Dear Carolyn,
I’m a friendly guy and enjoy striking up online conversations with fellow truckers in various forums and groups. However, I’m getting tired of the trolls and their nasty, negative and offensive comments. I feel like I should either find other groups to hang out in or call out the bullies.
What do you think? You seem like a level-headed gal. I’ve seen you get your share of nasty comments. How do you handle the hate?
Rhett
Dear Rhett,
Trolls are the bane of the Internet and there’s really no way to stomp them out except by either complaining to the forum moderator or ignoring their comments. One suggestion is to lodge a complaint with the site’s moderator. If you are annoyed/offended, others are too. Most administrators despise trolls and will block them at once. However, as you know, they pop up under other names and continue their destructive commenting. I make it a point to not take negative comments too personally and have always believed the best policy is to ignore bullies. When you deprive them of the reaction they crave, they often take their sticks and stones elsewhere. Stay positive in your own posts and follow commenters who do the same.
Is it easy to let those creeps get away with their hateful posts? Nope. But it’s better than letting it eat you up.