Pimpcron: How To Deal With Haters
Pimpcron has some tips for fledgling bloggers and people in general.
Hey guys! It’s your old pal Pimpcron! There’s no writer tighter, and no gamer … lamer. Ah, rhyming you let me down. Why isn’t there a word rhyming with gamer that makes me better? Flamer? No. Tamer? Uh-huh. It can’t be done, I declare. I’ve kind of fumbled this intro.
I went into this blogging thing 3.5 years ago thinking that I could do this for maybe, six months tops. And low and behold, here I still am! I know there’s no possible way to keep this up forever, so I have always screen captured my nicest and meanest comments as a memento of this crazy ride. One day whether it is ten years from now or one, I will be able to look back and laugh at my stint as a -Z level niche internet celebrity. Haha. Enjoy the mean comments as you read. Just imagine spending a couple hours writing an article you think is good and then reading this. lol.
Anyway, I have had a rush of correspondence lately on my Pimpcron FB page with my readers from around the globe. Much of it was spurred by the release of my skirmish wargame Brutality last week (link button below the article). And I had two different people message me to encourage me not to listen to the haters, which was a really touching thing. One reader in particular was named Daniel (hey Daniel!) who asked for some advice about blogging. I’ve heard from many people that wargaming and Warhammer blogging interests them, but the possible flood of mean comments are more than their hearts can take. Well, if you haven’t noticed, I have lived through my fair share of mean comments, and I want to show you ways to deal with negativity in your life.
First Off, You Have To Be Secure
Tape yourself to a wall, chain yourself to a boat anchor, or pull your belt extra tight. No, not like that. You have to be secure in yourself if you are going to weather other people assaulting your self esteem. How does someone earn self esteem? You need to learn what you value, and then be good at that. If it’s a skill, then learn it. If it’s a value then be the pinnacle of it. You need a strong foundation of confidence to not be shaken while under verbal or literary assault. The things I value most are my family, work ethic, leadership, and creativity.
Those may sound basic or generic to you, but I know exactly what I mean by all of those things. And it doesn’t matter at all to me if you have a different definition, point of view, or understanding of those terms because all that matters is what they mean to me. Those terms I mentioned mean a lot to me, and I am confident in my ability to be good at those things.
If being funny is your goal, then learn how to be funnier. If tactics and strategy is your thing, read everything you can to get better. But the reason for this is that you learn to value yourself. If you value yourself then it doesn’t matter what other people think or say about you. Your opinion is just as valid as theirs, and just as skewed. In honesty all opinions don’t matter, but that’s another topic. We all think everyone should agree on everything including on things like our value as a person. But that just won’t happen. Ever.
The Best Way To Deal With Haters
Punch them square in the scrotum/ovaries. Or find out their mailing address and mail them a snotty tissue. Or leave the country and change your name, even if they didn’t know your real name. On second thought, don’t do any of that.
The best way to deal with them is to just let them go. Don’t feed the bears, as they say. Many people on the internet forget that there is another person on the other side of that comment flame storm or mean stab. Our dumb monkey brains often can’t keep up with technology, otherwise people would be just as brave in person as they are on the net. And, truth be told, many times haters have a point to them. I usually just agree with them and they shut up. Arguing takes two or more people, and it’s no fun by yourself. I’ve been on many podcasts and I’ve been told that I have a girl’s voice. I’ll admit that stung a bit, but I already knew I didn’t sound like Barry White. I think the girl part is a bit exaggerated, but still based in truth.
Someone just recently told me that I am a cancer on the wargaming industry and only muddy the waters with negativity. Honestly, they are right. I admit that I’m a bit of a troll, and love to use satire to rustle jimmies. But I also write articles like this one that are supportive, so he’s not completely correct. The funny thing is, after he said that, I’ve been trying to tone down my negativity though. So some mean comments can be useful for growth.
Many people say that I am not funny, and luckily I am confident enough in myself to agree to disagree with them. Every article I write has to pass my own code of entertainment before I post it, and I have to be satisfied with it way before you ever see it. I have a couple articles in a holding pattern as we speak, because they just don’t feel quite “right” to me and so I let them simmer for a while until I figure out how to finish them to my standard. Then when someone says it’s not funny or good, I can honestly say, “You didn’t like it? Ah well, I liked it.” and be totally honest about it. The point is, you can never please everybody, so don’t try. Please your own self, and everything else will fall in line.
Okay, next week I will be back with funny stuff. Gotta be heart-warming and what-not once and a while.
Speaking of my girl voice (giggle) I’m on Combat Phase podcast talking about Shorehammer. Check it out here!
How do you handle personal attacks?
