I don’t know about you but I have been seeing more and more heated ‘discussions’ I call them by that term loosely lol on forums and writers sites.
Not too long ago I heard about a couple of authors who were circled and consumed by a shoal of piranha’s in a writing forum, just for daring to post a book blub. Every forum has etiquette, which I understand. But a full out, verbal tearing at the flesh until the author is a gibbering wreck, seems a bit harsh!
A lot of snarkyness,( if that is a word lol,) will come from competitors. But recently it’s looking like random snarking is becoming more and more apparent. Why do some forums wish to draw blood on a site that should be dedicated to professional advancement? What makes a group of like-minded people band together and turn into a flesh munching, confidence shattering shoal of snarkiness?
Who feels that sometimes they need to tread as if their paths are made of egg shells? Are you worried about weaving discontent on forums? Do you agree that sometimes it’s best to bite the bullet and walk away from the comments?
I personally think that mostly it’s better to retain your dignity and professionalism by walking away, but other times..no? Sometimes the worm needs to turn. But there are right ways and wrong ways.
Remember the saying, give enough rope and they’ll hang themselves, remember that when you are battling a narky snark!
We can only get our point across on the internet by writing. So our words need to be picked carefully as they build and protect our reputation. It’s hard restraining our fingers when they want to type every swear word that’s in the human vocabulary. But it’s at that moment you need to first ask yourself, who will those sort of words most wound? You or the piranha’s?
So, who has battled with a piranha and won? Who has been ripped within an inch if their life because they happened to stumble on a basking shoal of them?
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I guess I've been lucky. This has never happened to me. But, if it should, I'd wrap my cloak of dignity around my shoulders and walk away.Why put yourself down to their level? Besides, lol, I dislike confrontations.
ReplyDeleteI try not to engage in a battle of wits against an unarmed opponent, especially once it comes down to a personal level, and not the rational discussion stage. There's nothing to be gained by exchanging nasty epitaphs. Better to walk away, although that's easier said than done.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find to be more upsetting is when you know a lot of people agree with you but won't back you up for whatever reason. Adults can disagree peacefully - children make it personal.
Nice blog, Mags!
I recently stumbled into infested waters. I am new to this sort of thing and was quite shaken by this as they did not know me. I quietly tried to retire away and study the situation but the personal attack became very bloody, indeed I felt torn and exposed so I relied on my personal self not my savvy authorial experience, which I did not possess. I'm an old woman and everyday I rely on my past for my future. I reminded them that " Nothing goes over the devil's back that doesn't come right back under His belly" in other words, we are all susceptible and our actions are, watched by higher powers
ReplyDeleteYou will receive what you give, u know this is true by my own observations in life. Linda Hays-Gibbs, "My Angel, My Light As Darkness Falls" www.eternal press..biz amazon.com
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I agree with you Linda and Julie. Its really horrible to stumble on these shoals when your unarmed and unprepared!I'm glad you have bi-pased them Lorrie.
ReplyDeleteA great blog.
ReplyDeleteI have never been on the receiving end of a snark attack but I have seen sites where that seems to be the "in thing" to do. One such forum proclaimed all romance novels as trash and the authors of them uneducated and possessing low IQs. I can see where one might want to jump into the fray to defend but I think these forums are best left without a word. To my mind, they are written solely to infuriate and create drama. It's like the Jerry Springer of auhtor forums. And while that may attract attention from certain people, I think it rude, unprofessional and counter productive.
What comes around, goes around. Would you buy a book written by someone who delighted in ripping a fellow author apart, even if it wasn't you who fell victim to their attack? Probably not. Eventually, their sales will suffer and their mean spirited behavior will become known to everyone. Publishing is a small, competative arena. Reputation will spread and snarky authors will be passed over for those who deserve the attention.
I think a lot of authors tend to walk away from the snarky piranha's, sarah.
ReplyDelete"Never argue with an idiot, they'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience."
ReplyDeleteSarah's right people like this will not get far, and if they do won't stay there for long. If it happens to me (and it has) I'm a pretty good at debt and will point out quite calmly why they are idiots and then walk away... after adding there names to my "never work with list" lol
*debate... lol don't worry I'm not proof reading today honest hahaha
DeleteGood tactics lily :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree with walking away. I've twice made the mistake of replying to one when I shouldn't have...one post each. Unfortunately, when others jumped to my defense, they became the next targets. These snarky people just want attention so I say don't give it to them. Learn from my mistakes and just go do something positive for yourself instead of replying.
ReplyDeleteMargaret,
ReplyDeleteI, too, recently, have fallen into snarky piranha's waters (over a particularly cruel review that was placed on the wrong, much older, version of the book it was trashing) and learned a valuable lesson...you can't reason with them as a normal compassionate human being. I always thought that if I explained things rationally, was nice, they'd understand and stop attacking...oops, no way. The blood flowed even more then. They only wanted a Piñata to beat on. The problem is that whether you comment back or not, their awful remarks remain on the site forever and persuade others not to read your books. It's sad. I wish I had an answer but as Kim said..."Learn from my mistakes and just go do something positive for yourself instead of replying." I'm going to do that from now on. Grin. Kathryn Meyer Griffith
I once got into an odd altercation with another student in an online course. We were critiquing each other's stories as part of the class and this woman got all bent out of shape because when I sent my critique through email, the formatting got messed up and she couldn't read it. So, instead of asking me to send it again she started this tirade that two other class members jumped on. It was like a lynch mob. I asked them to knock it off and the two other women did. But the original woman started emailing me at home, berating me for being a poor writer who submitted things containing grammatical errors and typos.
ReplyDeleteFunny thing was she was a good writer and I had very little negative to say. I told her enough was enough and she got even more agitated. The teacher didn't intervene, which pissed me off as well (I emailed her off list but she didn't respond). I just blocked this woman's emails and stopped critiquing everyone that had complained.
I think there was some serious psychological problem operational and was glad this was an online class and she lived nowhere near me.