Many a person has gotten out of hand when the discussion gets heated. The posts you don’t think will cause uprise create riot. And that’s when you need to watch out, and make sure not to make enemies. Those tend to turn into trolls.

@ Brandon – I aim to surprise, and try not to repeat what’s already been beaten to death!

@ Rocky – I’ve had a few in my time, and very often, the situation says more about the troller than me. Calling a time out and contacting the person directly very often resolves the situation, and positively so. But that takes cool, so make sure to be that cool blogger!

@ Brian – You reminded me of the time a German came to comment on my blog, and clearly put in so much effort to write in English that I went to his blog and stumbled my way through some very bad German – but left a long, thoughtful comment regardless. It was pretty cool to reach over the language barrier that way.

haha, i haven’t had any trolls yet. (knock on wood) I definitely think its cool how you gently deal with them. I think that’s the best way to deal with anything !

There are a couple of commentators that “helpfully” point out errors, gaps in flow of logic, typos, etc etc, and those are generally the people who just can’t stand that you may have posted something halfway decent and who are thrilled to catch you with your pants down for a second.

You’re not one of those, are you?

@ Deja – Engage!!! ENGAGE!!! It’s a lonely world, being that blogger! We LOVE to be engaged and commentators do too!!!

@ Erika – I love Eeyore. Just not on my blog ;)

@ Jura – Well, in my experience, I’ve never met a troll that tries to be helpful, supportive and kind, so… Hm, unless you’re referring to those fantasy novel trolls that become friends of the humans and do really wonderful things… but… I’m pretty sure there’s no such thing as a good troll online…

@ Deb – Hee! Don’t you love those? “I just wrote about this LAST WEEK!” Okay, what are you trying to say, that I managed to actually find your blog out of the 25 million other blogs out there with a PR0 ranking of the type that fits with obscure island in the middle of the ocean, read your post and then became inspired to write mine? Or, are you saying that we are so alike in brilliance and mind that I obviously read yours while writing my post? Or, are you saying that we’re long-lost twins separated at birth and it’s a miracle…?

Yeah, no. I never did much get those commentators…

@ Design – May you never encounter a troll. And if you do, walk away. Go have beer. Beer makes everything better.

@ Megan – I ran out of steam. All I can say is… “Thank you!” ;)

And, it goes without saying — Great post, James! :D

Seriously, don’t forget the commenter who has to turn every single post into a testimonial for you to visit his or her own blog. “I wrote about this very thing, come see my post at….”

Very informative post. I still haven’t encountered a troll on my blog yet, but this should get me ready. Thanks!

haha I kid I kid.

This was great though, loved how you broke down each section and gave valuable insight to each section. Gave good advice to both the commentator and the writer!