Again, one of my top 5 fave blogs has gone to hell. It seems there is a troll who has effectively turned me off. This nutjob managed to post under several different names, with each one having a different unsavory point of view. I am saddened that this psycho chose to turn a healthy discussion area into something where normal people like me are afraid to comment due to the rediculous replies. Nevermind the fact that I witnessed personal attacks on folks I respect who come off as balanced, opinionated (in a healthy way), and far from malicious. This jerk went so far as to dig up private info and threaten to exploit a person who in my opinion really has nothing to hide. This is disgusting. I am seriously considering issuing a warning not about this site but the fringe element of freaks the blogger's (well deserved) fame is bringing. I refuse to name names.Why won't I do it? Simple. I respect the owner and am capable of discerning blogger from commenter. It would not be fair to the blogger. This person is busy doing what attacted me in the first place (writing very well) and does not deserve anything but praise. Still this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. There is no effective way to eliminate the bad without alienating the good. I am frustrated by the lack of courtesy the troll extends to his host the blogger and the otherwise amiable audience and participants. I am uncomfortable by the threats and personal attacks. If you have aggression you need to turn loose, join a fight club or take martial arts or ride your bike as hard and fast as you can (call Ed for safety lessons, he is what is rght with cycling...a proactive educator) Do something, anything. Just please get out of the belltower with your laptop. When used by fairly sane people, the comment section of any blog can be enlightening and fun. I have learned plenty of great things and had many lol moments. When used irresponsibly, it can turn an otherwise good experience into one that leaves people on the fence about further particpation. That is where my seat is these days.
So..... what can be done? Obviously the blogger can delete comments at any time. I got rid of an advertisement on here the other day because all 5 of us that know this corner exists don't need to deal with that. But what about the highly successful blogs run by folks who may not be able to monitor comments daily (or monthly as is all I need) How should that work? As exhibited on the blog in question, replies from the other commenters only added fuel to the 7 named snake's fire. (yup something like 7 screen names!) Ignoring this kook only spawned other screen names and opinions, and the frequency of seeing his/her names on the screen actually shot up. The need for attention was amazing. Now after being called out in an equally scary way (I choose not to elaborate but let's leave it at fire with fire) the troll has gone back under the bridge. But not before doing exactly what he set out to do....scare off particpants. I am done with commenting as this is the second freak I've encountered in 4 months. While I doubt any of these sociopaths could ever actually track me down, I am sick of being afraid of comments and threats. I am sick of negativity on other's sites. I have my forum for ranting, and it affects nobody's readership but mine. It's like being at a pool party versus giving one. You can play Ratt's greatest hits at your house and that is fine. I'd opt for a mix of beach music. You can do whatever the hell you want at your house but it does not have to be okay at mine.The same is true for my cyber living room. If it is not appropriate or in the spirit of the blog you are visiting, go and put your fingers of fury to work at your own site.
Still she digresses. Has anyone got any creative solutions for dealing with lunatics on a blog? Or to tie this into food somehow, what do you do when your favorite restaurant is not as appealing because of a few bad patrons that are always there when you are? How do you breach this without being "that complaining dude"?
Lastly a crumb for thought..... does Ratt even have enough songs to warrant a "greatest hits" or does that just falsely imply they had more than one hit?
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1 comment:
well - i'm not sure that Ratt deserves their own "greatest hits" album. frankly I only remember two songs by them (and [gulp] they're on my ipod for the days when i'm feeling silly).
as to You Know Who on That Blog, don't let him work you up that way. it's not worth it. the good commenters out there far outweigh the bad.
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