If you were with a group of people and someone was telling a story that didn't particularly interest you, would you pipe up in the middle of the conversation and say, "who cares!"? Probably not. So why do some people feel like that's ok to do online?

I've been blogging for work for a number of years now, and I've learned that you have to have a pretty thick skin at times. There will always be people who feel it necessary to be negative.

Now don't get me wrong, I encourage conversation and I absolutely respect people with differing opinions, I just find that something about writing on an Internet forum takes away a certain level of decorum and politeness that we would probably exercise in a face to face interaction.

Early on, I would sometimes respond as politely as possible. Usually something along the lines of "Hi! Thanks for your comment. We like to talk about all sorts of topics that will hopefully interest many people. Thanks for reading!". But I quickly realized that was kind of pointless.

While I usually try to let it roll off my back, some of the nastier comments can get to me at times.

I've learned to ignore the "who cares?" and "don't you guys have anything better to do?" comments, but the more personal and negative comments can get to me at times.

I would say this to some of those folks - would you make that same comment to someone in person? How would you feel if you saw your kids talking like that online, would you consider it bullying?

And, in the end, I'd just make one simple request - please keep in mind that there's an actual person on the other end of the article. Someone took the time to think out what they wanted to write, put it together, and put it out for millions to see.

It's not just a faceless organization pumping out articles. So, if you're thinking of making a negative comment, go to the top of the article and look at the name of the person who wrote it and take a moment to think, would you say the same thing to them in person?

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