Query: I applaud your innovative approach to killing meatbags, but I have found that kindness is often nonfatal. Is there something I am doing incorrectly?
You need to be persistently kind. Bullies pick on people for the reaction they get from their victims. Don't give them a reaction and they will pick on somebody else. The vast majority of people are good but the rotten eggs stand out to us the most because it isn't the norm. Jut be persistent and continue on. The rest of the community will support you. If the bullying is bad make use of the down vote feature, that's what it's there for. If it's really bad and the user has a history of abuse report the user to a moderator or staff member.
Don't give them a reaction and they will pick on somebody else.
Often good advice, but I find this doesn't always work online. I find that people who have an ideological axe to grind, whether it's political or religious or they just don't like you will always find an excuse to make a disparaging remark about something you say or post. They don't always go away. I'm seeing this on Snapzu as well, an increasing amount of comments directed not at the content of my snaps but in disparaging the topics as a whole. I'm continuing to ignore them but history suggests to me that they're not going to give up so long as I continue to post content I feel is appropriate.
Those aren't supported by Snapzu as reasonable reasons to downvote or troll a comments section though. Personal vendettas and being smeared by unstable users is where reporting the user to administrators would come into play. I was only saying kill them with kindness as a strategy to just deal with rude or more or less unfriendly people, not as a tool to combat harassment or abuse of the system.
I understand, and I'm not advocating downvoting such people. Merely pointing out that "ignore them and they'll go away" isn't necessarily accurate. I don't feel it appropriate to report people to the admins for expressing their opinions, even if they phrase them poorly.
I wasn't saying downvoting them was wrong as /you the victim/ I was saying downvoting was wrong as /the bully/. Just to clear that up, I wasn't attacking you. Also I was saying "just ignore them" was (what seems to me) the appropriate action if someone was rude or inconsiderate once or twice. I meant to express that reporting would be a viable option when you're being smeared by a user on a rampage or who is abusing the system (ie. downvoting, comments section) just to make a point. That's not what those systems are in place for, particularly the down voting, and if those systems are being abused by the same account towards you or any other user repeatedly that definitely warrants a report to an administrator or moderator.
We have no way of knowing who is downvoting whom (unless you're an admin), and I'm trying to use the downvote sparingly for inappropriate posts and comments. And of course I didn't assume you were attacking me, I simply wanted to make sure my point was expressed as clearly as possible. :)
Ultimately, it's hard to maintain a "friendly" vibe when people are verbally sniping at each other. I can snark with the rest of them and sometimes it's hard to resist the temptation to unleash it on someone I think is being particularly obtuse. Maintaining a policy of ignoring someone who always has a disparaging comment for the topic I'm discussing can be quite a challenge, especially when they don't get the hint and go away.
In the end I don't believe there is a clear cut path to success with dealing with these individuals. As Snapzu members we just need to do the best to keep our various tribe and communities friendly with one another, be mindful of who we invite to join our communities, and most importantly, lead by example.
And that's what starts the downhill path of everyone downvoting everyone else for the perception of harassment under the guise of disagreement. Pretty soon you're in the hell of Poe's Law where you can't be sure someone said something to troll or because they're in earnest.
Query: I applaud your innovative approach to killing meatbags, but I have found that kindness is often nonfatal. Is there something I am doing incorrectly?
You need to be persistently kind. Bullies pick on people for the reaction they get from their victims. Don't give them a reaction and they will pick on somebody else. The vast majority of people are good but the rotten eggs stand out to us the most because it isn't the norm. Jut be persistent and continue on. The rest of the community will support you. If the bullying is bad make use of the down vote feature, that's what it's there for. If it's really bad and the user has a history of abuse report the user to a moderator or staff member.
Often good advice, but I find this doesn't always work online. I find that people who have an ideological axe to grind, whether it's political or religious or they just don't like you will always find an excuse to make a disparaging remark about something you say or post. They don't always go away. I'm seeing this on Snapzu as well, an increasing amount of comments directed not at the content of my snaps but in disparaging the topics as a whole. I'm continuing to ignore them but history suggests to me that they're not going to give up so long as I continue to post content I feel is appropriate.
Those aren't supported by Snapzu as reasonable reasons to downvote or troll a comments section though. Personal vendettas and being smeared by unstable users is where reporting the user to administrators would come into play. I was only saying kill them with kindness as a strategy to just deal with rude or more or less unfriendly people, not as a tool to combat harassment or abuse of the system.
I understand, and I'm not advocating downvoting such people. Merely pointing out that "ignore them and they'll go away" isn't necessarily accurate. I don't feel it appropriate to report people to the admins for expressing their opinions, even if they phrase them poorly.
I wasn't saying downvoting them was wrong as /you the victim/ I was saying downvoting was wrong as /the bully/. Just to clear that up, I wasn't attacking you. Also I was saying "just ignore them" was (what seems to me) the appropriate action if someone was rude or inconsiderate once or twice. I meant to express that reporting would be a viable option when you're being smeared by a user on a rampage or who is abusing the system (ie. downvoting, comments section) just to make a point. That's not what those systems are in place for, particularly the down voting, and if those systems are being abused by the same account towards you or any other user repeatedly that definitely warrants a report to an administrator or moderator.
We have no way of knowing who is downvoting whom (unless you're an admin), and I'm trying to use the downvote sparingly for inappropriate posts and comments. And of course I didn't assume you were attacking me, I simply wanted to make sure my point was expressed as clearly as possible. :)
Ultimately, it's hard to maintain a "friendly" vibe when people are verbally sniping at each other. I can snark with the rest of them and sometimes it's hard to resist the temptation to unleash it on someone I think is being particularly obtuse. Maintaining a policy of ignoring someone who always has a disparaging comment for the topic I'm discussing can be quite a challenge, especially when they don't get the hint and go away.
In the end I don't believe there is a clear cut path to success with dealing with these individuals. As Snapzu members we just need to do the best to keep our various tribe and communities friendly with one another, be mindful of who we invite to join our communities, and most importantly, lead by example.
I do. Let the Admin make the call. That's his/her job.
And that's what starts the downhill path of everyone downvoting everyone else for the perception of harassment under the guise of disagreement. Pretty soon you're in the hell of Poe's Law where you can't be sure someone said something to troll or because they're in earnest.
I'd suggest you report them. The squeaky wheel get oiled.