how not to be an asshole or encourage assholism on the internet: a handy guide.
NOTE: This post is almost three years old now, and was written about specific incidents. Much has changed in how I see things since then.
But assholes still suck.
important message you can take with you.
I’ve been noticing lately that more and more of my favourite bloggers are dealing with bizarre, angry commenters, weird email stalkers, and brazen plagiarizers. And the worst of the lot?
Bloggers who pen entire POSTS to get out what they couldn’t manage to convey in a hateful comment elsewhere.
It boggles the mind, really.
Not the notion that people can be odd, obsessive freaks — I learn that lesson each day on my commute — but rather that anyone would take the time and effort to make people they’ve never met feel vulnerable and attacked.
It’s silencing people who have excellent voices, excellent hearts, and excellent minds.
Making them question their vocation as full-time writers, even, completely away from their writing on the web.
And it’s wrong.
I’ve had my share of weird, presumptuous correspondents — some even abusive — and a few fairly shocking comments at my blog, but I guess I’m not much of a lightning rod.
No sex, no parenting, no religion, no politics.
Basically, this is a website about my need for more caffeine and my desire to live amongst penguins. Perhaps an entry or two about lip gloss?
But my friends — people who write brilliant and wise things on subjects that actually matter — are having to make major decisions about the safety of their families in response to those who feel that intimidation and abuse are their anonymous (or not-so-anonymous) rights on the Web.
Now, I’m not naive enough to think that anyone will ever wrangle all the assholes into submission and calm the Internet into a state of semi-grace. It’s a sad fact that there are too damn many jerks pounding away at their keyboards, taking sick delight in seizing power from people who actually have something to lose.
They’re the ones making inflammatory and threatening comments, trying to create conflict where none is necessary. They’re the ones who take other peoples’ pictures and writing and pass them off as their own. They’re the ones who believe that debate is a bloodsport, whether it be political, social or anything in between.
They’re the ones who infect peoples’ screens with hate. They’re the ones who use their OWN blogs to comment on how other people live/work/write/exist… and then send their anger zinging towards their targets with trackbacks.
It’s censorship via intimidation, and a sad, sad end to too many positive forms of expression.
So.
Here’s my set of thoughts — just in case you’ve happened by here and you might be one of these people OR you’ve ever considered being one of these people OR you’ve got these people lingering around your web site or your life — on how to not be a troll, how to not get bitten by trolls (as much you can avoid it), and how to make your website, well… unfriendly to the unfriendly.
I’m certainly not saying I’m an expert — on ANYTHING — but I believe these things with absolute conviction.
Take it with a grain of salt and a scotch bonnet pepper.
If you are a troll — OR if you’re about to get angry on someone else’s web site:
- The existence of content you disagree with on the web is not an invitation to attack.
- The existence of an email address is not an indication that someone is “asking for it.”
- Unless they mention you, they are NOT SPEAKING DIRECTLY TO YOU. They don’t know about that thing that happened with your mom, or that you work at Wal-Mart. Take it easy, tiger.
- Contacting someone outside of the normal bounds of their web site is flat-out unacceptable, unless you’re been invited to do so. Their relative attractiveness is not an excuse.
- If they don’t contact you back, DON’T CONTACT THEM AGAIN. Don’t assume the email got lost in the mail. Let it go.
- If they ask you not to contact them, DON’T CONTACT THEM AGAIN. They said NO.
- If you are offended by someone’s blog entry or content and they make you genuinely angry to the point where you can only speak abusively, your comment is going to be worthless anyway. They (and their readers) are not going to change because you rant at them.
- The only hope you have of convincing someone to agree with your point is to offer a non-threatening, well-reasoned response.
- Non-threatening, well-reasoned responses NEVER include the following words or phrases: “I hope you die”; “Your mother must not have breastfed you”; “You are going to ruin your children”; “You are a major prick”; “I want to kill you”; and “I know where you live.”
- Sometimes NO response is your best bet.
- “Teaching someone a lesson” is the weakest excuse for assholism on the Web.
- Being respectful to others is not “fawning” or “blowing smoke up their ass.” It’s common decency.
- Check out the tone and the readership of the site you’re at. If no one else is screaming f-words and threatening babies, it’s likely that no one will appreciate that about your comment. If they are, however, go nuts.
- If your comment gets deleted, that is a major red flag. Posting, “Hey, did you delete my comment?” or “Why did you delete my comment?” is basically just begging to get banned. Yes, they deleted it. You’re a troll. Live with yourself. And if you’re not, THEY STILL DELETED IT AND YOU CAN’T GET IT BACK.
