Blog rage!
That’s all I can call it, and I’m not sure why it happened on my blog. Here I
was working on a post relating to the writing prompt for Blog Hop #46, thus the picture of the
window and the word “opportunity,” when suddenly I was blind-sided by more “F”
words and other various profane comments from an anonymous visitor than I dared
finish reading!
This was
on my post from the previous day, a post that shared a little bit about myself,
because I’d received my first blogging award from Dana, author of The Daily Dose. I’m not
sure why this person forgot to pull up his big boy pants (or her big girl
panties, for that matter), but clearly something about me sent him into a
rambling, lunatic’s rage.
What to
do…what to do…
I’d never
experienced anything like this on my blogs before.
How long
had these comments been there? Who might have been offended by such profanity
being left on my blog? Is this raving idiot dangerous, stupid or merely completely
devoid of any sense of human decency and manners?
Quite the
quandary indeed…and to what end? For what purpose? How could “venting” in such
a way make someone feel better or be healthy in any way, shape or form?
Oh, the
questions can be never ending, can’t they?
The answer
was obvious. The “dirty window” was right there, surrounded by many dark and
curious accents. My story reveals how I chose not to engage in the attackers
vengeance, but rather delete the unseemly cobwebs which played such a minor
role in the blogging destination I am trying to create. None of this was about censoring
or limiting the conversation encouraged on my blog (cleaning the dirty window).
It was
about keeping my emotions in check, trusting in who I am and never letting any
upset, no matter how big or small, stifle my efforts and visions relating to
what I want to do and how I want to do it. This was about being true to myself
and not letting bullies get the best of me.
Have you
ever experienced blog rage?
How do you
handle it?
Are you
inclined to filter your comments to prevent it?
Has blog
rage ever caused you to take a hiatus from your blog?
I’m very
new to dealing with blog rage. Please, share your thoughts, so we can all learn
from each other, and deal with blog rage bullies effectively. Thank you!
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Photo Credit: Wikicommons, Creative
Commons Attribution
I have no clue - I'm still learning about blogging in general and my page has lifted off the ground yet, because I'm not sure what to do with it. I do belileve however that I would ignore the raging commenter and don't do anything to give him more room to rage...........that said - I haven't yet looked at where the comments took place........i went to the piece you mentioned but didn't see any awful comments??
ReplyDeleteThat's because I deleted the awful comment. Blogging is a lot of fun, and I make a point to share some information about it on this blog. It would be my pleasure if you would join us here, Divajz, and participate, ask questions and join in the fun. We've got a great group of followers, who share a lot of insight in their comments. You're more than welcome to be one of them:) Happy Monday to you and thank you for visiting and commenting on my blog:)
DeleteDELETE...DELETE...DELETE.
ReplyDeleteI used to blog about the funny side of science, and I features some real weirdos (like the so-called Prophet Yaweh who claimed he could predict UFO sightings). But guess what, the weirdos found my website and blasted me!
I kept their comments, as I thought it was funny.
But it's YOUR blog - and I've deleted some that were just downright wrong. Having done this blogging thing for 7 years, I know two people who actually got the FBI involved when some scary stuff happened...one commenter took pics of the blogger's kids and photoshopped them into pornographic pictures. All kinds of weirdos are out there.
You've got that right, Jay! I was in such a hurry to delete, that I wish I had marked it as spam, but I just wanted it gone. It was awful, no sense whatsoever. I'm inclined to agree with you about the funny stuff. People have all sorts of personalities, and quirky ones don't bother me at all. It's the foul language, dooming me to hell for what I posted type stuff. Complete lunacy, imho.
DeleteSeven years of blogging, huh? I'll bet you could teach me a few things. If you ever want to write a guest post for me, I'd humbly accept the offer:) Thanks for visiting, Jay. It's always a pleasure to see you've stopped by:)
M.J, On my first posting on Incoming Bytes, if I remember correctly, I advised my readership that obscenity or abusive comments would be removed, and the commenter could feel free to comment again when they have decided to enter into meaningful, civilized language.
