First Word

My post about the hateful behavior that comes out when people feel the "power" of being anonymous online sparked a response from several readers. Many of my readers applauded my post questioning the belligerent, nasty and hateful comment threads I commonly read online. I got asked if I get haters bothering 3L Publishing . The answer to that question is that I do receive the rare, unsolicited comments. I don't take any of it personally, though. People who dare to write spite and hate are not typically my friends or allies (obviously). Most of my true associates in my network wouldn't dare to say some of the nasty things I've read spewed out there. We did have this so-called "watchdog" group go at 3L pretty aggressively. I am sharing this because frankly I found it sort of funny. To be clear, the woman who runs the group has never worked with us. She never spoke to us. And she doesn't know a single client. She spoke out of turn and incited a flame war ...

What is it about digital communication that just brings out the worst in people? I promise you back in the old days when people wrote letters to each other, they did not go out of their way to write a spiteful, nasty missive about what a "bitch" someone is or is not or how "lame" or "stupid" and any other negative, nasty pejorative they can come up with. This popped into my mind, because I was reading some chat areas and noticed an abundance of hateful messages. What is about the computer and Internet that just puts a whole new spin on the word "spew"? The freedom to show your hatefulness just because you've never met the other person is so stunning to me. We use the computer to communicate and lose our good manners. Some of the nasty comments aren't even necessary or relevant. It's like somebody taking out their every negative thought and vomiting it at the invisible audience on the other side. I just don't get it. I also recentl...