did hurt the first time, before the realization dawned.
Don't you think that online comments are also capable of sharpening disagreements? I mean, before the internet we couldn't see people expressing themselves in such a relentless way. And people behaving like that obviously influence other people. Perhaps those online forums create an environment where extremist opinions can arise and get stronger.
Yes! Amusing and insightful.
As Andre says, online discussions can sharpen debate. I would add that here in America-land we have this thing called 'the right to free speech,' or the First Amendment for the legally minded. It has an unwritten corollary: the right to free listening. Or not. We may just as easily choose to ignore people, especially if their comments are abusive or unrelated to the debate (ya tosser ;-).
As to the utility of blogs and other online vehicles, I'm beginning to realize that in science at least, the traditional speeds of peer-reviewed journals and annual conferences aren't sufficient to keep current. Nor do they reflect the interconnectedness of most modern research ventures. We can only hope that as these vehicles become even more commonplace that virtual societal norms change towards what we are used to in the real world re. civil discourse. (Perhaps it will take people realizing that, as on Facebook, even blog posts leave a trail that can come back to haunt you...)
And finally, we should all ignore syntax/grammar police who feel obliged to comment on every tyop. Let's focus on the content, people! I'm signing off before I feel the need to split an infinitive right here, right now...
What do you do about this? Nothing.
Naaah! You can do something.
First know the enemy.
Next know the strategy.
(comment split in two because of braindead "anti-spam policy" of allowing only one link)
This is the dumbest thing I've ever read.
For me, this is basically a professional point of view already. I interview violent inmates who apply different malicious tactics, alongside malingering. At the beginning of my work, I got upset when they did that, but with experience gained, I've come to realize that they do that not because they really want to make ME look stupid, they just try to avoid the important topics I need to discuss, i.e. something that concerns them personally.
The parallel can be drawn with internet topic bashers, trolls, negative comments.
a) They simply and truly disagree with you - hey, cool, you just found out a person who is different from what you are, and the most important thing about it is, that he actually read what you wrote.
b) They bash your writing, for no greater reason - the only greater reason is their own lack of imagination to apply themselves in a more productive and effective way.
c) Trolls - Guess why they are called trolls? It is not because they are so annoying and scary, but because they are so ugly on the inside.
People have the right to be offended.
Sure. That doesn't mean it's a good idea. I have a right to eat catfood but I don't think I'll use that right.
Good point, NS. I've been diss'd by the NYT and considered it a badge of honor. :) Seriously, ad hominem attacks = ignore, except as sort of a living laboratory observation.
Well said. And that Penny Arcade thing is one of their more insightful. I paid a little homage to that a while back when dealing with the peer-review equivalent of the internet troll phenomenon:
http://darb.ketyov.com/entertainment/Voytek-PeerReview.jpg
ZaNu LieBore Con Dem Nation HOCKEY STICK GRAPH Al Gore sheeple Climategate keep on drinking the Kool-Aid...Sorry. don't mind me. I'm just practising for Comment is Free.
who the fuck is john stewart you shitcock i've never fucking heard of him. troll-lol tralala
Trolls are possessed in real life. Not necessarily full blown revolving head, but an unsettled heart propagated by a demon which then project online. To keep a site kosher, at times you should refer to biblical quotes or symbols. Eventually it wards them off.
Zara, you shouldn't mess in the spirit realm if you don't know what you're doing. Self inflicting these experiences can leave you vulnerable to unwarranted spiritual attacks.
Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.
THIS BLOG IS SOOOOO WRONG.
Come into the light Anon. We're here to help you.
veri, may I suggest you begin by helping yourself?
Plus, which anon are you talking to?
He knows who he is. I admit I'm not perfect. But Anon, it's destiny we met. We can help each other. Come to me.
It was Scicurious who sent me over (Neurotic Physiology -- I want to use my one link for what follows).
I recommend reading Teresa Nielsen Hayden on moderation at Making Light. True, she's running a different sort of ship (Making Light is a sort of virtual coffee house with ongoing conversations) but it's still worth noting:
There can be no ongoing discourse without some degree of moderation, if only to kill off the hardcore trolls. It takes rather more moderation than that to create a complex, nuanced, civil discourse. If you want that to happen, you have to give of yourself. Providing the space but not tending the conversation is like expecting that your front yard will automatically turn itself into a garden.
She has another, later post "Moderation isn't rocket science" (Google it, with her name).
Both are worth reading
Too bad that in dec 2011 you delete three comments of mine for attackinjhg the right of a very dangerous activist use a pseudo prononced caducei in French
Blogger Neuroskeptic said...
Ivana: I've said before, don't go around insulting other commentators. I will delete any future insulting posts.
3 December 2011 13:17 Ivana: I was referring to this-
"As an activist you have the right to write anything you like in my view. but only as long as you do not use a pseudo like caducei (KI DU Said in comments of the October 2011 post on packing by neuroscientist )making people think you are a physician. Because how medically dangerous and unscientific of you to have written"
4 December 2011 07:59
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