So be warned, this is something close to a rant but also just to share my viewpoint on trolling, also read as bullying.

What happened:

So I started off today with a very terrible comment about my story Dolls.  It was clear the user was trolling and, after a quick view of their profile, they claimed to 'terrorize' DaeJae authors even though he frequently read DaeJae stories.  Something about being the self-proclaimed Gordon Ramsay of AFF.  It was intended to get a rise out of me and, clearly, the reader did not like my story, my writing style, or the fact that I 'tried to write' dark themes at all.

I'm not going to lie, it ticked me off.  Anyone would feel ticked off when someone blatantly tells you your story is unorganized, messy, and just downright laughable.  Personal attacks are no fun either since the user clearly thought that any positive comments I received were feeding my ridiculous notion that I could actually put words to paper and create a decent story.  I responded respectfully as the adult that I am but, of course, I threw in a few lines of sass that I just couldn't resist.  But then I decided to delete the comment altogether because I found myself checking often throughout the day to see if the user had responded.  I'm way too busy for that so I deleted it.  I had no idea the user would revisit the story later in the day just to make another mean (but hilarious) comment on my story about my author ethic, and personality.  Because, let's face it, no one knows me better than a user I've never met or talked to before on AFF who is hellbent on making me upset.  Cue sarcasm.

So, I politely declined to grace him with my awesome presence and blocked his wannabe douchebaggery from my profile.  If he decides to create another user account to contact me again then... well, I'll be honoured that he wants to talk to me so much.  I am pretty awesome after all.

My thoughts on trolling:

We all have our opinions, its true.  You may come across a story on AFF that makes you roll your eyes and curl your toes.  I'm sure more than some of us have come across a story you just down right found terrible and not worth your time.  Can you imagine what it'd be like if we ALL liked the same things?  AFF would be a lot less interesting, to say the least.

Here's the thing though; if you don't like what you've come across, feel free to provide constructive criticism (and in the case of promotion of illegal activity, please... do report it).  It is not okay to spew out poison to the author about things that are completely unrelated to the story.  It's not about you being able to write a 'better' story.  It's about providing feedback on something that could positively help the author develop their writing skills for you and others to enjoy.  Calling a story '' helps no one.  What Peter says about Paul says more about Peter than Paul after all.

At the end of the day, we're all here on AFF because we have a love for something in common.  We like stories.  Part of story writing (and reading) is to lose yourself in a world that you would otherwise not experience.  It should be magical and enthralling, not scarring and bullying because that's kind of what trolling is... it's cyber bullying.

So to all the trolls out there... I do hope you'll eventually find that the sun is warm and the skies are blue.  If you can't be happy with yourself, what's the point of life?