Are you a Flamer Troll, Lurker, or Contributor?

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Do you ever comment on other people's pages? Are you a flamer troll, lurker, or contributor?

A flamer or troll is someone who attacks, bullies, and insults others online, often while using a fake name.

A lurker is someone who doesn't comment; he/she only watches.

A contributor is someone who adds to the conversation with questions, praise, intelligent constructive criticism, and a positive tone.

Check out this story of an online contributor who earned a job because of his comments.

Let's see which category you fall in. How would you solve these scenarios from Good Work Project? Before you decide on an option, ask yourself:

• Will what I do have any effects on me? How will I feel about what I choose?
• Will what I do have any effects on others? On their feelings? On what they choose to do in future? 

Situation 1
A person you don’t know, “AnnaBanana,” posts a story to a fan fiction website. There, anyone can post stories they write for other people to read. Unfortunately, AnnaBanana’s story is really, really bad. You read it, but you wish you could get a refund on the time you spent! There’s a box for “reviews” where you can send AnnaBanana your comments on her story. People who are looking for reading material can use these reviews to help them decide which stories to read. What would you do?

• You could bluntly tell her how you feel about her story.
• You could offer constructive criticism about her story.
• You could tell your friends not to read her story.
• You could find a different story to read and not respond to AnnaBanana’s at all.
• Or, you could do something completely different!


Situation 2
Over the course of a few days, two of your Facebook friends get into a fight over a controversial subject. You don’t have any opinion on the subject, but they’re really, really angry with each other about their differing views. You’re not very close friends with either of these people, but because their notes and status updates appear on your news feed, you’re exposed to their argument. 

What would you do?

• You could leave a comment on one or both of their profiles.
• You could send an email or a private message to one or both of them.
• You could update your status message and ask them to stop.
• You could ignore their updates until they cool down.
• You could defriend them.
• Or, you could do something completely different!


Situation 3
One of your friends sends you a link to a YouTube video. Your friend is really offended by it: She says it’s very, very offensive, and she just wanted to vent about it to you. Naturally, you’re curious about what made your friend so mad. If you click the link and watch the video, though, the creators of the video will see that you chose to watch it. Unless you choose to leave a comment or a rating out of five stars, they won’t have any idea what you thought of it.

What would you do?
• You could watch the video and, if you were offended, leave an angry comment.
• You could watch the video and, if you were offended, give it a low starred rating.
• You could watch the video and not leave a comment.
• You could refuse to watch the video.
• Or, you could do something entirely different!


 Homework
In your Google Reader, you should have subscribed to 10 professional blogs and all of your peers' blogs. Your job now is to contribute to the conversation on these blogs. Comment on 5 professional blogs and 10 peers' blogs. On your own blog, write a post that shares the links to each of your comments. Be sure to post using your real name and link to your blog address.