Haters

Were you aware that there are people out there who spend copious amounts of time trying to drag other people down?

Oh yes, this happens in real life, but it also happens online.

And this baffles me.

I have read myself posts on message boards saying "oh, this person's blog is awful for reason A,B, or C, you all should hate it too"

And people will spend all kinds of time going to that blog, leaving negative comments, telling everyone how ridiculous that person is, etc.

Some people take it even farther. Sometimes, there are blogs or websites set up to post negative information about another blog or website.

And I'm not talking about company sites, news sites, etc. Sites where there are concrete facts available to credit or discredit someone's statements.

I'm talking 90% he-said-she-said, opinions flying, very little (if any) credible information.

No, this isn't happening to me. But thanks for thinking I'm popular enough to draw such attention, LOL.

But it has happened, and does happen.

And I don't understand it. For several reasons.

Firstly, in every case that I've seen personally, the blogs being criticized also participate in programs that pay them by the view. Which means that every time you go to their site to read stuff you don't wanna read, every time you send another person there to criticize what you don't like... you're paying them.

Don't you understand that? In fact, in one of the cases where I saw it posted on a message board, I ended up liking the blog, and was a regular reader for about a year. I'm sure I wasn't the only one. So by sending me there, you not only gave her a one time hit, you gave her regular hits for about a year.

Good job. You just gave free advertisement to the person you're trying to tear down, and are essentially responsible for supporting them. Brilliant.

Secondly, I don't understand people who have large amounts of time to dedicate to negatively attacking another individual, who they most likely have never met in person.

I, personally, just don't have that kind of time on my hands. Plus, I'd rather dedicate my time to following, reading, and responding to something that I enjoy, not something that I have such strong negative feelings about that I feel the need to react harshly.

I just can't fathom spending the time & energy that some people do into attacking someone else on a personal level. I mean, just from a selfish level, doing so means that you are choosing to immerse yourself in negative emotion on a regular basis.

I just don't understand why someone would do that.

If I don't like a blog or website - either because it just doesn't click with me, or because I actually am opposed to something they are saying or doing* - I don't go there anymore.

It's a wonderful tool, that button on your mouse. Click away from the site you don't like!

Not only does it keep you from continually placing yourself in a position of conflict, it also decreases their views, decreasing whatever revenue they might get from hits.

Plus, you aren't bringing anyone else down with your actions!

It's a win-win-win situation!

This post doesn't really have a point. It's just something that I've come across several times over the past few years, and something that baffles me every. single. time.

I just don't understand it at all.

Thanks for checking in!

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* this is not to say that I don't read blogs of people who disagree with me. In fact, some of my favorite blogs thru the years have been written by bloggers who have viewpoints vastly different from my own. And when they handle themselves with grace & tact, it can be a beautiful thing to open yourself to listening to people who think differently than you

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this post has been stewing around in my brain for a while, but really leapt to the forefront when reading this post