Imagine the following situation: “The night is getting dark. I just had a beer with my colleagues after a busy day at work. I have to walk a bit to get back to my car. It looks like it’s going to start raining. I can feel the first drops falling from the sky. Wiping the drops off my face with the sleeve of my coat, I see a strange character approaching me. He seems to have come out of nowhere. He walks towards me with firm steps. I see that he wants to tell me something. “Dude, it’s obvious that you don’t have a fucking clue. My little 8-year-old sister writes better than you. Next time you dare to publish something like that, get a little more information.” I feel threatened. I don’t know what to say. Without stopping, I continue walking towards my car. I don’t turn around. […]”
How to defend yourself when a troll attacks
What in a “real” situation seems almost absurd often happens in the online world. They come out of nowhere and attack without warning. Many bloggers (and also newspaper editors) have to deal with complete strangers who criticize or even insult them.
Elvira Lindo on elpais.com defines these people who enter third-party blogs to create a scandal in the following way: “it is what a lifelong bastard is, but on a virtual level.” They are known as “trolls” and they look similar to the image in the linked post. You realize that you are facing one when they criticize you, offend you, attack you directly and without a filter. The more you respond, the stronger they become. The aggressiveness is noticeable in the tone of the comment, in the use of capital letters and exclamation marks “!”. Now is the moment argentina phone number library when you regret having established an open comment moderation policy. Don’t despair. Chuck Norris gives you some advice on how to defend yourself on your blog.
Publishing the comment
I usually publish all the comments as long as they don’t insult me directly. Most trolls take an absurd position. In many cases, the mere when you feel tired or in doubt, appearance of their comment makes them look bad. You don’t have to add anything else.
Don’t offend: “Never azb directory argue with an idiot, they will make you descend to their level and there they will beat you with experience” (anonymous). You are not like them, so don’t allow yourself to reach the same level of aggression.
Say thanks: each comment is unique content that allows you to rank better on Google. The least you should do is thank the troll for promoting your blog. Do the opposite of what they expect and you will drive them crazy.
The “boomerang” response: the other day someone criticized, among other things (e.g., asking if I had ever read a book in my life), my spelling and style mistakes (which, being German, I honestly have some). My response was: “Thank you for your comment. Spelling is written with an accent on the ‘i’.”
Ask what other readers think
You are not alone. In many cases you don’t even have to ask because readers who see the troll’s comments will jump in to comment and defend you. This can happen even with visitors who hadn’t left a single trace on the blog before that event.
The most important thing is not to let yourself be provoked and use the attacker’s force against them. It’s the basic principle of what Chuck Norris would do on his own bloy. For this you might also be interested in reading “10 reasons to take care of your trolls”. What are your self-defense tips when a troll attacks?
This post is the first in the series “What you can learn from Justin Bieber, Chuck Norris, Warren Buffet, Donald Trump and the Dalai Lama when you create a blog”. To not miss future posts subscribe to this blog.