The Trolls Are Out of Control

2 Comments

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• Tony Wu | July 19, 2012 1:25 AMReply

  Wow. I honestly thought the comments you posted were tame. Not that they weren't wrong and offensive, but is anybody who has read Internet comments for more than a couple weeks really surprised? Are you? What really bothers me about this post is that it seems as if the comments "got to" to writer, that it became such a big deal that her boss had to step in, and something motivated you to make this post here calling out the trolls.
  
  I really, honestly have this idealized image of bloggers and writers and whatnot, with a hide of steel where this stuff just rolls off your backs. If comments like the above upset you, I can't imagine what the hundreds of even worse comments I've read on others sites had to affect the writers there. Most of them are so horrible that the thought that they actually upset the writers is in itself upsetting. I'll have to be more vigilant in calling out trolling in future comments sections.

• Friend of Journos | July 25, 2012 6:20 PM

  Most professions do not expose their work to anything close to the kind of public scrutiny online journalists do -- and mostly because commenters are such a vicious bunch. Most writers do develop a tough hide, or decide to ignore them altogether, but because toughness is not a necessary trait for a great writer or journalist, you also get people who take comments very personally. That's the most self-apparent response to a personal attack, right?