Negative Commenters who JUST KEEP READING

[SirGutsalot]

This is something that is quite common but indefinitely annoying.
Just recently looking at some of my older episodes and I've just noticed this one person who has gone to all my episodes (and I have hundreds) and left a negative comment.... yet they keep on reading.
I know this isn't uncommon but man, just why?!!

[NanettesClouds]

I'm so sorry to hear that, that sucks. I always get so excited when I have unread notifications, it must be terrible to click and see a string of hate.

I don't really have any insight on this sort of thing because I'm still pretty new, but here are some words of encouragement/advice from screenwriter Max Landis that might help?

[keii4ii]

Ugh, that sucks. I'm sorry you have to deal with that. I had a similar experience on another site, though I think I only had like 20 episodes max (I stopped posting there for unrelated reasons). You know it's them and not you, but boy can it be frustrating...

Long tangent about my experience:

In my case, the guy would post criticisms in a derogatory tone every time I updated. I had my suspicions which were later proven right: it was one guy using multiple accounts to 1) insult other creators, and 2) flip out at people who posted criticisms (including very polite, constructive ones) on HIS own comic.

In fact, some of the criticisms he left on my comic were re-worded versions of the criticisms people posted on his own comic. Which was funny because the issues described in those critiques were clearly not present in my comic. In retrospect, he was probably struggling, emotionally. He probably posted those comments because he wanted to say, "people said shit like this about my own comic, and I feel really upset about it. Am I the only one who feels that way when that happens?" But he couldn't talk about it like a normal person due to some kinda emotional hang-up. Or so I'm guessing.

On his main account, the one he was using to upload his comic, he was overly friendly to me and would even talk about possibly visiting me in person. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[Evan]

They're probably doing it just to annoy you or they're just a terrible person.

I would recommend ignoring their comments or deleting them if you want to. If you're really bored, you can try responding to them even though that's a terrible idea, but the important part is to never listen to them. It's also safe to assume you can't reason with them, so don't try to. Instead of telling them your story or trying to make them see your point of view, make funny or witty responses that turn whatever they say into a compliment. Maybe it won't work, but at least you might get a laugh or two out of it.

Basically they do it because they got bored and decided they wanted to be a terrible person/and or are desperate for attention, but the important thing to remember is that don't let them get to you, don't listen to them, and don't respond or try to reason with them.

[bear1]

I used to have a reader who was always insulting my lead character. If she wasn't in the strip, he wouldn't comment. If she was (which was the case most of the time since she's my lead XD) he always snarked at her or her actions. Nothing I let her say or do triggered any positive response by that person (although I admit once in awhile he made some really funny comments XD)
Anyway, although it might not be the traditional hater, I never understood why he kept reading this comic although he openly disliked the maincharacter that much.
In the end I decided to interact with him as little as possible and eventually he got bored and left.

If you want to interact with haters, kill them with kindness.
If you get triggered and write spiteful comments back to them, you will just cause drama and may look unreasonable.
Try to interact as little as possible with people like that and if you can't avoid responding, be kind, polite and perhaps witty. But never rude, angry or vulgar. Those are the reactions some people love to get out of you and that will harm you in the end.
If comments get too krass, report them and/or delete them yourself. But always be graceful

[indagold]

For me if you think about it, if they truly hated your work why do they keep reading it. Seems like an extra effort even a troll wouldn't put in.

[OgonoArtFamily]

I faced something like this in other social media sites
I always thought they were the biggest fans--haha. I find Anger + Love = Hate.
Love part comes in their constant obsession over you.

They want your attention like a loved one--but don't feed into the toxic need for attention.
At least you're putting yourself out there. The hater is putting hate out there.
You're already a step above!

See this as a opportunity for growth or test for when you grow a larger fanbase. There will be a mixture of love and a few hate comments. Focus and give your attention to the love and passion. Pay no mind to haters. They don't deserve your attention. The haters see you growing in success and feel insecure about their lives. They want to bring you down to their level. You're better than that!

[Testaccount]

I haven't experienced that on Tapas yet, but I did on another writing site. Some people are just overly critical of everything, and in those cases, I just ignore them. However, if they are giving me feedback, then I may take it into consideration.

But if it's just blinded negativity (hate), then I'll remove the comments. In the end, you can't let those people bring you down.

[UzukiCheverie]

Yeah, it's a pretty shitty experience. I had someone do that to me one time on my own website (when I had the Uzuki comics running on its own website). I did some IP tracing and it turned out they were someone from my boyfriend's university who thought it would be "funny" to tear their girlfriend (aka me) down. I was able to figure out the culprit pretty quickly from that point on, and he swiftly dealt with it. I then had someone else leave a toxic comment - they only left one, because once again, I learned that it was someone I knew, someone from my actual town, and I jokingly asked them "How's the weather down there in [location name]?" That shut them up pretty quick.

[J.Lovelace]

I had a reader like that on Deviantart. The sad part is that I talked to them before and they seemed like a really nice person, but then they quickly showed their true colors after complaining about my comics in the latest updates and belittling my characters for their actions. I blocked them after I got fed up with the constant negativity.

[Aspie_Gamer]

To be honest, you know you are doing something right with your life when you have both critics and haters who keep sperging about how much they think your work is the equivalent of Satan's diseased cancerous prostate or what have you.

