An "anonymous" reader left comments on a variety of posts here at the "Some Assembly Required Blog" over the past few days. Pretty critical of me (which is fine, cuz God knows I have faults and have made mistakes!).
My anonymous friend claims to know me personally....and it is clear he or she is not a fan of ol' Thom (which is also okay, because I learned a long time ago that not everyone is going to like me).
But I am annoyed that they post anonymously. I am not comfortable with those who attack someone while hiding out. If you think I am a schmuck, tell me, but use your real name. I have had folks tell me my faults before. Yikes, I don't want to hear them, but I am not made of glass. To toss out anonymous comments is just not right. Better to keep it to yourself if you don't have the confidence to say "Thom, you make some of the mistakes you talk about in your posts and I do not like you".
Yep, I do make mistakes (wish I didn't. Try to make less of them). I do not write this blog from a point of superiority. My writing is a learning experience for me (as well, I hope, for others). It helps me accomplish my goals of being a better, enthusiastic, more supportive, positive person who really does want to be of assistance to others.
Many bloggers do not allow anonymous comments, and make everyone register to post a comment. I think that is a good idea, but Blogger.com does not have that feature.
I do not want to hide what "anonymous" says about me from my readers...so since they are on older posts, I am putting the links below so everyone can easily find them.
I am human. I make mistakes. I can be judgemental. I have not always had the right attitude in my dealing with others. Granted, I try to improve myself year over year, and I like to think I do fewer stupid and selfish things! I am sorry anonymous thinks I am a hypocrite. I try not to be, and most of the time I am not a hypocrite....but being human is just hard sometimes.
Here are the posts where "anonymous" flamed:
Treat People Better Everyday
Get Over Yourself
Leave A Comment and maybe Win A Prize (Ironic, since anonymous comments are not eligible to win the prize)
Impressions
Thank you to all who read regularly and spread the word about the "Some Assembly Required Blog". I appreciate all the kind (well, usually kind) comments and emails I get from readers. But we can't learn from just the good stuff....so thank you to "anonymous" for your thoughts as well.
Have A Great Day.
thom
www.thomsinger.com
thom@thomsinger.com
***Update - It has been brought to my attention that Blogger.com does give me the ability to make people register before they can leave a comment on my blog. I am going to consider this based on if "anonymous" readers continue to leave negative comments in the future. I think the problem with the internet is that it empowers people to be nasty through anonymity. I reserve the right to activate that feature at anytime, even in February, during the "Comment Contest".
Also, I do realize that "anonymous" is NOT always the same person (I do think the comments on the above links were because of the time frame in which they were posted).
5 comments:
I think after reading the comments posted by anonymous we should rename him, her, them assymous. I get the same thing on my BLOG and I have tried not to take it personally but sometimes that is hard. Most recently I got a post (which I admit I removed) slamming me for prostituing my kids picture to make a business point.
Here's the deal. If you don't like what someone writes on their BLOG quit reading it. Quit adding to the noise and simply crawl back in the hole you came from.
Great post and I am glad you said what you said!
Ripple On!
Steve
P.S. And Anonymous....RIPPLE OFF!
Thom
I read each of "anonymous's" posts and it just made me sad. Who has the time to go out of their way to bad mouth someone for no reason at all. I agree with Steve Harper when he said that if someone doesnt like a blog just stop reading it. I sure hope you don't let this jerk hurt your feelings.
Whomever is writing these posts (a) does not have a particularly strong grasp of english grammar and (b) is simply an envious coward who wants to take mean potshots at you from behind a curtain. Its pathetic and sad and if I were you I would just quit posting this garbage...don't give a jerk like this a place to post his or her vituperative nonsense.
Liz
Wow...I'm blown away by the "anonymous" comments that you have received. Some of them are downright mean! It's hard not to take them personally, but you have to distance yourself from comments that come from somebody too cowardly to reveal his/herself. On my site, I remove comments that detract from my blog...are you able to do the same???
That's really unfortunate that someone so lame needs to feel special and get attention by posting without identification. Pretty much null and voids any point they make, really.
I'm thankful that I use WordPress which affords me all sorts of filtering, as well as handcoding if required. Too bad Blogger doesn't have more features to make this easier for you!
Anonymous is a coward.
(And since this comment states the obvious, and adds no value, please exempt me from your contest.)
Hang in there, Tom!
Regards,
Glenn
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