How to deal with unbridled and unwarranted hate towards me?

August 19, 2010 8:04 AM

How can I grow a thicker skin and deal with internet hate?

Recently, a project of mine has started to receive some attention. While I am by no means "famous", I am well-known among a certain group of people. (I apologize for being vague...).

However, my success is upsetting to some. By becoming the number one of what I do, the former number one is quite upset. They have started launching various internet assaults against me in various locations, news articles about my work, etc. The mob of their fans could almost be considered equivalent to the mob action of the Juggaloos.

They seek out my every weakness and jump on it. Most of the time it's just blind lashing out with incorrect information stated as "facts". Other times it's personal attacks on me and my personal life.

But be they right or wrong, now I am under a tremendous amount of stress. Not that I have done anything to these people, but I am so afraid that the things they say about me, usually incorrect, will be perceived as fact. Plus, honestly, I'm a bit of a sensitive person and seeing all these unwarranted attacks on me has started to give me physical symptoms, such as shaking uncontrollably, rapid, shallow breathing, and upset stomachs.

Now perhaps I brought this on myself by doing an activity that is public in nature, but it's making me feel like quitting what I do (what thousands of people enjoy), and just crawling under a rock.

And yes, I know I can feed off the positive energy of MY fans, instead of the hate of HIS fans, but the fact is 100 compliments to me can be undone with one stinging personal attack...

I just don't know what to do. My wife is encouraging me to fight back, but I'm afraid fighting will just egg on my own personal Juggaloos more...

(and for clarification, while there is a financial benefit to my public activity, it is not my entire career...I COULD quit without it impacting my day-to-day life, but I'd hate to, to use a term, let the terrorists win that way too)...

Any suggestions would be welcome.

posted by anonymous to Human Relations (36 answers total)

Don't fight back.

If people spread lies about you, it's not because they are misinformed but because they want to believe the worst. If someone is already in that position, there is nothing you can do about them.

Let me repeat that: There is nothing you can do about them.

It sucks. I've been there. You want to argue with these people, you want to mobilize folks in your favor. You see a negative comment and it kind of ruins your day. You're not alone in this.

Just breathe. Take a deep breath. Do something fun with your wife. Once a crowd gets into a certain mode, you will only make it worse by responding in any way. I know that's not what you want to hear, because it doesn't fix the problem, but you're only one person and they are however many they are and they have more energy than you do, as a collective.

Just breathe. Talk to a therapist if need be. That might sound like a lot of effort for something so seemingly minor, but it's worth it. Eventually you will find a way to let it go.
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 8:10 AM on August 19, 2010 [1 favorite]

Stop using the internet for a few days.
posted by theodolite at 8:11 AM on August 19, 2010

I guess without more information we don't know if you can just ignore it but that would be my advice. I ran an online game that I created and it had over 1 million daily active users. I had a lot of people that hated me and a lot of people that liked me. It's just something you get used to and let it roll off your back. If you don't get used to it, these things can consume you and the terrorists win that way too.
posted by zephyr_words at 8:12 AM on August 19, 2010

Just as haters hate, Trolls troll. Thats what they do. It doesnt matter how you respond, they keep on' trollin.

Just imagine its a bad smell. It sucks, but it'll pass and there's not much to do about it either way.
posted by bobby_newmark at 8:14 AM on August 19, 2010

Think of your idol. Someone whose every work you believe is sheer genius. Your Steve Jobs, your John Lennon, your Winston Churchill.

Got that person in mind? Okay, now remember this: there are literally thousands of people out there who think that person is an utter fucking moron. A cretin. A waste of protein. Who knows, maybe a Mac once fell on their foot, or "Imagine" was playing on the radio when their high school girlfriend left them for the quarterback, or their family has always been staunchly Labour.

What's more, there are thousands more who are fans of Bill Gates or Paul McCartney or Franklin Roosevelt, and who feel that they have to prove that their guy is better than your guy.

And there are thousands more who are just looking for a fight, because the Internet is anonymous and it's fun to get people all worked up over nothing.

So that's like thousands and thousands and thousands of people who are, in essence, just trying to get your goat. You want to let them win?
posted by Etrigan at 8:19 AM on August 19, 2010 [8 favorites]

Don't fight back, or even read the negative things people write about you. Don't seek out what the haters are saying about you, and if you start reading a nasty comment, just stop. It's not worth your time to care what they say about you. Do you think someone like Barack Obama spends his day reading all of the horrible things people say about him?