And the thing is, most of the time, these types of people that have such a rabid hatedom aren't actually bad people irl. Case in point, I think it was either the Nier: Automata guy or the Senran Kagura guy (or perhaps both? idk), but at least one of them got flak from feminists and social justice warriors simply for unashamedly liking sexy feminine looking women which is a theme prominently reflected in their respective bodies of work. Thankfully, both men being Japanese, neither of them gave any fucks what some "holier than thou" stuck up twat from America with an internet connection thought of their work. They know that their product is good because they know that the target audience will buy it because their passion for it as a creator shows. And ultimately, that's the only thing that matters as a content creator.

And that's not the first time I've seen this sort of pattern on social media. Hell, this song and dance existed long before the internet only it wasn't anywhere near as prevalent back then. Creator puts out or says something non-PC. Moral guardians go "RRRREEEEEEEEEEEE." Media creates an outrage narrative. Creator gets more sales for their product because of all the new fans who checked it out simply because of the outrage it allegedly caused thanks to mainstream media. Rinse and repeat.

Anyway, what I'm getting at is don't sweat the moron who's reading your comic only to hate on it every step of the way. If anything, all those negative comments he's leaving in I guess the hopes you will quit your comic or whatever is instead giving you traffic you might not otherwise have thanks to his brand of stupidity.

[jiany0u]

WTF that is so psycho but also kinda funny in a sad way :'D

[keii4ii]

@ladypcp It was pretty sad X'D Especially the stuff he was saying, on his alt accounts, in response to the criticisms on his comic.

Alt account A: "In a few years!!! You losers!!! will be flipping burgers and dumpster diving!!! while this artist will be a famous pro!!!!"

Alt account B: "PLEASE don't listen to these haters!!! Your work is the best!!!"

(Yes, he had a thing for multiple exclamation points.)

[sandpaperdaisy]

I have one guy like this on another site. His name is engraved upon my heart. I tried dealing with him two ways:

1) I thanked him for his criticisms and went through and painstakingly addressed them all [they were novels] while trying my best to see his point.

That didn't work because then he would just come back with a one-liner "You're so stupid you don't even understand what I said" instead of continuing the discussion. Well, after this happened a couple of times I knew I couldn't have a fruitful discourse with him, since he wouldn't respond to any of my reasoning. So I then I tried:

2) Finally saying "Gee whiz, I know you think I'm a horrible person but I'm just so impressed that you spent all these hours of your life obsessing over my work even if it was to denigrate it. You're more faithful and dedicated than most of my fans! You're the best dude. Keep it coming."

Never heard from him again...

[IdiotWithPencil]

@sandpaperdaisy
1) you just feed the troll never feed the troll
2) you just played with the troll always play with the troll

usually to get rid of trolls (not haters trolls) is to just ask for more they want hate or validation so showing them that what their doing is useless bores them and they just leave also agree with them then they lose the leg they stand on and leave also don't silence or ban them cause then drama will ensue and you will end up being the bad guy

[sandpaperdaisy]

Good to know! I always forget about the troll phenomenon and my initial thought is "goodness this fellow certainly is hard to please." Which ends up wasting my time, admittedly. I'll try and approach such feedback more efficiently in the future.

[jiany0u]

Oh my gosh, that is RIDICULOUS!!!! X'''D You'd think he would at least change up his writing style! (Then again, if I was a 12 year old on the internet like I assume/hope he was, I wouldn't have thought that far ahead :'D)

[LordVincent]

Hmmm I had a few like this. One was understandable, I guess. They liked my art and the story for the most part, but they hated me as a person. They kept talking down to me, criticizing my life, lectured me (on shit they knew nothing about, might I add) and took any chance they could to shove my face in the shit that was going on in my life and call me the fool of the situation or blame me for it.
Basically, a whole bunch of crap I don't need to take.
Person eventually admitted to being straight up against my piercings and my transition as a trans person. At this point I told them that if I could block them from my comics, I would, because I don't want to risk them running amok and hurting any of my many trans readers. I haven't heard from them ever since so I'll assume they took the hint and left.

Another one was just silly. They read like 11 chapters/400-ish pages or something and kept complaining all along about it being gay romance.
"I HATE BL SO MUCH WHO DO THEY DO THIS WHY DO THEY DO THAT LOL I'M A GIRL I SHOULDN'T BE READING GAY SHIT LIKE THIS IT'S DISGUSTING"

Aaaand another one complained a couple of times, made wall posts on their own profile about how dumb my comic was, yet they kept reading it.

Some people need a life.

[Mari]

I read a ton of comics I consider garbage frequently just because they make me laugh (they need to be a specific kind of bad). I'd never leave a negative comment though, that's just like going out of your way to make someone's day shit. I've contemplated a few times on the comics I read for unintentional laughs if it'd be okay for me to write like a legit critique, but I've never done that either since you can't really predict how the person on the receiving end would react, and I don't want to destroy anyone's passion for something just because I think it's trash.

So like, I get that they come back, I seriously don't get leaving shitposts for half the pages though.

[IdiotWithPencil]

as someone who from time to times jokes post, it's most about having fun and making jokes, if the author gets mad then he has a real thin skinn and needs some help (not death threats just jokes) but critiques are diffrent and are actually really helpfull, you should do it even if the guy in question has a really thin skin since if you don't tell him what's wrong he will never know :V (also if he gets mad at you or acts like a B**** at you he is the problem not the critic)