- If you can’t be at a web site without getting angry, PRESS THE BACK BUTTON.
- If you can’t be at a web site without wanting to threaten someone, PRESS THE BACK BUTTON.
- If you have been told you are no longer welcome at a web site, PRESS THE BACK BUTTON.
- If the police have taken away your computer, GO LIE DOWN. SHHHH.
If you see a troll at someone else’s website:
- Your first instinct may be to defend the web site owner from the troll. But unless they have addressed the troll and encouraged you to do the same, ignore the troll. Trolls like attention. They like conversation. Ignoring them is like cutting off their air supply.
- Do not engage in a debate with said troll if the web site owner asks you to stop. It’s like arguing with someone’s spouse on their behalf, except they’re already having make-up sex and now you’re just killing the mood.
- Do not go to the troll’s website and troll them. They will only torture you (or the owner of the web site at which you discovered them) all the more in return.
- Trolls that start out funny can get scary really fast. Keep that in mind before you wave your arms to get their attention.
- All the arguments in the world will not convince a true troll. Assume all trolls are true trolls.
- If the owner of the web site asks you to speak up on their behalf in their comments, stay reasonable, don’t threaten, and don’t match the troll’s tone. Show them that such behaviour is foreign and unwelcome at the site in question. But maybe just stick with not doing it, regardless. Encourage the site owner not to do it, too, if at all possible. You’re not going to win.
- DO NOT WRITE AN ENTRY ABOUT THE TROLL OR THEIR WEB SITE ON YOUR BLOG. You’ve given the troll their DREAM post at that point, AND you’re pouring gasoline on the fire. Or on the troll. Wait, that might be fun.
- If you see a discussion heading towards troll territory — and it can happen with perfectly decent people who get carried away — just don’t engage in it. Yes, you can say whatever you want. But no, it’s not always the right time.
If you have trolls, or fear trolls:
- I know it seems like a leap at times, but try not to write abusive things about other people, especially other people with internet access. Why be an asshole? Being an asshole on a micro level can get macro on you pretty damn fast.
- Besides — linking to people after writing abusive things about them? Makes you a troll. See above.
- A well-reasoned critique on someone else’s views is a different thing, but if they’re a nutbar? They’re going to go nutbar on you. Don’t be shocked.
- If someone makes a trollish comment, stop for a second before you respond. Did they mean to troll? Or are they confused? Some people are unable to articulate their meaning in appropriate ways, and sometimes it takes stepping back from the situation to realize that you’re dealing with overpunctuation, not rabid anger.
- Don’t put up your email address if you don’t want emails. Or at the very least, put up a Gmail address you can easily abandon — don’t send all your site mail to your main mailbox on the web.
- Don’t be afraid to delete comments or ban IP addresses. But don’t make a giant deal of it, either. Simply state in your comment policy that you will eliminate abusive commenters, and that you’ll do it at your discretion. It’s your site. It’s up to you.
- If you love arguments in your comments and you encourage people to abuse one another — or you enjoy abusing others — you’ll look silly complaining when it gets out of hand. Don’t start what you are unprepared to finish.
- Don’t tell your troll that you’re going to contact their workplace because you’ve got their IP. Want to see someone REALLY go bananas? Threaten their livelihood.
- Don’t write posts about specifically abusive commenters — again, that’s the attention they wanted.
- If you can’t get any perspective on the comments people are leaving — if you take things too personally and freak out — it’s time to either take a break, or get someone ELSE to moderate your comments for you. Or take off comments. That’s not the end of the world, either.
At the end of the day, everyone will lose their temper now and again, and write something that embarrasses them. It’s just a matter of not making it a lifestyle choice.
Yeah, you have to be tough to stick around the web for long, but sometimes that’s too much to ask — especially of people with families. Sometimes readers go too far. Most of the time, there’s no excuse.
If you’ve been an asshole, apologize, and let it go. If the person ignores you, you did your part. You can’t make them love you, as Bonnie Raitt says.
And please — for the love of all that is good and webby — remember that this is a big scary world full of horrible things.
Try not to be another scary or horrible thing.
Period.
Edit: This post is a zillion years old, guys. Check out the rest of the blog if you like. Thanks for coming by. And if your comment didn’t post (they’re now closed), you probably included some sort of profanity or sexual reference that didn’t make friends with Akismet. Or was just kind of pointlessly annoying and off-topic. Either way. :)
December 13th, 2006 at 2:40 pm
Well said.