Also, when you read a positive comment from someone who appreciates your work, copy and paste it into a document on your computer. When you start feeling down about yourself or question whether you should keep going, read the comments you've saved to remind yourself why you're doing what you do and that there are people out there who want you to succeed.
posted by burnmp3s at 8:21 AM on August 19, 2010 [4 favorites]

Always remind yourself of one thing: Haters gonna hate. And then, like that sexy fellow, stroll on with your bad self.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:27 AM on August 19, 2010 [9 favorites]

One thing I try to remember when I'm emotionally engaged in some ongoing drama/feedback/relationship-issue... you don't need to be present for every turn of it. In fact, being there to receive and emotionally respond to every sling lends others more power over your emotional well being.

Recently I was with a friend who was telling me about how her ex was severely harassing her. He was calling multiple times a day, sending emails, abusing all those around her, and on. Every interaction she received from him was further proof of his insanity, and it was causing her to experience pain and panic multiple times a day.

It took some convincing, but she finally set her phone down and stepped away from all technology. By doing so, she could return to it and see that he had left her 10 voicemails and 6 abusive texts. But the big deal was, she didn't need to experience each one of these atrocities (16 points in her day where she would be subject to his abuse, as compared to one!). She wasn't suffering all over again, multiple times a day. Viewing all of this - if she wished to - in aggregate, helped put it all in perspective. Reading 'bitch, bitch, bitch, whore, cunt, bitch' messages are a lot easier to take than feeling the compulsion to address and react to each one of them individually. And because he received no responses after a while, the frequency and intensity of the messages waned over time. As did their impact on her.

What I'm trying to say is this: if you can find a way to compartmentalize and aggregate this hatefulness at the source, I would do so. That way, you can visit it when you're ready and get the general idea of it all, without having to experience it at every turn. It's like listening to someone recount an argument...they can relate every detail to you OR just tell you the general idea at the point of entry. The latter is much more meaningful...do you really need to know every bit in between? Is there some truth in there that you are searching for and fearful that you might find? If you can stand that people will say untruthful and incorrect things, then you don't need to monitor for their existence. Get your ego out of there and you won't have to suffer the pain of the haters.

Also recognize that this random, obsessive, unbridled hate is not about you. It's about the idea of you, what you represent, and what this idea of you represents to these people relative to where they are and to what they want. It's just not about you. It seems like it's personal. This is because, for people like this to distract themselves from the notion that it IS personal (and not some ideological issue they have in relation to their ego), they will find ways to seemingly personalize their attacks (which is often why people go below the belt, such as stepping down to age-ist, image-based, sexist, racist, etc. insults). Separate those two notions, and you'll see right through it all.
posted by iamkimiam at 8:29 AM on August 19, 2010 [3 favorites]

When I was in college, a friend of mine looked at me over dinner one night and he said, "You do realize that you will never get *everyone* to like you, right?"

And you know what? Previously, I hadn't known that. I thought that being universally liked was the goal, and a fine goal at that. I thought there was some magical equation whereby if I treated did my best, and if my best just happened to be good enough, and if I was sensitive to the needs and wants of different demographics then maybe, just maybe, everyone would like me.

So.

You do realize that you will never get *everyone* to like you, right?
posted by greekphilosophy at 8:29 AM on August 19, 2010 [4 favorites]

Firstly, remind yourself that you being upset is what they want. By being upset, they win. Are you going to give them the victory?

Secondly, these attacks say more about the other person than they say about you. It's never classy to attack someone like this, especially when they're flat out wrong.

Thirdly, you are in complete control of how much of this you internalise. There's a pretty immediate reaction to anything that our five senses bring in, but you can learn to control that. When you perceive an attack, your body will start to behave as though you are being attacked. So, don't perceive this as an attack (fluttering stomach, palpitations). When someone starts attacking me like this, I think of the other person as a child in a playground who has no control over themself. They can't help but lash out in rage and anger at whatever stimulus is affecting them right now. You wouldn't berate a child for behaving in this manner, because they simply don't know any better. You, on the other hand, do. You're the adult in this situation, and you get to be in the position of power and help the child contain themself. Take a step back from the actual writing and intent, and ask yourself how accurate it is. I'm guessing "not very". What they're saying isn't actually correct. If it's not true, then it can't harm you.

