"You're stupid"? Posted anonymously? That's all? Well, first of all, your blog is available to the general public on the internet, which means anybody can read it. There might be people out there who don't agree with your view on the world or your approach at travelling. So what? OK, it shocked you as you thought the blog entry that received the comment was harmless and inoffensive. I've never read your blog, so I can't comment on that, but what you perceive as inoffensive might really piss off somebody else. That doesn't necessarily mean that they're 'haters'. Maybe they just wanted to leave a quick feedback to your blog. Doing so anonymously and in an offensive manner isn't the ideal way to do so, obviously. Would you have preferred to get a scathing comment, more personal and detailed than "You're stupid", bearing the name of a TB-member?
And then, why are all the replies in this thread so one-sided? I understand that zuzuzu needs some TLC now, but is she really so traumatized that everybody needs to tell her how awesome she is, and that everybody who doesn't think so is jealous and a 'hater'? What's up with that rhetoric? And what's with that culture of constant, incessant backscratching on Travelblog? Why are good old-fashioned irony and sarcasm so conspicuously absent from this site? Where are all the Australians telling her to "Toughen up, princess!"? Why does any criticism automatically make you an outcast?
I'd much rather get some constructive criticism than the neverending same old "Good for yoooouuuuuuuu...."-bullshit that makes up 99.9% of all comments on here. Plus, if I started writing 'offensive' comments to blogs I don't like I wouldn't get off the computer anymore. So I don't. I'm not interested in wasting my time arguing with strangers on the internet. If I was, I wouldn't do it anonymously, though.
And just if anybody is interested to hear: when I was a member on this website for less than a month, and just published my first couple of blogs, which were really only meant to be read by friends and family, I got several negative comments by one of the MODERATORS, attacking me personally for not liking his favourite country. Needless to say, I was quite shocked and immediately deleted the comments. I thought "Wtf? I don't want any random douchebags reading my blog", so I went private for the next two and a half years. Since then, my blog has evolved from mere info for the folks back home to a more general commentary about the places I travel, so I went public again not that long ago. I'm a front-page blogger now. I haven't gotten any more negative comments, though, despite the fact that I think my blog is quite offensive in parts, for I don't pull my punches and I prefer straight talking to superficial bullshit. That moderator is still a moderator, I think, and he's one of those much-revered bloggers who get showered constantly with flowery comments and compliments. I wonder whether he'd still get those if people realized what a 'hater' he is...
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