The Trolls Got Me

[smj54ap]

Last Sunday, Lit published my story Dream Job about a cheating wife on Loving Wives. Normally, I get a negative comment or two. But, I was ill prepared for the vitriloic, hateful and vicious comments that a handful of anonymous readers and several with a bona fide email sent attacking me and the story. I drew a line in the sand when a couple of trolls advocated killing the baby that the female protagonist has as a result of her cheating. I deleted all the comments and turned off all public feedback and voting.
I emailed my editor, Janiexx in desperation because I felt like coward. She set me straight on the issue of "Trolls" and I owe her a huge debt of gratitude.
My question and dilemma is this? Chapter 2 is due to be published any day now, do I allow public comments and voting or do I keep it turned off? My hide is thicker but I'm still smarting, ouch!

 

[kendo1]

Once bitten, twice shy?

Call them a badge of honour. How can you post on the 'troll' thread if you turn comments off? We all need a laugh now and then.

 

[rgraham666]

I'm with kendo. It's a badge of honour.

 

[matriarch]

You have to have the thickest of skins to even think about posting on loving wives.......I wouldn't go near it.

Kudos to you for biting the bullet.

You're had your rite of passage, now just ignore the idiots and write what you want to.

 

[BlackShanglan]

My sympathies. The LW category seems to bring out the worst in people.

Perhaps you might post an initial public comment yourself establishing some guidelines for behavior and indicating what sort of things will get a post immediately removed. Then you can keep the positive comments and pull the violent or offensive ones. Of course, there's a good chance that giving people a list of things that you will pull will encourage them to test those out, but that's trolls for you.

Shanglan

 

[smotp]

Troll Bashing not just on Loving Wives!

I have a series in BDSM doing OK and suddenly a Troll pops up on the first 2 episodes, vilifying the story line as disgusting and yammering on that I should suffer the same indignities as my MC, yaddah, yaddah, yaddah , and pops a zero into the pool, reduces the overall average but didn't take them out of the Hot zone.

I post the third episode and the Troll bombs me straight away, obviousely lurking in wait. After more than 20 odd votes that I know were reasonable scores it hasn't climbed to the magic 4.5!

In a fit of pique I wiped the slurs from all three. Damn me if the little oik didn't come back and do it again! Giving me a big 1 this time and telling me other people like my stuff so they would increase their vote. They left feedback saying I was unfair to expunge their tirade as they had a right to opine all over me.

The insect signs itself Leighlilly and is from Texas, but they haven't the balls to e-mail me and discuss it! I can't find them in the members list either. I thought people weren't allowed to vote more than one time? I would also be happy if the Powers took my top and bottom votes out to see what that did to my average.

I AM MIGHTILY P****D!

 

[jomar]

At least they're leaving PCs for your later amusement. The first chapter of my latest got multiple one-bombs, sending it on a dive like the plane in the story. The plane pulled up, but the story score didn't!

 

[Diamond_Girl]

At least they're leaving PCs for your later amusement. The first chapter of my latest got multiple one-bombs, sending it on a dive like the plane in the story. The plane pulled up, but the story score didn't!

While I hate that it happens, it's somehow gratifying to know that more accomplished writers than I get their scores dive-bombed by malicious, bored trolls. I guess it helps not feeling like I'm the only one out there. My ex-bf trolled at least one of mine, as well as one of DJ's, bombing the score with a 1 vote. DJ's story recovered; mine didn't.

 

[flavortang]

Last Sunday, Lit published my story Dream Job about a cheating wife on Loving Wives. Normally, I get a negative comment or two. But, I was ill prepared for the vitriloic, hateful and vicious comments that a handful of anonymous readers and several with a bona fide email sent attacking me and the story. I drew a line in the sand when a couple of trolls advocated killing the baby that the female protagonist has as a result of her cheating. I deleted all the comments and turned off all public feedback and voting.
I emailed my editor, Janiexx in desperation because I felt like coward. She set me straight on the issue of "Trolls" and I owe her a huge debt of gratitude.
My question and dilemma is this? Chapter 2 is due to be published any day now, do I allow public comments and voting or do I keep it turned off? My hide is thicker but I'm still smarting, ouch!

Geez, that's messed up. It's just a story, trolls! Don't get so worked up!

I don't know. I think you know that the vitriol is coming from a place that isn't constructive so just block out all the comments and the people who really like your story for what it is will find a way to commend you on it.

 

[jomar]

While I hate that it happens, it's somehow gratifying to know that more accomplished writers than I get their scores dive-bombed by malicious, bored trolls. I guess it helps not feeling like I'm the only one out there. My ex-bf trolled at least one of mine, as well as one of DJ's, bombing the score with a 1 vote. DJ's story recovered; mine didn't.

