I do a lot of research online and am amazed at the number of snarky insulting comments that I read. Though someone entertaining, this habit is divisive, ugly and, worst of all, unproductive.
Disagreement is fine. If you read something that you know is dead wrong or that you believe is dead wrong, by all means comment. Calling someone a dumbass for their view on a topic is unproductive.
On our other blog, SpaFromScratch.com, we’ve received a few snarky comments, though no one yet has called me a dumbass. Our readers always chop these people off at the knees. I ignore them. What I don’t ignore is a disagreement with what I’ve said. I always respond to these comments and if I’ve made an error (very rare), I fess up. If not, I stand my ground with good debate. That not only works well, but everyone reading benefits.
So okay kids, if you get snarky with your comments, knock it off. I expect better.
