Now on IFB: When Words Attack Bloggers

It seems, lately, the internet has been responsible for a lot of blogger outrage – whether it’s bloggers themselves or commenters jumping into the fray. I wrote a whole post about this phenomenon, citing a really interesting Slate editorial that says:

It’s a prime example of the feminist blogosphere’s tendency to tap into the market force of what I’ve come to think of as “outrage world”—the regularly occurring firestorms stirred up on mainstream, for-profit, woman-targeted blogs … They’re ignited by writers who are pushing readers to feel what the writers claim is righteously indignant rage but which is actually just petty jealousy, cleverly marketed as feminism.

Read the rest of my piece over on IFB (where I’ve just recently become a contributor)!

And our commenters’ thoughts on the matter?

Ellie Di said:

I think there’s something to “don’t feed the trolls”, but I also think that if we ignore the problem, it won’t go away (that particular advice never works). I’m not sure I have a concrete solution, though. Should bloggers block the comments or should they allow people to have their say? I guess the real question is who gets to decide. Perhaps those of us who aren’t trolls should be making more time to think about our responses and measure them out before hitting “submit”.

And Amanda noted:

What a great post. I really enjoyed reading it.
My opinion of the hate on the internet is basically this:
For every logical and level-headed person on the internet who wants actual and meaningful conversation, there are 20 who just want to act like complete assholes.

Hate will always be on the internet, because it’s made so easy for people who can sit anonymously behind a screen. It’s made even easier with hater blogs, encyclopedia dramatica and the like. I feel that if someone reaches a certain level of internet “fame,” that they should expect criticism to a certain level. I can’t stand personal attacks, like that fashion bloggers, why? blog that you posted. That person just spews hate and jealousy, and should consider how she would like it if it was her that was getting made fun of.

Right now fashion bloggers seem to be the target of internet hate…but it’s only a matter of time before they switch to something else. I have a beauty blog where I post my makeup looks, hopefully it’s not next!! :-O

What do you think?