Sunday, February 26, 2012

Time for the bullying to stop

For those of you who might not know, I'm a huge fan of the site Goodreads. It is a wonderful place for both readers and authors to gather together. There are groups on a wide range of topics. You can discuss individual books, authors, genres, blogging, reviewing, marketing -- well, you get the idea. It has been a terrific source for support and a gold mine of information for a new self-published author like myself.

My experiences with Goodreads has been nothing but positive. I've met some really awesome people on the site and found a lot of support as a self-published author. As an author, it is always pointed out that you must tread lightly in some groups. Goodreads was created as a place for avid readers to share their love of reading, but where the readers gather so too will the authors flock. As many of us know, readers don't like getting spammed to buy a book, but it happens. There will always be that person that thinks the rules of society, the group or the individual never apply to them.

On Goodreads, the etiquette for authors has been for them to become a part of the community and share more than just your book.Let's face it, most of authors are readers as well and you can talk about the genre you read and share thoughts on the books you've read. It's not hard. The idea being that if people get to know you, find your posts interesting, then they might be open to reading what you have written.

I've tried to follow that philosophy and seem to be successful in at least avoiding any backlash from readers, so far. However, there have been several authors from Goodreads that have been the targets of bullying. Now, I can't say for certain that all of these authors avoided spam or were innocent in their dealings with the groups and individuals they encountered problems with. What I can say is that bullying in any form is unacceptable behavior.

The internet makes it too easy at times for people to engage in bad behavior because they aren't forced to look a person in the eye as they spout their hate. However the feelings are still real and the names on our screens connect back to real people. Bullying in any way, shape or form is wrong. There is a new group on Goodreads that is dedicated to standing up to the bullies. Whether you are a part of that group or not, I think it is important that when you see someone getting bullied take a stand. Be sure to make it clear that whether you are a reader or an author that personal attacks, hate speak and rants are not acceptable forms of communication.

No one is always going to like what we say, what we post or what we think. Everyone is entitled to share their opinions and have that opinion respected even if it isn't agreed with. Let us all keep our eyes open for incidents where someone crosses that line and be there to say that we don't tolerate that action.

11 comments:

  1. I think the internet makes bullying so much easier and so it is more prominent than 'real life' bullying. Ultimately, those who do it are rather, well, pathetic really. To post nasty comments hiding behind an anonymous pseudonym and avatar, really that would have to be the lowest, most cowardly form of harassment.

    Posts like these are good, standing up to it simply means reporting it if you see it, deleting comments (if you can) and not flaring it up when it occurs. Sometimes it starts off small and grows into a monster and if it can get nipped in the bud early this is avoided.

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  2. I agree, Aderyn. I hope that the more the word spreads, the more people that will band together to get this type of behavior to stop. We all have to do our part to try and make the internet a better place for everyone.

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  3. Ugh. This topic is personal for me. Some people are just cruel... and they need to stop the bullying. The truth is most of the time these bullies grab onto anything they can use to bring certain authors down... whether the information was correct or not. And in today's world... it spreads. SO FAST. It's scary.

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    1. It is scary. I'm so sorry that this is a personal issue for you, Morgan. No one should ever have to suffer this fate. I hope that the more people that talk about it and share it can help to make a difference.

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  4. Yeah, bullying sucks. My brother is a young filmmaker and people can be so mean with their comments! Btw, Bridget, I tagged you in a meme over on my blog! :) Check it out! http://writingbelle.blogspot.com/2012/02/tag-meme.html

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    1. Yep, it sure does suck. People can be so cruel. Thanks for the tag!

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  5. Agreed. It always saddens me when people are hounded out of town, so to speak, by the loud-mouthed meanies. I too love Goodreads, and I admit my life would be poorer without it. I must say, I also like your blogs. your posts are interesting - make a refreshing change from book reviews! And I know this is not your map post,,, but still. CONGRATULATIONS. Having been in the mapping business I know what an incredible achievement that was. And it looks fantastic. Looking forward to reading more of your posts
    Gwynneth White
    http://todayinshenaya.blogspot.com
    PS. Got your details from Book Blogs

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    1. Gwynneth,

      Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment. So glad to make a connection from Book Blogs, awesome!

      Bullying is terrible and I hope enough people band together to start making a difference, one step at a time. I'm so glad that you enjoy my posts. I'm still giddy over my map. Thanks again for your kind words.

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  6. I have a friend who deleted her author account and left Goodreads because of just this. The way she was treated there was awful and the GR moderators didn't do anything about it. She has the whole thing documented on her blog:
    http://melissadouthit.com/2012/02/03/spread-love-not-hate-speak-out-against-bullying/

    -Jason

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    1. It is rough out there sometimes. Hopefully, everyone learns a lesson and things can get better from here. I hope your friend doesn't let one bad incident ruin everything. There is still a lot of good and supportive groups out there.

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  7. You are so correct, Bridget. I'm an author and reader. Just today, I read a very insightful post about a certain erotic book that she did not like at all. She kept it professional. She didn't attack anyone. She just shared a very strong opinion on why she didn't like this book at all.
    Some people were respectful. Some told her that she didn't need to be posting it because there were some posts discussing it.
    One commenter in particular was very cruel. All from one post, this person automatically started making assumptions on this person's sex life. To personally attack someone because they don't agree with you is totally uncalled for.
    This person lashed out and told the other one that she didn't know what good sex was and that she needed a good lay; or was she a crazy church goer picking on porn. I mean, to assume a person doesn't know what an orgasm is based on a review is very immature.
    This attack had nothing to do with the book. I reported it as inappropriate because it was.
    I do hope Goodreads takes these attacks seriously. No one should be bullied, made fun of or judged based on one opinion of a book.
    I like Goodreads but I think there are too many sites that bully enough already. I would hate to see Goodreads stoop to such a low level.

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