December 13th, 2006 at 2:42 pm
You are consistently my internet hero Meg! Very well said.
I too am sad about the recent attacks. One of my saving graces from the hectic house I run are the blogs I visit daily. The fact that I have access to excellent new writing daily is a blessing. I hate that one or two trolls can take that away from me. It makes me want to throw rocks.
December 13th, 2006 at 3:15 pm
well said, meg.
you da WO-MAN!
December 13th, 2006 at 3:51 pm
Perfectly said, Meg. I hope it gets circulated.
December 13th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
This should be standard reading for bloggers and blog readers everywhere.
December 13th, 2006 at 5:19 pm
Nice post. You’re so good.
December 13th, 2006 at 5:24 pm
You’re right, you’re right, you’re right.
I have learned to button it when it comes to trolls. They are idjits and usually write like idjits and are not worth engaging.
I just throw up my hands every time someone writes a post complaining about these troll sites and PROVIDES A LINK TO THEM. Wrong move. Trolls thrive on attention and die without it.
And then there are people who aren’t as bad as trolls, but who still annoy me when they proudly point out how they used to read someone’s blog but don’t anymore because “they have sold out,” or “they aren’t as good as they used to be.” I hear this about Dooce all the time. It is almost always based on jealousy.
December 13th, 2006 at 5:35 pm
Meg, it’s impossible to disagree with you, because you are totally right. Also, I’m not clued in to the actual events that inspired this entry. Maybe more information would be helpful to me, but I understand if you feel like holding back.
When I first started blogging three years ago, I was crushed by the cruelty that I encountered on the Internet. If you look at my current blog, it looks as if I’ve only been blogging for about eight months. That’s because my blog has been through about twenty iterations.
I’ve been in blog wars. I’ve had trolls. I’ve been a troll.
It’s all pretty ugly.
I think you’re right to keep your chin up and try to do the right thing, rather than give in to instinct.
December 13th, 2006 at 5:39 pm
Hi Paula!
My blog has been pretty much troll-free — like I said, there’s not much to troll here, unless they wanted to mock me for being clumsy or boring or yammery… but I beat them to it every damn time.
No, the meanness is going down at other blogs — blogs authored by people I respect tremendously. This entry was in support of them, really.
My difficult people email me directly, and I mostly ignore them:). So it’s all good. I’ve never been in a blog war.
December 13th, 2006 at 6:56 pm
I agree with almost everything you say, with one comment. You say “the existence of content you disagree with on the web is not an invitation to attack”.
This has been my experience on more than one occasion:
Somebody expresses an opinion on a weblog with comments enabled. I express my disagreement with that opinion, in insult-free, dispassionate prose in the comments. They get upset.
When this sort of thing occurs, I generally stop reading their blog. One of the main reasons I read blogs is to engage in debate. If I’m not welcome to do that, I’ll go elsewhere.
Here’s the difficulty, as far as I can figure: bloggers expect different things from their comment boxes. Some only want positive affirmation, others want to encourage discussion, others want debate, and so forth. Unfortunately, the comment box looks the same on everybody’s blog, regardless of the kind of comments they want.
To return to your quote, I wish the following were true:
“The existence of content you disagree with on the web and a comments form is an invitation to express that disagreement.”
Unfortunately, it’s only sometimes true, and it’s still pretty tricky to figure out when I’m invited to disagree, and when I’m not.
December 13th, 2006 at 7:51 pm
I totally agree with you, and that’s why “attack” was the key word there — I think you can invite disagreement and debate without encouraging abuse and destructiveness. And I think people SHOULD be open to debate and disagreement.
But I think there is an entire world between that kind of exchange of ideas — even negative ones — and the hateful crap that erupts nearly instantaneously in some blogging environments.
I do think trolls can be blog hosts as easily as blog visitors. When someone goes bananas after a respectful comment, that’s just as much trolling to me as anything else. There’s no need to attack someone who hasn’t attacked you, whether you’re on your turf or not.
If you don’t want feedback and you only want affirmations, make that clear, or don’t go insane if you don’t get what you want.
December 13th, 2006 at 8:26 pm
I heart you Meg.
December 13th, 2006 at 9:43 pm
“Unless they mention you, they are NOT SPEAKING DIRECTLY TO YOU…”
Ah, yes. But unfortunately many of us suffer from blog-paranoia, or bloganoia–myself included (at the tippity-top of the list). ;)
Why am I always the dissenting voice? hehe
I think you did a most excellent job, perfectly put…except that when I am inflamed about something someone has written, I do tend to write about it on my own, if only to vent my spleen. Typically, I do it without pointing a specific finger, but still.