Fourthly, don't fight back. That just gives them ammunition and drags you down to the level of the child. Remember, you're an adult, managing a small child who doesn't know any better. You're above screaming and throwing yourself on the ground and causing a scene.

Fifthly, how much of an "attack" they give out doesn't matter - none of it is correct or accurate, and a good portion of it is merely a matter of opinion. They're entitled to their opinion, but that doesn't make it right. By it's nature, opinion is subjective.

Sixthly, try to give less of a damn about other people's opinions. Someone else's opinion can only affect you if you respect it. It's human nature to care about being part of the group or the club (which can be extended to society as a whole), so it's easy to get caught up in how someone else saying something makes it correct. Think of all the medical or legal advice that gets given here on Ask - a lot of it is just opinion from people who A] don't know enough about the situation to comment and B] don't know enough about the relevant subject to comment. It doesn't make them wrong, but it does mean that they're just shooting into the dark, hoping to hit a target. That's what the people being mean to you are doing. If someone doesn't know enough about your exact situation to comment on it accurately, then what they say doesn't matter. Even if they do know you well, ask yourself whether they mean well or not. A comment motivated by hate or jealousy or just trying to fit into a group, like most of the hangers-on are doing here, isn't helpful because it's distorted by the individuals own motives.

These people don't know you well, and even if they do, they're still assholes. What do assholes do? Exactly. Don't look, don't listen, and certainly don't give up on what you're doing. Everyone has to make choices in life, and sometimes they aren't agreed with. Make yours and stick with it, but don't make it based on what other people say.

(you don't specifically ask, but I found The Art Of Happiness by the Dalai Lama very helpful for reframing a situation like this.)
posted by Solomon at 8:29 AM on August 19, 2010

Turn it around in a 'there's no such thing as bad publicity' attitude?

Or perhaps a series of controlled, polite, and informative press-release style posts? A proper point-by-point post handled with humor, but with firm information control.

There's nothing you can do about maniacs, but if you react calmly, they look worse. Take the high road.
posted by CarlRossi at 8:31 AM on August 19, 2010

The approach a couple of people I know who are fairly well known is to NOT READ everything that is written, and to NEVER READ the stuff that comes from a level that doesn't really matter. They have people that scan the media for information that is useful and may need to be acted on.
posted by HuronBob at 8:34 AM on August 19, 2010 [1 favorite]

It also might help to remember that you're receiving all this attention for being awesome at what you do. Sure, negative attention sucks, but it means that you're important enough for cretinous monkey-people to try to fling their poo at.

Just imagine these sad, lonely, little people leading their pathetic lives. YOU have fans, an awesome wife, and enough talent at what you do to make it to the top of your field. THEY have nothing better to do than sit around on their duffs posting hateful comments about people they don't even know, and they aren't even intelligent enough to act like actual humans; instead they are more like a pack of un-housetrained attack dogs that have latched themselves onto your rival. Don't let them have the power to wreck your day -- most of them are probably sub-mediocre jerks who produce nothing of value; otherwise they'd be out doing things instead of cravenly attacking strangers on the Internet.
posted by kataclysm at 8:35 AM on August 19, 2010 [1 favorite]

Daily Kos has a weekly Saturday Hate Mail-a-palooza.

You could collect and republish (with links) some of the haterade, maybe on a separate website. Over time, your website (with links to correct information?) could get a good Google pagerank for the relevant search terms. Don't comment, argue or editorialise, just republish/quote them with "no comment" as your headline.
posted by iviken at 8:38 AM on August 19, 2010 [1 favorite]

HuronBob just reminded me.

People who are successful, which sounds like you, not only tend not to read criticism, but charge ahead regardless of what people say.

People around you, private and public, will only remember your successes. Failures are just small missteps.