ReplyDeleteI have not had any abusive,negative or foul contents show up YET, perhaps because of that statement. I guess there's always someone that will want to test us as Bloggers AND our resolve as human beings.
I would suggest that you delete the foul parts or the whole comment as necessary, but leave a reply directed to the commenter by name, that such language is not allowed on your blog or on your website, but that they are free to dialogue in civilized language if they so desire. Good luck with that! Have a wonderful day! ~R
I'm sure it was a one time thing - at least I hope so. I've heard this happens sometimes, so I guess we take the good with the bad, right? Thanks for stopping by Raymond. It's always wonderful to read your comments and visit with you. Happy Monday. Oh, I finally finished my F post on Effectively Human. Wanna know what it's on? Foul Language, of course. Check it out when you get the chance:)
DeleteM.J., This is what I placed on my original post, Dec 5/2010. It has been very successful. Feel free to paraphrase or use this as you wish. ~ R
ReplyDelete<<<< * By the way, we believe it possible to express forceful opinion without the use of invectives and foul language. Such language and offensive, hateful commentary will be obliterated mercilessly from comments. If the reader is angry, he or she is requested to take time out, return later, and leave an insightful comment in the form of civilized dialogue.>>>>
This is a nice idea. I may take you up on this, Raymond, if I get anymore terrible (anonymous) rude comments. Thank you, kind sir!
DeleteI've never had blog rage to that degree. I've had some commenters disagree with me whole heartedly--but they managed to keep it civil. Gosh, so sorry it has happened to you. As for my blog, I use disqus comments--which will allow me to block the users--and I don't think I have it set for anonymous to comment. I'll have to look.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry this happened to you--and I hope it doesn't deter you from posting your content--I'll be by to read more often!! Cheers, Jenn :)
Oh, no worries Jenn. I'm okay and there's no way I'll ever stop writing over this. I think I may have figured out how to eliminate anonymous comments today. I need to research it a bit more and see if I did it right. If so, you can bet I'll be writing a blog post about it, and sharing the information with visitors to my blogging destination. That's part of what this blog is about, and this information could come in very handy for bloggers. Have a wonderful evening, my friend. Wishing you only good things:)
DeleteAs I said at The Writer's Post, good for you for ignoring and carrying on. I have no idea what prompts such behaviour but suffice to say people like that are not well in the head. I have heard a theory that you know your blog has really become a hit when you start getting f bombs from hateful commentors! So, take it as a good thing!! lol!
ReplyDeleteOkay then...I have arrived good people! I've been officially initiated with "F" bombs!!! lol Oh my...this is too funny!!! Busting a gut over here and can barely type a response....
DeleteThank you, pammmustard! This morning has been a little hectic and laughter always takes the edge off of days like that. Nothing serious, mind you. Just everyone getting a bit of a late start with the daily routine. It's all good. Hope you're having a wonderful day. Looking forward to the next time you visit my blog, kind friend:)
By the way, I always comment as pammustard which is the name I use for my blog. I am Angie on Writer's Post (because I didn't know how to join under a pseudonym!).
DeleteHi Angie:) I'm glad you told me that. Not sure about the pseudonym option myself. Never thought about using it for anything. Have a wonderful evening:)
DeleteLuckily, nothing like that has ever happened on my blog. But I've made a couple of perfectly reasonable comments on someone else's blog that happened to disagree with them and got a bit of agro back. They were both comments on my thoughts about self-publishing - so I now just tend to keep those opinions to myself. Which I think is a shame, because surely they missed a trick to convince me my views were wrong and have a bit of a lively debate.
ReplyDeleteAs long as comments meet the rules of human decency and respect for anyone who might see them, they are welcome in my blogging space. Feel free to engage us in your lively discussions, Annalisa. We'll be happy to discuss whatever is on your mind here. Thanks for visiting my blog today. It's always a pleasure when you do:)
Delete