Monday, August 15, 2016

Tips for Tromping Trolls on Social Media

by Molly Jo Realy @RealMoJo68

Social media is one of those love-hate relationships. There’s a lot of good buzz it can create, but there’s also a bitter aftertaste if a troll decides to attack your territory.

It’s important to understand the difference between trolls and someone who just doesn’t like you. You have every right to delete inflammatory comments and keep peace on your pages, but be careful to not manipulate the system so you’re only seeing the sunny side of things. If a person voices their dislike, let them know it’s okay and different people have different views.

When those views, comments, reviews, and posts turn into hurt and hate, it’s time to tromp that troll!

What’s a troll? Well, they’re not those cute little dolls from the 80s. No, the trolls I’m talking about are people who actively seek out posts with the intent of posting, well, less than sweet comments. They start arguments, throw insults, and pretty much like to turn things sideways.

One of the ways you can conquer these little nuisances is to have a comment filter on your blog settings. These automatically search for words you’ve flagged as offensive or inappropriate. You may want to take it a step further and add a captcha filter. This requires the commenter to manually type numbers and/or letters they see in a small photo, to prove they’re not a robot or automated reply. On most social media sites, you can report inappropriate comments and block users.

Trolls can be hard to handle. It’s always a good idea to never respond. Even when you feel like defending yourself, clarifying your position, or just plain stopping the madness. Trolls feed off the chaos they create. If you stop responding to them, most of the time they’ll move on.

With some sweet tea, a spoonful of honey, and some heavy Army boots,
~ Happy writing.


Molly Jo

TWEETABLE

Molly Jo is a writer, editor, social media ninja, and producer of the weekly Firsts in Fiction podcast. She has been featured in children’s magazines, on blogs and devotional websites, and her short stories have earned her awards and scholarships from nationally acclaimed writing programs. She is the founder of New Inklings Press and author of The Unemployment Cookbook: Ideas for Feeding Families One Meal at a Timeand other books available through her website and on Amazon.

Her current work in progress, NOLA, is a location mystery set in New Orleans and is scheduled for publication in late 2016.

You can find her on FacebookTwitterPinterest, and her blog, Frankly, My Dear . . .

10 comments:

  1. Molly Jo, Thank you for this great information. I've had a few trolls and kindly asked them to refrain from attacking people. Most refrain. I only blocked one person and deleted one thread on my Facebook page. Twitter trolls pop up, spew their venom and leave. I don't respond to them. I pray for Trolls. My motto, treat trolls with tough love. I believe that many are hurting and that's why they hurt others.

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    1. I also pray for trolls. Thank you for the reminder.

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  2. I've been fortunate to not have any trolls on my site yet. I write periodically about abuse and directly to those who have been abused from the stance of someone who has been abused. So, I moderate comments. I don't want to subject any of my readers to more abuse. I want them to feel safe. But it helped to read that I shouldn't block for disagreements, but only for hurtful comments. Thanks for the information.

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    1. You're welcome, Joanna. Sometimes it's a fine line between opinion and venom.

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  3. Thank you for this. Occasionally, I comment on political issues; and oh! The vicious comments I get in return! Even though I try to be respectful of all political candidates, when I comment in a way that favors the more liberal one, the hate attacks start coming. On more than one occasion, I have responded that 'what makes this country so great is that we all can voice our opinion.' Then I ask that particular nasty person why he/she doesn't want to allow me to voice my thoughts. Some of these comments are hurtful, frightening, and just rotten.

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  4. Great tips Molly. For trolls, it's all about the drama. We should step back, take an overview, and refuse to get sucked in. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Thanks for this info, Molly Jo. I've not yet been blessed with any but appreciate your wisdom. My inclination would be to respond in the hopes of setting them straight. You have just saved me a lot of grief--and some time apologizing to God for being selfish. Should I be attacked by trolls, I'll now simply pray for them, realizing they are hurting people in need of love.

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  6. Great tips, Molly Jo! I hope I never need them though.

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  7. Great tips, Molly Jo! I hope I never need them though.

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  8. Praying for your enemies - a great reminder. Thanks!

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