I’ll agree with you on the rest of it, though. :D
December 13th, 2006 at 9:47 pm
You’re not the dissenting voice. And you know you’ve written things to vent your spleen, and I was like IS THAT ABOUT ME? And that always leads to funny emails. And more paranoia.
You’re all good, honey. Thanks for the affirmation;).
December 13th, 2006 at 11:37 pm
In light of Meg’s last comment and the subject matter of this post, I wish to apologize for my email to you a couple of days ago. I did not mean to intrude on your personal space or life, I thought I was just making a funny comment about seeing someone who looked like you.
Rest assured I have no interest in stalking you or bothering you or intruding on your personal space or life. That was never my intention.
I would never wish to cause anyone discomfort, so again, I apologize. Your personal security is much more important than my idle surfing habits.
December 13th, 2006 at 11:42 pm
No, Shane, you’re fine. That was funny. I was speaking of other people in this post, never fear.
December 14th, 2006 at 2:19 am
No wonder that I’m being ignored. Waaaa waaa. :-(
December 14th, 2006 at 6:36 am
This was excellent.
While I know you were talking about the more vicious personal attacks that happen it also does apply even to simple non troll commenting at times.
We write something and receive a comment. The comment may be made in jest but since we don’t know or can’t see the commenter we never really know their intentions.
So, for example, if something you said made me laugh and I commented “LOL, great post.”, you may see it as a mean comment on your serious post even though it was not intended that way..
Anyways, I really did like your post. Thanks for writing it..
December 14th, 2006 at 7:02 am
Although this is a superbly well-written post, when I read posts about this subject, I always feel like my little slice of the blogosphere must be like Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood in comparison… because on the sites I visit, I rarely read anything harmful or negative.
December 14th, 2006 at 8:52 am
assholism. YES.
(my new favourite word)
December 14th, 2006 at 9:30 am
Marilyn, it doesn’t really happen here, but many of my blogging friends have had horrible trolls. I don’t get why the jerks become so obsessed with these people, but it can really take the joy out of the experience for them.
December 14th, 2006 at 9:45 am
“DO NOT WRITE AN ENTRY ABOUT THE TROLL OR THEIR WEB SITE ON YOUR BLOG. You’ve given the troll their DREAM post at that point, AND you’re pouring gasoline on the fire. Or on the troll. Wait, that might be fun.”
Well, I did do almost that very thing, but only because the owner of the site where I was “attacked” by someone who stole my identity would/did not answer my email reqesting that something be done about it. I only wanted the forged commented deleted, because frankly, I was really embarrassed by what he wrote. At first, I just hid my blogger profile, but that seemed wrong, since anywhere else I want that info to be available… so– I unhid it, and then I posted a very sarcastic response. But no links to trolls, only one to the site where it happened. They probably haven’t even noticed.
And, to be honest, writing that thing really was fun.
December 14th, 2006 at 9:47 am
sheesh! I meant “requesting”
And now on that site, I just comment more anonymously.
December 14th, 2006 at 9:53 am
I know lots of people go on and do that anyway. I’ve just seen it backfire miserably in the corner of the blogosphere where I run about. I think the political blogging world plays it a bit harder, and takes it a little less personally.
December 14th, 2006 at 10:04 am
I get so little traffic, that I’m not really worried about it backfiring, and if I did get a troll as a result (unlikely), I would just delete the comment.
But, I wanted there to be something on the record… saying that I am NOT who was represented in that forged comment, since I couldn’t seem to get it taken down.
Anyway, this was a great post, Meg, and ultimately linkable… by those who care enough to write about these things.
Some of the political blogs ARE worse than others. From my perspective, usually the large ones with lots of traffic and commenters and contributors, that have a bit of a cult-like atmosphere. There are others, though, that feature good writing and reasoning, and make it worth the time to read them.
December 14th, 2006 at 10:40 am
Thanks, Karen. :-)
Glad to have you here, btw.
December 14th, 2006 at 6:38 pm
Amen to this post, Meg. I think it should nbe posted on every blog and message board across cyber-world.
December 15th, 2006 at 9:55 am
My first time here, and I have to say a big AMEN! I haven’t had trolls, but friends of mine have. And favourite blogs of mine are being shut down because of them. Sigh.
