I'M an ignorant Socialist whose brood is robbing taxpayers of their hard-earned cash. And I write lazy, boring, pointless rubbish.
These are two of the choicer comments blogging has brought me.
The first was on a guest post on Conservative blogger Ellee Seymour’s site and the second, The Guardian’s arts blog.
What fun. I laughed and joined the debate, telling both respondents that guess what, I didn’t quite agree.
For regular Comment is Free contributor Ellie Levenson, who also lectures in journalism and runs her own consultancy such barbs are an expected - and partly accepted - irritation.
She says: “If writers worried about this kind of feedback we'd never write. We should be more worried when there is no response at all.
“The internet allows people to give instant and often ill-considered responses which can be aggressive and offensive. I operate a 'don’t engage' policy, though I’m always interested in considered comments whether they agree with me or not.
“You are only a click away from the reader moving on so you have to try to engage people immediately.
“I’ve always written opinion pieces and columns so am used to getting negative feedback though I was surprised at how personal some comments have been.
“If I picture them as written in green ink then I don't mind.
Ellie says that often people may not realise how they come across.
“Tone is notoriously difficult to get on email and I think it’s the same for online comments. Sometimes people think they are being funny.
“I tell my students that if you want people to like you then become a vet or a childminder. You don't go into journalism to be liked.”
Unlike Ellie, Shiny Media’ s DollyMix editor Cate Sevilla admits she has found offensive comments stressful. But she says she has learned to live with it.
“I used to take it personally, and feel the need to reiterate my point to the commenters, and defend myself, over and over again.
“I’ve since learned to not worry about it so much, and that worrying about some crappy comment is a waste of energy.
Cate differentiates between comments who disagree with her and those which are more personal
“How I react just depends on the quality of the comment. If it’s a comment debating my logic or opinions, that’s fine. But most of the negative comments I get are either really positive, or nasty troll comments.”
“If it’s personal, I tend to just brush it off. If you’re online, a woman, and talking about controversial stuff, it comes with the territory. I’ve been told to “go back to my own country” and that I “need to get laid” a few hundred times, so, I ignore those.”
But while Cate acknowledges debate as a “huge” part of blogging, she controls what she publishes.
“I know there are some bloggers who turn off commenting, which I respect. However, I just reserve the right to delete, or block the really disrespectful comments and commenters. I think debate is wonderful, but there’s a big difference between debate, arguing for the sake of arguing, and general harassment.”
Overall comments are a much-welcomed part of her blogging experience:
“As a writer, the best part about blogging is the instant feedback; it’s fantastic.
“Even when it’s negative feedback, or people who I’ve pissed off, it’s best to just take it on the chin and realize that what I’m writing and blogging is getting out there, and that’s what’s important to me.”
For journalism student Dave Lee, feedback through his blog, has helped him ‘tighten’ his writing.
“I check, check and triple check for mistakes and inaccuracies. Getting told behind the scenes by an editor you've made a boo-boo is one thing, but as soon as a comment points out a mistake in full view, integrity is thrown out the window.
“It's easy to see what works from the type of feedback you get. I find if I know there is ample opportunity for readers to add comments it makes me consider my audience a little more.”
I agree with Dave. Just please don’t bring my children into it.
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