And why I have no use for them.
This morning, I reviewed an interesting comment left in this blog’s Guest Book. It had been held for moderation, which means I have to review and approve it before it appears online.
Nasty for No Reason
The comment was one of the nastiest I’ve ever read. The person who decided to try to ruin my day told me that this site was like a garage that needed clearing out — or something like that; I didn’t preserve his words for posterity. He told me I should delete anything over six months old. He said he’d come to find information about my books but that he wasn’t willing to use the “convoluted” (his word) methods needed to find content here. He finished up by saying he was an editor — imagine that! — and that he now has no interest in any of my books.
Whew!
He evidently forgot to mention the problem with his eyesight that prevented him from seeing links clearly marked “Books” and “Articles” in the NavBar at the top of the page. He also appeared to miss the note in the description of this site — which appears “above the fold” on the Home page — that clearly said support for my books had been moved to Maria’s Guides. And that Search feature at the top of the site navigation column — I suppose the label “Search This Site” isn’t clear enough. And I guess I couldn’t expect him to scroll down on any page of the site to see the list of books supported with the links to content related to those books.
Convoluted? The only way I could make this site easier to navigate is to take control of his computer while he’s online here and guide his mouse to the link he needs.
He probably spent more time wording and editing his comment than he did looking around the site for the content he evidently wasn’t so interested in in the first place.
I deleted his comment, as I do with any other nasty comment that serves no purpose other than to rudely criticize me or someone else. I think that if he had presented his opinions more courteously, I would have given them some real consideration. But since his comment was obviously posted as a personal attack on me, I threw it away with the rest of the crap I encounter online.
On Bottom Dwellers
But it reminded me that there’s a lot of bottom-dwellers out there, looking to bring other people down to their level. The Internet is full of them and the worst thing you can give any of them is a keyboard and a form to fill in with their rude and destructive comments. I know bloggers who have turned off the commenting feature on their blogs because of the amount of crap like this that they get. Other bloggers let it run rampant in their comments, letting it feed the other bottom dwellers lurking out there until there’s nothing mature or civil about their blogs. As we’ve seen in the past, that can quickly get out of hand.
What these bottom-dwellers clearly do not understand is that my blog is mine. I decide on the design, I decide on the content, I decide on how long to keep blog posts, I even decide whether a comment is appropriate on a post. If he doesn’t like my site, he can go somewhere else — there’s enough content out there for everyone. As my mother would say, “Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.”
More…
A quick look through my archives offers some other thoughts on related matters:
- Site Comment Policy (April 2, 2007)
- Blogging Courtesy (April 15, 2007)
- The Nerve of Some People (June 21, 2007)
- Quick Note to Commenters (February 1, 2008)
5 responses so far ↓
1 Bob Lawrence // Mar 1, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Sorry you got this crap. Most of these type of people wouldn’t have the guts to say it to your face. Most of them are small minded, bitter people that don’t deserve to be on the net anyways.
Keep up the great work, strap a 50 cal. to the skids and go find him!!!
2 Maria Langer // Mar 1, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Thanks, Bob. I like that idea.
Oddly enough, the Editor of Vertical magazine just wrote up an editorial saying much the same thing about the people who frequent the magazine’s forums. It’s amazing that a handful of immature idiots have to screw it up (or try to) for the rest of us.
I sure do appreciate your support!
3 prospero // Mar 4, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Wow, I must add a quick comment here. I have no particular interest in helicopters, or Wickenburg, or books on computers (although all are growing on me to an extent) but I really, really like your blog, and one of the main reasons I so much like it and keep coming back, is because it is so immaculately well organised.
I am employed to manage information (much of it electronic) and so I really appreciate having ‘a blog consumer moment’ which is relaxing because nothing jars.
To say there’s anything muddled about your blog is like claiming the BBC is short on news. Your blog is a model of clarity. It is the very model of a blog!
4 Maria Langer // Mar 4, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Thank you so much for your kind words. I know it isn’t perfect — I had a heck of a time finding a specific article just this morning — but I don’t think it’s as bad as the whiner claimed.
He probably has trouble finding his shoes every morning, too.
5 Tim Courtney // Mar 21, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Maria,
I’m also sorry that you get comments like this. Having been intimately involved in online communities for well over a decade, I’ve learned that this sort of behavior is an unfortunate side effect of the Internet.
These people like to hide behind their computers and their anonymity and cowardly hurl insults at people who have the courage to put themselves out there because they don’t measure up themselves. Sadly, this sours the online experience for too many.
I’ve personally dealt with my fair share of online abuse. I won’t go into specifics here because it’s sure to show up in search engines. All but a couple of these people I’ve never met in person, and they’re all the bottom-dwellers you describe.
Over the last couple years, I’ve taken the approach of just ignoring their activities completely. I’m no longer active in the communities where they troll but when I occasionally revisit to stay connected with friends, I refuse to acknowledge their existence. They can say what they want about me, I know what’s true, and I keep moving on and doing my thing.
That said, I really enjoy your blog. I’m studying for my private pilot’s license and dream of flying airplanes (and possibly helicopters one day). I love reading about your flying adventures and as a Mac user I appreciate your Apple commentary as well.
Best wishes,
Tim
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