Please Do Not Feed the Trolls

There are several great free forum boards and chat rooms online for entrepreneurs and those looking to start a business from home.  A lot of great people stand ready to assist you in your quest for information, examples and feedback on your ideas or questions.

The problem is that you have to wade through all the BS, nay-sayers and flame wars that can erupt, to find the gems in the mess.  It takes time, but you will find them. Trust me, we are there for you.

One of the chief causes for all the rubbish you will find on these forums is the fact that many people never learned the number one rule to posting:  Never Feed the Trolls.

Trolls are simply those people who wade online looking to be offended. They never had the ambition to try something or to follow a dream.  So they stalk others who dare to dream.  Dare to be themselves.  And they want you to know they are there, that you are wrong and it will never work.  No matter what “It” is, it just can not work.  Otherwise their world will collapse.

Once you respond to these trolls its over, you have lost all control of the conversation.  That is what they live for.  Your response to them validates their very existence and furthers their agenda of chaos and confusion.  Your response means they won, they scored a victory.  That there work is done for the day and they can now happily return to watching reruns of Perry Mason on TV in their mom’s basement.

When you post to an online forum or chat group, only respond back to those who have something positive to say.  No matter how badly you want to shut the troll down, don’t do it… you can’t… they are trolls.  Trolls are simply evil little nothings trying to be something. So ignore them.

Even after years of online experience, I find myself getting sucked in on occasion.  What’s worse is I will catch myself answering to an anonymous poster.  Doing battle with a troll who doesn’t even have the common courtesy to register their handle or name.   Just jumps on and start blathering away about things they know nothing about.  Gawd that irks me.

So starting today, make a promise to yourself and to the rest of the entrepreneurial world online that you will never feed a troll again..  Make them go away… If enough of us do that, maybe the forums will be a better place to be.