I love doing my blog. It is a form of creation that I truly enjoy. I get to take years of knowledge and mistakes and share them with others hopefully helping people avoid my mistakes. I also get to be slightly amusing as I do it which I have always enjoyed – just ask my 7th grade English teacher who kicked me out of class for “being funny” more times than she allowed me to actually stay in class. Of all the things I enjoy about blogging however there is one thing I really hate…mean people.

This blog is titled as it is for a reason; someone actually called me that in a comment on one of my articles in the comments section. The article was about the importance of spelling. Being a good writer with a natural gift is great but if you are a bad speller you can lose readers quickly. The person who commented didn’t agree with me and instead of just saying so in a nice way, they chose to call me a big fat idiot. Needless to say that comment did not get approved.

Now some of you might be saying, “Hey, shouldn’t everyone’s comment get approved?” My answer is no. Here is my reasoning…first off; it’s my blog so why would I want to approve a comment where another person is being mean? I wouldn’t. Second, my blog is about encouraging people with their writing. Having to approve comments where someone is so mean and discouraging would go against the very grain of what I am trying to do.

I think that when you are commenting on someone else’s work whether it is a blog or an article or even a book, you have responsibility to be at least gracious. There is no point in tearing something apart when you don’t have to. I love a good debate and had that person been more gracious I would have gladly debated him on the merit of good spelling for a writer but he took that opportunity away from me. Sad for him.
So when you posting comments, be gracious and remember that we are all human. If you are in a position to approve or disapprove a comment that is mean-spirited remember that your blog is a reflection and that other people are looking to it for support. Posting the mean ranting of a person who obviously needs help in the being-a-good-citizen department may be counter-productive.

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