Writers responding to reader hate mail

I am always surprised that if you respond calmly -- via phone or email -- to even the most hateful callers/emailers, 90 percent of the time they are satisfied with the reply and to be heard.

 

Click on the original, which is linked below. The guy told whoever the first writer was to die. That's not OK.

 

"Hate Mail From Cheerleaders"

 

Ace: I am not sure if you think this is a good thing, but I keep nodding my head and agreeing with your posts.

You are dead-on here.

 

Bad idea for these journalists. They should just post in the "dear dimwit on the phone" thread.

Fun series for Deadspin to do. It's past the point where this type of thing (e.g., Simers' recent minor skirmishes with an overmatched Geoff Calkins) is the only reason I have to be interested in reading what any local newspaper columnist has to say.

And that might be exactly what they have in mind.

Whatever. You're just way too sensitive, little missy.

 

At times, it's like someone said to me after I got one of "those" calls: "Every time you say 'yes, sir,' you really mean 'eff you.'"

 

Well, I get a lot of hate mail.

 

Ignoring you is more work than not ignoring you if you're going to take this across all boards, freakass.

 

I have a smart co-worker who keeps me in check when hateful emails come my way. He says the same thing every time (because my first thought is always the irrational one): Don't reply now. Wait a day. Come back to it. You'll have a clearer head then, you won't be as mad and the reply will be more effective.

 

In addition to typing out an angry reply and then hitting "delete," I usually sell their email address to phishing sites.

 

I think more people need this philosophy for facebook as well!

 

Sometimes it's helpful to state the obvious to e-mailers, just because what seems obvious to us may not be so obvious to others.

I otherwise tend to let most stuff pass, "Thank you for you interest," etc.

And on those occasions with an e-mailer has a good point or a good idea, I try to acknowledge that.

The most hateful communications I get are voice mails in which the caller does not leave a return number.