Thank you, DG, I appreciate the thought, but the only way I'm more accomplished than you is that I have more stories out than you at the moment. I do know that some of the really good authors here get their share of trolls, though.

 

[NoJo]

It's been years since I submitted any stories, so I'm a bit out of touch, but I remember that there was an automated purge of one-bombs that Manu used to run every so often, which would suddenly raise the scores on my stories. Don't know if that still happens.

 

[kendo1]

It's been years since I submitted any stories, so I'm a bit out of touch, but I remember that there was an automated purge of one-bombs that Manu used to run every so often, which would suddenly raise the scores on my stories. Don't know if that still happens.

Yep.
And multiple votes from one place/person.

They will be removed and your score will come back up.

 

[emap]

Oddly enough I don't get trolled, I have gotten negative feedback, mostly on my one nonconsent/reluctance story, the two that I got in email said they both should get AIDs and die. Which gave me a giggle actually.

All in all I have only gotten constructive criticism in the public posts and emails I get, well one guy did mention how wrong I was on two stories, and I remember my first story had one guy saying no one can last an hour. Which I know is wrong because the guy who rides me all the time lasts anywhere from 1-3.

I don't know, I guess I'm not good enough to get trolled. Which I suppose is a good thing, though I suppose not to, those trolls sure are amusing.

 

[Diamond_Girl]

Thank you, DG, I appreciate the thought, but the only way I'm more accomplished than you is that I have more stories out than you at the moment. I do know that some of the really good authors here get their share of trolls, though.

My eyes are seeing all these red "H's" from looking at your submissions. You not only have more stories out than I do, but you've got a crap-load of Hots. They are earned, not given, so I applaud you.

 

[Diamond_Girl]

Yep.
And multiple votes from one place/person.

They will be removed and your score will come back up.

Yep, I accidentally screwed up DJ's ratings on one of his stories. I voted twice, thinking I hadn't voted on *that* one or not. They pulled both of the votes.

 

[flavortang]

I can't see why anyone would spend the time to read a whole story, then bitch at the author. That's like going to a restaurant, eating the entire meal, then bitching at the chef. Too late, buddy!

 

[starrkers]

There was an obvious troll in the BDSM category last night - I had a look at the Feedback Portal and there were three comments in the middle four from the same guy - Anonymous of course, but his style shone through - all slamming the stories because of their BDSM content

And I thought I needed to get a life!

 

[emap]

Oh of course, we all need to get a life so we won't be posting in the forums or writing up stories to submit.

OK really funny part, that basically is what one person left as a comment in a story I read a while ago don't recall the story anymore.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Trolls are just a fact of life, especially in the LW category. If you are going to post there, you had better develop a thicker skin.

The worst are the ones who throw their one-bombs and leave, without saying anything. Some of them leave semi-literate PC complaining about something, like an anal story that has a man fucking a woman in the ass, or a BDSM story that has somebody being abused. One of them even objected to oral sex in a lesbian story, and called it messy and degrading. If the PC are funny, I leave them, otherwise I delete them.

 

[gagginforit]

How fucking weird. It's just a story. People should grow up.

 

[Boota]

I've never removed a comment and I don't know that I would. Someone else's comment doesn't really reflect on me. Most of the negative stuff, from LW of course, is horribly mispelled, loaded with appalling grammar, and generally illegible anyway. Even the people who say I should be shot along with my characters for their behavior in the story aren't really a threat. They're probably too stupid to know which way to point the damn gun.

The only "negative" comments on my LW stories that have any interest to me are the ones where the people who enjoy the story are upset because I haven't published new chapters fast enough. I hate letting them down if they are looking forward to the story, but I just don't have time. I've decided to finish the story and then post all the chapters in rapid succession.

 

[R. Richard]

I've never removed a comment and I don't know that I would. Someone else's comment doesn't really reflect on me. Most of the negative stuff, from LW of course, is horribly mispelled, loaded with appalling grammar, and generally illegible anyway. Even the people who say I should be shot along with my characters for their behavior in the story aren't really a threat. They're probably too stupid to know which way to point the damn gun.

There are two reason I would delete a comment. The first is that the comment has nothing to do with the story but thinks it does. ["Your handling of the Miss Scarlet character was very poor." There was no character named Miss Scarlet nor any red head, for that matter, in the story.] The second is either a physical threat or nasty, mispelled profanity. [I always hope that deleting a physical threat comment will cause the commenter to go and get a gun and then stupidly point it at himself to test fire it.]