Dealing with Difficult Readers of Research Papers Online

Dealing with Difficult Readers of Research Papers Online
Among the greatest challenges when starting your own scholarly blog or web site are generating traffic, earning an audience and receiving comments that reveal engaged readers. If you have surmounted these enormous hurdles, it may seem petty to complain about that reader who just will not stop commenting in inappropriate ways, or the one who simply has something negative to say about absolutely everything. The fact is, however, that such active readers can become a true headache, and they can also change the tone and content of your blog or site, so it is essential to deal with difficult readers in effective ways. The following suggestions may or may not prove helpful in any given situation, but some are certainly worth a try.

Since it is always a good policy to reply to the comments left by readers, replying to someone who has begun to be a problem is the natural thing to do. Sometimes a carefully worded response will trigger a change or encourage a silence, but do remember not to let your emotional response to commentary guide your words or force you to determine your behaviour on the basis of that of the difficult reader. In other words, do not stoop to the same level. Remain diplomatic, kind and open to new ideas, wording your own responses in as generous a manner as possible without misrepresenting your thoughts. Remember that you have worked hard to achieve the voice and content you want to share, so it is better to fall silent than to express anger and compromise those achievements.

That silence can, in fact, be most productive. Silence can have a particularly powerful effect if it is unusual or unprecedented, so if you tend to reply when your readers leave comments and have already replied to the difficult reader on one or more occasions, silence will be noticed. Use it selectively and remember that as a deterrent it is best used when words are not working. Always replying to readers who agree with your views, but never to those who do not is entirely different and is not recommended if you wish to create an online identity that matches the professionalism of the open-minded scholar. When your attempts to move past the issue that has apparently caused your reader to become difficult do not resolve the problem or perhaps even magnify it despite your best efforts, silence is a valid option and sometimes has a lasting effect.

Other readers who comment on your articles may jump into a debate that becomes heated or inappropriate, and this may be a good or a bad thing. One approach when responding to a difficult reader is to invite other opinions, so readers who jump in with valuable ideas can be immensely helpful in transforming a potential conflict into an intellectual debate. Some readers may play the devil’s advocate on the margin of such a debate for the sake of escalating the situation. When matters have become so complicated – and thankfully this is rare – the goal is to keep the debate focussed on the topic and off the personal, and at all costs to prevent further troubles. It can be a little like teaching an unruly group of students, and sometimes a shift in direction and the immediate input of new material constitute the best approach.

If matters escalate to the point where you feel the only option is to block a difficult reader, do consider the behaviour and apparent intentions of the individual carefully. Remember that silencing a prolific commenter or reviewer on your blog or web site does not silence that person elsewhere. It may be wiser to keep that reader connected to your site, just as you would do your best to integrate a difficult student into the class group, and remain optimistic that the clash of opinions or lack of true interest that may have initially triggered the problem also eventually leads that reader to content that is more to his or her taste.