Look at Jesus. Does anyone remember that he had 1/12 poor judgment in friends? Nope. They remember the whole died-for-your-sins thing. Success!
posted by CarlRossi at 8:39 AM on August 19, 2010

All that has been said here is good advice, let me just emphasize once more that you should not reply to the accusations or get involved in the discussion in any way. You will only lose that battle. Keep doing what you're doing, there is nothing to worry about if the accusations are false.
posted by cronholio at 8:42 AM on August 19, 2010

One more thing...keep in mind that any response you give to these jerks validates them and their position. Yes, that is not how you see it (you're defending yourself!), but these are the rules they play by and they're not inclusive ones. Your response distracts them from having to take any responsibility for what they do or say. They can focus on you and to further position their next attack. So don't engage. Part of what makes you awesome is having better things to do with your time.
posted by iamkimiam at 8:47 AM on August 19, 2010 [1 favorite]

Just remember, it's ten million times easier to sit back and be a critic than to put your own creation before the public. In this sense, most of your detractors (your rival's Juggaloos and I can't believe I just wrote that) are jealous, and do not have the balls to do what you do. I think the fact that you DO it, despite being a sensitive person, makes you tougher than you think. Plus, the anonymity of the Internet is more potent than Everclear at increasing general assholishness by at least 300% (to say nothing about drunks on the internet), so please take that into consideration as well.

100 compliments to me can be undone with one stinging personal attack...

This is bad math. Speaking as someone who has perused a spirited and highly articulate blog discussion as to whether I'm a secret tranny, I know it's easy to dwell on the raspberries...especially the unfair, mean, or just left-field stuff. But you can't do that. You'll need to change your attitude in order to put out your best work on this project. Good luck!
posted by applemeat at 8:54 AM on August 19, 2010 [1 favorite]

My wife is encouraging me to fight back, but I'm afraid fighting will just egg on my own personal Juggaloos more...

Don't do that --- the internet always wins.

Focus your energies on how you can come to accept this as part of public life these days. In a very real way, it has nothing to do with you. It's not personal.

People are angry and frustrated and have trouble expressing it at their boss, their wife, whatever, and many use the internet as a place where they can be a terrible asshole without any repercussions.

I think finding some other people who have gone through this, who have come out the other side and maybe found some humor or peace with it, would be great for you. Can you look at your industry, or others, for someone to talk to? The internet has chomped on lots of people. You are absolutely not alone in this.

Do some Googling on "anonymous comments."
posted by A Terrible Llama at 9:01 AM on August 19, 2010

I meant to add I'm sorry this is happening to you -- that really sucks.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 9:02 AM on August 19, 2010

I wasn't as bad as the people you described, but when I was a teenager I was way more into criticizing famous people on the internet. Usually it was if I didn't think so-and-so is a good singer, or if I thought a movie sucked and didn't get why anyone liked it, etc.

Without knowing what field you're in it's hard to say if these people are too young to know that it's just better to keep your negative opinions to yourself sometimes, but it might help to frame it like that also. They are immature. What they are doing isn't nice, particularly if they're making things up. And there's no way to win against them. But know that as long as you're making other people happy, that's all that matters. That's what you've set out to do.

There are a lot of crazies out there who will say anything on the internet, just because they can. All you can do for your sanity is just think of them as crazies and trust that your fans think they're annoying as hell.
posted by wondermouse at 9:18 AM on August 19, 2010

I am always reminded of Penny Arcade's (NSFW) Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory. I find it accurately sums up a large percentage of morons on the internet.
posted by Zophi at 9:24 AM on August 19, 2010 [1 favorite]

Let's say your name is Matilda.

Perhaps the "About Me" section of your website could have a lightly-buried "Common Misconceptions about Matilda" portion. An item only goes in that section if 1) this it is a misconception you hear from more than one person, and 2) you have some documented way to disprove it.

Do not send people to it, do not point it out, just let it exist. It's for you, and perhaps for people who use Google and want to look at the evidence to make up their own minds. It is not for the haters.

Make a similar section for common misconceptions about your project.

If it really, really gets to you where you feel you absolutely must Do Something About It, get a very outlandish, but still just possibly within the bounds of style outfit. Something loud. Have a good photo of you taken while wearing it, perhaps with a slightly wide angle lens, or some other photo trickery to put you Up Front. Smile. Pose in mid-strut. Enjoy your project, if your project can be photographically represented.

Then post it in your blog with a caption put over the image that says "HATERS GONNA HATE." Google Images is your friend here, look for the guy in the pink suit. That's someone who either does not let the haters get to him or fakes it very, very well.
posted by adipocere at 9:28 AM on August 19, 2010

Odds are, some day you will give up the #1 spot to someone else. Do yourself a favor: When you aren't #1 any more, spend some time praising the current #1 (so long as it isn't the old one) and encourage your fans to do the same.

