Hi.
I'm Karen McKee, the Scientist Videographer.
If you post videos online, chances are you've gotten a nasty comment like that.
Even if the majority of your commenters behave civilly, there are always a few who, because
of jealousy or insecurity or some other personal defect, will say something hateful about you
or your video.
There are several great videos out there that have good advice for handling such people
and how to avoid letting negative comments get to you.
I've put links to these in the description below because they all have different perspectives
about this problem, and when I'm having a problem, I like to hear about a variety of
options.
So, in this video I'd like to offer my own perspective and experiences dealing with negative
comments.
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If you are a content creator, you must be prepared for criticism.
Constructive criticism will help you improve, but hateful comments about you or your videos
are not helpful.
So, what should you do?
Block all comments?
Block only those that contain personal attacks or profanity?
Allow all comments, no matter how toxic.
The answer is there is no right way or best way to go.
But I can tell you what I do and why.
Then you can decide what works best for you.
If you post your videos on YouTube, you have the option to allow or disallow comments by
checking or unchecking this box.
You'll find this option in the video manager under the advanced settings tab for each uploaded
video.
If you allow comments, you can elect to allow all comments, allow all except those that
are potentially inappropriate, or allow only approved comments.
Some science agencies with YouTube channels have chosen to completely block all commenting
on their videos.
The U.S. Geological Survey, for example, disables commenting on its YouTube channel but allows
voting, which provides some information about viewer reactions .
If you completely block comments, though, you won't know what people liked or disliked
about your video or if the viewer had a question about some aspect of the topic.
That is important information for you to use to improve your videos and make them more
understandable by your target audience.
I allow approved comments on my channel so that I can review each one and decide for
myself.
I delete any comments that contain profanity, personal attacks, off-topic statements, misinformation,
or other negativity.
I can also report abusive comments to YouTube.
If anyone repeatedly makes insulting comments, I have the option of blocking them, which
prevents them from ever posting a comment to my channel again.
You can find more information about cyberbullying and harassment in YouTube Help.
I believe it's important not to respond to trolls who attempt to harass or intimidate.
You might be tempted to lash out and write a scathing putdown, but that just invites
more insults.
Instead, by simply deleting their comment without reacting to it, you consign them to
an electronic purgatory where they are uncertain about whether their offensive message even
hit its target.
And they are essentially helpless to do anything about it.
But what about comments that are just critical of your video?
Although most of the comments I get are positive, a few people have written to point out errors
or to provide constructive criticism that I'm happy to correct or otherwise address.
Consequently, I approve all comments that identify an error in a video, simply disagree
with something, offer an alternative opinion, or complain about not understanding something.
Then I try to resolve whatever the problem is or point the commenter to another site
where they can find the information they need.
And even if the tone of a negative comment borders on aggressive, aggrieved, or sarcastic,
my reply is polite and respectful.
For example, someone once took me to task for a video I created, which described a particular
type of video that uses a montage of still images, rather than video footage, to tell
a story.
She was annoyed because I did not actually show how to make a video using only photographs
or other still images.
I responded by making this video tutorial that showed what the commenter had asked about.
She was so grateful that I made such an effort, she thanked me and shared my new video with
her followers.
This exchange showed me just how useful some negative comments can be, even giving me ideas
for new videos.
Basically, my philosophy is to try to turn a complaint into an opportunity for additional
learning by all viewers.
In summary, it's important for video creators to spend some time thinking about how to handle
comments.
No matter how great your video is, there will be someone somewhere who takes issue with
some aspect of it.
But I've found that most people leave positive comments, thanking me for my efforts.
Even those who have a criticism are usually polite about stating it.
And there are steps you can take to deal with trolls.
In the end, you must decide what works best for you and your situation.
Thanks for watching and don't forget to like my video if you found it helpful.
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