Has it happened to you? You bare your soul in a blog post, put it all on the line and share something close to your heart… Only to check your comments a little later and discover that the Trolls have come out to play! Here’s some Sh*t you should know about blogging: Don’t Feed The Trolls!
Ok so now some of you are wondering what a Troll is… The Urban Dictionary defines Trolls as “Someone who goes about forums or other websites in an attempt to purposely upset people and cause arguments. There is no reasoning with them and any attempt to belittle or mock them is just pointless and makes you look stupid in the process.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself!
So… this Troll says something mean, hurtful, and belittling… what are you going to do?
Will you burst into tears? Write an angry response? Take a screen shot and tweet/instagram it? Email all your blogging buddies and have them freak out with you? Call your mom?
Here’s a thought…
Don’t feed the trolls!!! What does it mean, “don’t feed the trolls”? Well it basically means Ignore it!
It might seem impossible! You want to rant and rave and scream and cry and try to defend your point of view, but why give the Troll more material to work with? Nothing you can say or do is going to change their response. Haters gonna Hate!
Don’t even try to be nice to the Troll! Seriously whats the point! You’re pissed off, they’re mean and stupid and no good is going to come of any response you try to write. So here’s what you do…
Ignore it!
Delete the comment if you want, share privately with your friends if you must, but please…
Nancy Carr says
Jennifer, I never thought about the definition for trolls before. I missed that whole era when they were popular. It is sad that people have to have troll behavior. Their behavior says more about them than about you. You are a beautiful, valued woman, and I appreciate you. Living well is the best revenge. Blessings
Eliza_Do_Lots says
I've had a fair amount of this in my time and have tried to fight the urge to reply – but often it isn't just me they've insulted and I find it harder to step back from defending people who are vulnerable or who I love.
krazychocolatte says
Amen!
Natalie says
OMG so true. Sooooooooooooooooo true!!!!
Candy @ Candypo.com says
Great post Jennifer!!
amber says
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
amber says
This is SERIOUSLY SO SO SO hard to do like 97% of the time and I actually am proud of myself because I just did this (ignored it i mean) but PHEW it took a lot to just keep quiet!
JenniferJayne13 says
Yes it is! Thats why in my mind its totally ok to rant and rave to your close friends, but not in public. Why give the "bad guys" more to work with? It seems silly but I've seen it happen!
gayle says
This is the post you were talking about on FB right? Really good stuff. I was texting with Miss Tay (who also commented) and my advice was "ignore" so clearly we agree. 🙂 That seriously is the only thing you can do!
My issue is, I tend to be a little on the gullible side because I believe the best in people, and want to be kind to everyone (which, hello, is most people, most of us are nice — except for trolls) and so I usually don't recognize a troll as a troll until it's too late.
Sigh.
Great work on the post!
xoxo,
Gayle | Grace for Gayle
JenniferJayne13 says
Hey Gayle. Yup this is what I was talking about last night. I'm totally one of these believe the best kinda people too! It makes me sad to see that there are actually Troll like people out there. I dealt with some real life trolls as a teen/young adult and learned to ignore them the hard way.Hopefully this post helps people in the future!
terri tillman says
good advice.
'mean people suck'.
Marianne S says
I recently had a blogging friend say that she had a guy who was on her site leaving horrid comments… it bothered her so much she changed her blogspot name… 3 times. I'm going to point her towards this… I have been lucky enough to avoid them thusfar… (knocks on wood!)
Wendy says
YES! THIS! Trolls suck- and as hard as is it to ignore them, its the only way to get them to go away.
Night Owler says
This has happened to me for 2 mths straight Jennifer. I change my blog id and it still happens and i'm like WTF.
Some people are nice and then turn into evil bitches and then are two faced and make a tweet about me not thinking I wont see it and then denies it.
JenniferJayne13 says
That sucks! I'm sorry you had to go through that. I have comment moderation on my blog and I am very glad for it!
Jean says
Well said. People will always find a way to cut others down. I just ignore it or block the IP if I get the random nasty comment. Mostly I just feel pity for them. I mean, how boring and sad their lives must be.
I'd like to invite you and your followers to come link up with the Aloha Friday Blog Hop if you want!! We have a new April team and we'd love to have ya'!
Have a wonderful and lovely weekend!
Aloha,
Jean {What Jean Likes}
Beth says
I'm grateful that I haven't had to deal with this very much, but it's great advice! Similar to not giving in to road rage when someone wrongs you, or just breathing through the anger when a co-worker throws you under the bus….it's all about breathing, moving through it, and taking the higher road. And there's a certain satisfaction that comes with being better than the diarrhea-mouth meanie. 😉
dianaramblesdotcom says
Amen!!
Danni@SiloHillFarm says
Agreed! Well said!
tinakohrman says
What a great post. I never thought of that definition for a troll before. I agree with what you said in this post just ignore the comment. Thank you for sharing this wonderful post.