February 9th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Love it! Very cleverly written with just enough sass to maintain my attention. Your advice is well thought out and much appreciated.
February 9th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Oh my, this is awesome!
February 27th, 2008 at 11:03 am
Let’s see, I dugg it, stumbled it, mahalo’d it, twittered it and added it to made it delicious. All that’s left is to put a period at the end of this comment.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:04 am
And now I wish I had read my comment at least one time before hitting return, to fix the horrid grammar. :)
February 27th, 2008 at 11:21 am
boy do i know someone who needs to read this. last year i was slandered online to the point where i still have to watch what i say, to the point i discussed getting a writ against them, they not only used both my husbands and my names but linked back to other BEYOND attacking posts. this person STILL has idiots stalk my blog. some people NEVER learn.
i also blocked the IP address of one dude who was calling me all sorts of names for having some wrong info on a post.. i corrected it i admitted i was wrong and he was STILL attacking me.
DUGG!
February 27th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Meg, you are the awesomest.
February 27th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
This post rocks…I think this should be a sticky post on every blogging site out there. Must read before blogging. Check here.
February 27th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
It makes me wonder sometimes, do trolls even know they’re trolls or are many of them just lacking in judgment, social skills or maybe sanity?
There’s probably no way we’ll ever know the answer to that question. But we do know you’re a gem, Meg. And a gem who gives good eyeliner advice to boot.
February 27th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Meg - This is the most well-written post about blogging trolls that I have ever read. Thank you for your insight.
February 27th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
This is fantastic, Meg.
February 27th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
A nice set of guidelines, for sure, but what now?
The issue is not people who might read your guidelines and decide to abide by them, because most people already do.
Alas, not all. Their behaviour is both summarized and sometimes explained by John Gabriel’s famous theory (caution, salty language) about anonymity on the Internet.
More pointedly, whaddyagonnadoaboutit? The problem isn’t that the assholians of the web are in need of re-education: almost all of them are either fully aware of their problem (”I like my disease”) or in complete denial. In either case, few are amenable to change, at least by any legal means I can conceive of.
I would say simply this: you cannot write stuff in public without the possibility of a response. That ain’t new. If you attach your name to it, you may well attract responses. If you have an open comment form, you’re open to random vitriol.
Bemoaning this seems to be like cursing gravity: it’s not negotiable. It’s not even open to legislation, much.
For those who find this unacceptable, all I can say is: don’t blog. Blog anonymously. Don’t put your email address online. Moderate your comments. Don’t have comments. Only post on Facebook, where you can control who your friends and readers are. Don’t assume the world can work the way you want it to: that’s for the afterlife, and only if you’re good.
In essence, you can get offensive comments anywhere you get spam. If that’s going to be a problem, you’ll need to take countermeasures.
I know of what I speak: I would like all electronic communications to be based on mutual respect and the assumption that the sender and receiver will work in good faith for a high signal, low noise ratio. And yet 90+% of the email delivery attempts that arrive at my employer’s outer-edge servers are spam.
Ryan Cousineau, blogging regularly at wiredcola.com. Contact information available on request.
February 28th, 2008 at 3:19 am
Meg - this post just absolutely rocks! I’ve never seen a post written about this kind of stuff in such a manner as you did. Your ‘lessons’ should be a must-read for everyone.
I’ve seen some rather nasty things lately on a variety of posts, attacks, flames, blog wars - and they’re not fun at all. Sickening is more like it.
February 28th, 2008 at 5:37 am
Well said! I was actually just thinking about this topic myself. Very well put.
February 28th, 2008 at 6:29 am
Just a note — comments without actual email addresses don’t get posted. Stand behind what you say.:)
And for the record — the whole point of this is for people to keep going and move on past the idiots, not to cry and shut everything down. That’s what I was tired of seeing.
The internet will be what the internet will be. You can only choose your own reaction. But I’m happy to encourage people to shake off the losers and keep being themselves.
February 28th, 2008 at 8:40 am
Nice post - still funny and relevant a year later. :)
February 28th, 2008 at 8:59 am
No offense Meg, but this is the most pompous thing I’ve read on the internet. Ever.
To assume that people care enough about your thoughts that you write on a blog, to stalk or hurt you? Are you that full of yourself?
This is the internet, no one cares, and if they do, it’s because they agree with you.
Get over yourself.
As long as there is anonymity on the internet, there will be people to capitalize on it to better their own egos. Don’t think you or anyone else is special because you’re at the brunt of it.
