According to the Air Force Response Assessment the first step toward dealing with online criticism is identifying the type of person the website owner, blogger, reviewer, or forum poster is from among four choices defined by AFRA. We covered the first category yesterday, the Troll.
The second category is the “Rager.”
According to the AFRA, a “rager” is an individual who engages in online rants (often laced with profanity) or jokes, sometimes satirical in nature.
The characteristics that separate “ragers” from “trolls” are razor thin and, indeed, these individuals are often the same people, depending upon the tone of the post, review, response, or comment. Ragers consider themselves “witty” and claim to use humor to justify their misanthropic ways.
If your business or book is the target of a “rager,” the AFRA recommends ignoring it, just as you ignore the Troll. Do not comment on specific postings or reviews, which are often censored, edited, or “used” in some manner by the rager to further perpetrate his mythos. Ragers, like trolls, thrive on attention. In fact, Ragers are the Internet’s version of spoiled brats throwing a tantrum — a lot of kicking, screaming, and profanity. Steer clear or you’ll just encourage a bigger tantrum later.
Next we’ll discuss the “Misguided Individual.”
President of Outskirts Press 