How to deal with negative comments about your blog or forum

Beverly

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Let's say you are surfing online and find someone posting negative comments about your blog or forum on their site. And, these are completely untrue and unsupported statements. How do you deal with the situation? Do you strike back by making comments on your blog? Do you launch a counter strike with factual information? Or, do you ignore?
 
Re: How to deal with negative comments about your blog or fo

I can be short-tempered when it comes to this kind of situation, haha. I really hate it if I'm accused of something untrue. I will probably drop a comment there explaining and tackling the negative comments. But if after a discussion the other party doesn't seem to agree, I'll just leave him/her alone and carry on with my job, knowing that I don't do what he/she says. And trying to be careful not to do that, of course.
 
I'm horrible when it comes to members accusing me of something totally untrue, I mean if they are nice about it and what not I'll be nice as well but otherwise usually I'll reply with a very bi-polarate message explaining why their facts are untrue. 😛

However if it's a legit negative comment like, "this forums design is not the best" or something constructive that I can actually use, I'm usually pretty nice and take it into consideration. Most of the time I am blinded from what the actual community see's, which is why I am very adamant all about community surveys etc. to see what can be changed.
 
delete them right away iF you feel their comments are too negative. Direct people to what you want is a good way in maintaining blog. Some few little negative comment may be good. but too many and too negative is a disaster!
 
If someone has bought it upon themselves to slander a website of mine, I will reply, call them out and dismiss any accusations.
 
It really depends on the way they go about it. Of course I put a lot of time into my site. Someone trying to debunk it kind of sucks a lot. But if they do it via a topic in like the suggestion area, usually my awesome members come to the rescue and say how great the site is.

Usually I don't have to give the person any attention and it fixes itself in its own time. There's always going to be negativity, but you should always try to keep your cool on the outside. :3
 
Constructive criticism, I take it to heart, people being jerks, posting false information to take users away from my site, I'll talk with them, and if that doesn't work I tell people to just ignore them.
 
Why waste your time? Anyone who truly knows you, will know the truth, and anyone naive enough to trust a stranger's opinion when he/she has never interacted with you is most likely a poor candidate for your discussion community anyhow. Roll with the punches. That's my motto. It's better to invest your time elsewhere 🙂
 
I take all feedback, whether negative or positive, into consideration as long as it is constructive and respectful. For my forum, negative feedback has driven the most positive changes. If it is just outright false and uncredible then I'll normally just remove the post/thread.
 
I used to let negative comments get to me and it would motivate me to prove people wrong. Now, as I have gotten older, I tend to brush 90% of them off and not worry about it. 10% still get to me.
 
I've seen instances where people have slandered me on rival forums for being a "bitch" mod, or for banning them unfairly. They want to be pitied in their new place. Of course a bunch of lies gets spouted. Usually in those cases it becomes clear why they got banned, and they end up banned there too. Best ignored.

Nothing like that has happened since we started SC. But of course it will eventually. If its a post on another forum, ignore them.

If it's a post on a review site, definitely reply, but stay professional. It is more likely to happen on rival forums though.
 
I would say that we need to accept all kinds of feedback from our users. If what they say is true, then improve it. If what they say isn't true, reply in a decent and polite manner.
 
showcrit said:
I would say that we need to accept all kinds of feedback from our users. If what they say is true, then improve it. If what they say isn't true, reply in a decent and polite manner.
The OP was referring to negative posts found elsewhere online about your site. Not feedback. 🙂
 
I usually ignore when it's not happening on my forum. They don't like my site or the way I run things, fine. They don't have to return if they don't want to. However if it gets too personal or I get too upset about it, I'll PM the admin or whatever staff is around and try get it resolved. If it gets too out of hand and the staff does nothing, I'll most likely leave.
 
Ashley said:
I usually ignore when it's not happening on my forum. They don't like my site or the way I run things, fine. They don't have to return if they don't want to. However if it gets too personal or I get too upset about it, I'll PM the admin or whatever staff is around and try get it resolved. If it gets too out of hand and the staff does nothing, I'll most likely leave.

Same here, I used to deal with negativity not too well, but I just learned not to care because there's someone out there who will care.
 
If it's constructive criticism that will better my site, I take it into consideration, i mean genuine constructive criticism. If it's just some bored troll being negative and spewing nonsense, I just permanently ban them and blacklist their IP in my cpanel so they can't come back. 😀
 
Cybo said:
Ashley said:
I usually ignore when it's not happening on my forum. They don't like my site or the way I run things, fine. They don't have to return if they don't want to. However if it gets too personal or I get too upset about it, I'll PM the admin or whatever staff is around and try get it resolved. If it gets too out of hand and the staff does nothing, I'll most likely leave.

Same here, I used to deal with negativity not too well, but I just learned not to care because there's someone out there who will care.

Me too! As I got older though I realize that there were plenty more where those haters came from and there are people who really do appreciate what you do and don't always give a crap about the way you do things
 
If the situation is minor, it's best just to ignore it. However, if the situation is major, meaning that it is impacting your website's success, just blacklist them. If they dislike your website so much, why would they even want to be on it, right? :lol:
In short, don't feed the trolls, ban them. :cheer:
 
1. You could delete them
2. You could censor them (delete parts)
3. You could respond in anger
4. You could respond in kind
 
It depends on why they are negative. If they are a competitor, troll or simpy someone who hates you, I would ignore them and if possible, delete them. If they are genuine comments made by unbiased people, I would take them into consideration. Instead of cussing them down, contact them. If they don't already explain, ask them why they feel the way they do and how you could improve.

Unfortunately not everybody will agree with you and you need to respect their opinions. If one person feels this way, i'm sure more people do who haven't spoken up. This is why you should value it, because this is how you will improve and grow.
 
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