If you run a blog it’s simply a matter of time before you encounter haters, regardless of what your write. I’ve seen blogs about innocuous, noncontroversial topics like graphic design or pet food that are riddled with useless, rude comments that add no value to the conversation. Much like the mighty groundhog, the Typical Comment Hater rears its head out of its hole, appearing on blogs and forums, shitposting and retreating back into the safety of cyberspace. Blog haters can be a bit scary to the uninitiated. But we are initiated, aren’t we Bruce? You will be after you see this case study of why haters don’t matter and why you should ignore them.

I posted an article a couple of weeks ago showing a successful Craigslist M4W ad that I used to get a lot of dates. I’ll occasionally post niche dating advice because it’s either funny or I feel like I can add something to the knowledge pool. In this case, I received a pointless hater comment:

This is retarded. Instead of engineering the perfect craigslist ad, you should be out talking to girls. In person. Face to face. Stop hiding in your basement clicking Refresh on your email, they won’t bite.

While I actually agree with this comment in spirit, it’s not always feasible to easily meet dating prospects in person. Internet dating is admittedly a waste of time, but occasionally you’ll meet someone cool or get laid or whatever. This commenter’s confrontational, “internet AMOG” presentation caused me to do a little research to see what he’s about.

How To Expose An Internet Hater

It’s frighteningly simple to discover someone’s internet history (and often identity) from a blog comment. Most people are so stupid that they use the same screen name across multiple platforms. A quick Google search revealed that this commenter’s email address shares the same screen name as an account on “Sugardaddyforme.com.” I cross-referenced the commenter’s IP address using an Whatismyipaddress.com. The geographical location roughly matched the Sugardaddyforme.com profile, so I knew I had the same guy.

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Bonus! Google’s reverse image search is also very useful for discovering information. Just right click on any image while using Google Chrome and click “Search Google for this image”.

Why You Should Ignore Pointlessly Negative Comments

In this example, I maintain that there’s nothing wrong with using internet dating. Hell, even sugar daddy sites are a straight-to-business form of internet “dating”. Observe this funny chart that Wall Street Playboys found somewhere on Twitter.

Being a sugar daddy is starting to look pretty good! However, if you’re going to be Mr. Big Dick Shit Talker, don’t be pretend to be above internet dating while simultaneously engaging in what is essentially low-level online prostitution. This kind of hypocrisy/outright lying is very common online. I’ve been to various internet meetups and have been consistently disappointed by what people are like online vs what they’re like in person.

Example: Reddit is probably the biggest cesspool of comment idiocy and keyboard jockeying on the entire internet. Go to any Reddit meetup and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about.

What You Should Do About Haters

Delete hater comments and go about your day. It’s the simplest, easiest solution that offers the least amount of headaches. I kept the example in this post live on my blog because of the educational/minor lulz potential.

Ban haters by IP address. I’m swift with the ban hammer and you should be too. There’s zero reason to engage in debate with negative people, especially when they’re shitting all over your virtual living room. If you host your own WordPress blog, there’s a very useful plugin called WP-Ban that will allow you to redirect users to a ban page by their IP address. My ban page features a nasty mutilated penis picture and a shiny message informing the user that they’ve gotten the virtual headsman’s axe. It’s easy to circumvent an IP ban simply by going to a coffee shop or something, but you’ll usually roadblock a hater from commenting on his/her home turf.

Close comments completely. Most of the time, comments sections are a wasteland of circle jerking, lies and outright idiocy. Just look at high-traffic sites like Gawker or Return of Kings. Even if the original article is sound, spend five minutes reading the comments and you’ll fail your next IQ test from being exposed to the radioactive stupidity of the common man. Jack Donovan has an excellent article describing why you shouldn’t bother with comments at all. The only reason I allow comments on my site is I noticed a negative hit on my search traffic when I closed comments.

Summary

• You will get haters. It’s a fact of virtual life, so don’t take it hard if you receive negative comments.
• A large amount of people on the internet aren’t worth listening to. Many of them are fakes or outright liars.
• Ban haters using WP-Ban, delete their comments or close comments completely to limit wasting your time on haters’ bullshit.

Just in case this article isn’t enough, check out this great video from Mike at Danger & Play about how to deal with internet haters. Mike does a great job identifying hate vs. criticism and how to adopt the correct mindset to deal with negativity. Bottom line: It doesn’t mean much, so don’t be afraid to get your ideas out there.

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