It was a story that had been in my blog or many months before it somehow got their attention. Within hours, I received a string of negative comments, many of which were bashful in nature with curse words and so forth.

I antognized over whether or not to publish them because I do believe in the power of free speech; however, like Michael Martine told Wendi (see above), these commentators are trolls who do nothing but routinely bash others for whatever reasons. To publish their comments would be like letting a killer in your house. Would you do that? NEVER! Why would you then let them have free rein in your blog, which I consider to be your home of sorts?

I’ve never bashed anyone in the blogosphere. I might have left comments disagreeing about something but I have always written those in diplomatic, respectful ways. There are ways of disagreeing and I even encourage that but they need to be done respectfully.

The best course of action when you’re attacked? Delete them. Spam them out of existence if you have to and move on. No need to prove yourself to anyone else. You know what the truth is. These people are nothing but trolls who want some attention for themselves. Don’t give them the time of the day because they do nothing but waste your energy.

That’s my take. We all have been attacked in some way, form or shape. How we deal with it is largely up to us. BTW, after deleting comment after comment relating to my pilot story, within 3 or 4 days the attacks stopped. That’s because I wasn’t feeding any energy to it. Ignoring them did the trick.

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Hi Kathy – Hmmmm. I never thought of that. A five figure Alexa rating will bring out the bashers? Makes sense, but like you said, our fan base by that time is loyal and knows to ignore the incident.

So, if you break into the 5 figure range in Alexa – expect to be bashed by some IDIOT who wants to increase his/her traffic.

The thing that I LOVE about blogging is that by the time you achieve that feat, you’ve got a devoted fan base that sees the attack for what it is.

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You handled the whole bashing thing well. I think most of us were more blown away than anything else. Kind of one of those, “No she di ‘nt” kind of reactions. Eric.

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Hi Kelvin – Yes, bashers are often just looking to stir the pot. As you said, if we have pity for them, the anger vanishes.

Hi Catherine – I remember the guy who was bashing blogs. Then he wanted you to take over his blog. Go figure.

Hi Sara – I’ve seen that happen when guest writers post on A list blogs. It’s like they’re a target. It sure puts the author in a precarious position.

Hi Dot – That’s a great technique to use. Ask more questions and thank them for their input.

Hi Mike – That’s a short and sweet comment policy that says it all. Your comment was a good reminder for me to consider adding one here. I may be borrowing part of your wording. Thank you.

Hi Jennifer – You are so sweet. And as you know, I adore all of my loyal visitors. You’re right, the truth does speak for itself, and as bloggers we need to remember that when someone tries to discredit us.

Hi Jannie – Now I can see why your name if Jannie “Funster”. Great line.