Hell, even if Old #1 becomes New #1 again, spend some time publicly acknowledging the qualities that make him #1 material and don't mention the rest. What you don't say is sometimes more telling than what you do say, right?

In other words, don't let the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory transform you into the thing you hate when it's your turn to be in that situation. Rise above it. That's how you win.
posted by caution live frogs at 9:29 AM on August 19, 2010

the fact is 100 compliments to me can be undone with one stinging personal attack...

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Get some perspective.

1) Pretend you've never heard of a book on Amazon, and when you go to check the reader comments, you see one hundred compliments and a single crank. Does that make you significantly less likely to buy the book? Or is your reaction, "Wow, what a crank."

100 compliments? You probably won't even see the crank's comments.

2) Now pretend you're already fan of the book's author. Does one crank change your mind about your preference?

3) Now pretend you're on the fence about the author. You've heard of him. You could go either way. Again, does one crank tip you completely over the edge into Juggalo-style hate?

Now, clearly, your 100-to-1 comment is hyperbole to make your point -- you think a vocal minority is holding away over your audience.

Your first step is stop using catastrophe language like "100 compliments to me can be undone." Get there first, in terms of dealing with this with some removed perspective, and then you can start taking appropriate steps.

But ... don't fight back.

Don't wrestle with a pig. You'll both get dirty. But the pig likes it.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:30 AM on August 19, 2010 [4 favorites]

I have gone the ignore everything route, and never read any comments attached to anything I publish online. The bottom line is that for something I've written to run in the first place the editorial staff of the publication I'm writing for has to stand by it, and that my editors are into what I'm doing is really what matters from a professional prospective. I can't control what anybody thinks about what I do, or how they respond to it, and when you reach a broad enough audience there's always going to be a percentage who hate you and what you do regardless of who you are and what you do. That's the nature of the beast. What ignoring comments has done is give me the time to orient myself professionally as a writer such that I'm totally confident in what I do and how I do so that when something pops up that I can't ignore I can shrug it off and not be touched by it emotionally. Yes, when I first started writing and randoms would leave drive by hate comments my fists would ball and my brain would be like, "MOTHER FUCKER. KILL." but I found that goes away in time. Give yourself a chance to get used to being examined, you'll most likely acclimate to it. If you don't, and it continues to trouble you, you have to decide what you like more, being in the public eye or being sane.
posted by The Straightener at 10:03 AM on August 19, 2010

Been there, done that. I found our picture being discussed on Stormfront. I know the feeling--sure, I know there's nothing wrong with my hat, and these members of the Armchair Brigade aren't out there doing anything important, and I know I'm doing good work, but still. I know the feeling.

Just gotta keep your head high and roll with it. Or quit and sink into obscurity.
posted by MrMoonPie at 10:04 AM on August 19, 2010 [1 favorite]

I had a similar, though not identical, situation. I stopped working on the site in question almost 10 years ago and there are people out there who will still type outright lies onto internet forums when the subject of my name comes up. All I did was run a web site and answer email. I admit I wasn't the best customer service person at the time but it's not like I actually DID anything to these people.

What you need to remember is Jakob Nielsen's 90-9-1 Rule for Participation Inequity:
In most online communities, 90% of users are lurkers who never contribute, 9% of users contribute a little, and 1% of users account for almost all the action.

You're seeing a reaction from ONE PERCENT of the people who actually experience your work. It is NOT representative of anything except the loudest people who have the time to spend to make that kind of noise.

The majority of people experiencing your work like it, enjoy it, appreciate it. You will not hear from those people until you stop producing the work, and then you will, over a long period of time, hear from quite a lot of people saying, "Thank you, that was so important to me, it was the first place I checked in the morning, [thing] and [thing] happened to me because of your work."

And then you will kick yourself for listening to the 1%.

I will also say that you have to NOT read what people write about you. It's SO HARD. I know. But don't. You have to not do it. Use Leechblock, it's awesome.

Do not argue back. Just say "Thank you for your feedback." or "I'm sorry you didn't like the post." Don't refute point by point, trust me, you do not have that kind of time, but these people do. These people will take screencaps and printouts of every response you ever give them and will dig it out to refer back to it at the slightest provocation. It's just not worth it. You think it is, you think it's calm and reasoned, but it just feeds the beast. You can put up a FAQ or whatever but it will just get used against you no matter how neutral it is. I strongly disagree with the "haters gotta hate" photographic approach. You're acknowledging them by doing that. Don't do it.
posted by micawber at 11:16 AM on August 19, 2010 [1 favorite]

Just keep on keeping on. What, are you never going to be good at anything ever again lest you attract attention?