February 28th, 2008 at 9:00 am
Thank God, I had to deal with this one person who even started a blog just about me. Way to go Meg!
February 28th, 2008 at 9:06 am
i post blogs that speak the truth, but tap extremely emotional topics, i get a lot of crazies, with nasty comments, your troll post was humorous and scary, for it pegs trolls to the needle.
February 28th, 2008 at 9:07 am
Meg,
It works both ways. Even the ones with blogs/websites are culprits sometimes.
Try this: http://www.whenwillamywinehousedie.com/
Meg, what do you say about sites like the above?
Even well-known bloggers just go out and post videos about some kid making a fool of himself and don’t even stop to think about how badly they could hurt these people.
It’s good you’ve brought this up. Thanks.
February 28th, 2008 at 10:27 am
I would like to apologize for my comments on the web. I’m sorry. Sincerely.
I was an asshole. And I still am. But I will try to pay attention and improve my discourse from now on.
Thank you,
Best Regards
February 28th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Yep! And FWIW in my many forums (fora?) I’ve seen a few “trolls”. I’ve reacted as an asshole a few times:
I have fat fingers, and can feel my eyeballs bulging and my mind screaming NO!!! for an eternal millisecond as the forefinger flies irrevocably toward the enter key.
But, I’m slowly learning patience. Thanks for the reminder.
February 28th, 2008 at 10:37 am
I totally appreciate all the thoughts here. I will say this post was written in response to things going on in OTHER peoples’ lives, in support of them. Crazy shit happens on the internets, true story.
Also — this was more than a year ago. I think this whole thing would sound a little different if I wrote it now. Or a lot.
February 28th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Meg,
I knew sooner or later you would write an entire post against me…
:-)
February 28th, 2008 at 11:00 am
I applaud your idealism, but as Ryan Cousineau says above, the internet is the ultimate hostile environment. Essentially there are conditions of zero trust and pretty much zero consequences for being a prick.
Besides, trolling somewhat satisfying.
A little assholism, now and then, is valued by the wisest men.
February 28th, 2008 at 11:08 am
I really cant believe some people on the internet… Im in a band, and here’s an email exchange I had with a guy just last night:
—————————
Clay Kohut to Carlotta:
You guys aren’t very good. And your lead singer creeps me out.
Love,
Clay
————————-
Carlotta to Clay:
all good man.
Love Always,
Carlotta
————————
Clay Kohut to Carlotta:
No, that’s the thing. All is not good. All is bad. You should consider quitting.
You guys make me want to blow my brains out.
———————–
Carlotta to Clay:
Consider it considered. Hopefully you can recover from the shitiness that our music put you through, and hopefully your day wont get any worse than the craptacular sounds of Carlotta :)
Love,
Carlotta
————————
Clay to Carlotta:
I am afraid that your lead singer might have schizophrenia; he seems to believe he’s the guy from Maroon 5.
I heard it’s cool when musicians kill themselves. Kurt Cobain did it, after all.
Why not follow suit?
———————
Carlotta to Clay:
Our music seems to inspire brains being blown out, so maybe we will go Kurt Cobain on our asses… then again, with no fingerprints on the shotgun, maybe Kurt didn’t do it after all.
End of email transactions
—————————————-
It just AMAZES me how rude people can be… some people just feed off of pissing other people off. Best way to deal with it is to not get angry back. Anyways, if anybody likes muse, queen, franz ferdinand, or the cold war kids and still wants to check out our music after that exchange (regardless of what Mr. Kohut may think of us), go to http://www.CarlottaTheBand.com
February 28th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Brilliant.
February 28th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Great article! Thank you for sharing. Trolls don’t deserve oxygen. If only there were an easy way to cut off their supply. (I’ll get back to you on that)
Thanks :)
February 28th, 2008 at 11:29 am
commenting here on my iPhone in Vegas…
LOOOOVE your writing Meg! brilliant style! living amongst penguins?? soooo funny!
I am now definitely a regular reader ;)
February 28th, 2008 at 11:51 am
What a well written and cleverly thought out post - its a shame that some won’t “get” it
kudos to you
kudos to you
February 28th, 2008 at 11:52 am
I think this was put best in an XKCD comic the other day. Some people just can’t leave well enough alone…
http://www.xkcd.com/386/
February 28th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Thats really interesting post!
I understood one thing, thanks, not to give oxygen to trolls , nicely written
February 28th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
An excellent article! Thank you for saying what many of us are thinking, and saying it better than we would have.