Even if someone's biggest claim to fame is making the best PowerPoint presentations in the company, someone is going to hate him/her.

You're doing something you mostly enjoy, you're good at it, other people benefit - enjoy the ride while it lasts; let everything negative fall away.

You say you have fans - obviously they discredit/ignore what these others say. Follow their lead.
posted by mikepop at 12:30 PM on August 19, 2010

Oh, this sucks. Friends of mine are going through something similar. They're photographers/artists, and recently have had some big successes. Along with the publicity has come some random features on gizmodo, HuffPost, etc. Several of these features have just been a series of photos of themselves. At first I was excited for them, until I started reading the comments, which were about 50/50 complimentary and downright HORRIBLE. I mean, people are absolutely awful online. Based on one or two photographs of strangers, they were suddenly experts on my friends--insults ranged from "white trash" to "dirty hipsters" they wished would "die already" to much, much worse. It was shocking for me to see how much vitriol people spew without even thinking. I guess what I'm saying is, it's definitely not you, it's just the sorry state of online discourse these days, where anonymity lets people say things they would normally never say in person. Try not to read it, try not to take it personally (although easier said than done!) and definitely don't respond or engage. Be above it, be the better person, and keep on being your awesome self.
posted by Bella Sebastian at 12:32 PM on August 19, 2010

You just need to learn to ignore it. Otherwise, policing your reputation will become a full-time job; soon you become more concerned with what people are saying about you, rather than all the cool things you could be doing for other people to honestly enjoy.

In the rare case where you must acknowledge criticism, be brief, be humble, and try to even be self-deprecating/humorous*. But above all, be brief! Say your piece once and then let it be. The people who matter will see your reply, those on the fence may change sides, and the trolls... hopefully they'll eventually get bored and go away.

Trolls do what they do to elicit a reaction and the more you reply to their vitriol, the more they enjoy it. I've been in more than one chat room / forum where someone pipes up with, "I'm bored... let's go find someone to troll."

And for god's sake, don't call up a posse to come to your rescue. White knights will only stir the shit and provide another target for the trolls.

Ultimately, it's more important to be classy, than to be correct all the time. Your fans will pick up on it and love you all the more. Your detractors may even grow to respect you.

* On a certain anonymous image board, I used to purposely post unflattering/silly pics of myself when trolls would bitch about people finding me attractive. Or my favorite, when trolls said I looked kinda girlish (truer than most of them could ever know), was to say I was still awaiting my application to be approved by this site. I am a fan of embracing my flaws, but this route doesn't work for everyone.
posted by Wossname at 1:04 PM on August 19, 2010

FWIW, everyone on the internet who doesn't like you makes up a big, solid wall. The people who do like you are, by your own admission, a bigger wall, but the facts remain. So, just remember:

"The thing that's depressing about tennis is, no matter how good I get, I'll never be as good as a wall. I played a wall once... they're fucking relentless!" - Mitch Hedberg
posted by griphus at 4:30 PM on August 19, 2010

Etrigan pretty much nailed it.

The thing is that if you do something public and become good at it, you are always going to have dissenters. Think of how many people trash every politician, celebrity, celeb wannabes and so forth. They all get trashed, and yet they keep on going.

You have to decide for yourself if you can do this. If it bothers you this much, then maybe you do need to hang it up. This is not a thing that we can really advise you on. I can tell you all day, fuhgeddaboudit but you actually forgetting is another thing entirely.

Now the one thing I wouldn't do is retaliate. Silence is golden. If you ignore it and not feed into it, then the fun on the other side goes away and their fans will likely ask themselves who is the aggressor here.
posted by magnoliasouth at 6:46 PM on August 19, 2010

It's all a sign of your success - be thankful you inspire a strong reaction of any kind - that's how I would try and look at it
posted by xammerboy at 8:31 PM on August 19, 2010

I always try to remember -

"If you don't have any haters, you're not doing it right."
posted by Ereshkigal313 at 9:13 PM on August 19, 2010

To put this all yet another way, the people who really know you will not believe nonsensical attacks. For every hater, you probably have a fan who will defend you to these trolls.
posted by IndigoRain at 12:10 AM on August 20, 2010