I am a card carrying member of the dubious "Newsvine Suspension Club". Yes, I said it! in the open! in public and on line!!!! I do not always agree with the suspensions. But Newsvine makes the rules so like it or not I am subject to those rules if I wish to remain part of Newsvine.

The occasional snarky comment happens with the best of us. Some people have almost turned snarkiness into an art form. Not everyone gets in trouble for them and others, like myself, do. Suspension does not make me or anyone a "bad" person.

Many Vine comments make me laugh. I enjoy reading the repartee and the quirky side tracks among Viners. Many comments make me think about the topic in a new light. But some comments raise my blood pressure to the boiling point. I can not  help but wonder why a person would post such a vitriolic, idiotic, stupid, ignorant, racist, hateful, offensive (pick an adjective of your personal choice) rant. I believe some people post comments strictly to stir the pot and then sit back to enjoy the show. My Mother would be this type if she were alive today. (I am pretty sure she would have been banned quickly as a result.)

There is some controversy right now concerning the "ignore" feature. Some feel it is childish to use the feature.  Some resent that others on here have the CONTROL over whether or not to listen to them. Some believe those who use the "ignore" feature are unable to hold their own in discussion. Some Viners proudly declare "I NEVER use the ignore feature!" and seem to be expressing their "superiority"  over the rest of us. I was recently told we can now be suspended for "ignore taunting". Ignore taunting is when you post that you put  (Fill in the name) on ignore. Apparently just telling others who are butting heads with the same person, to use the "ignore" feature could be considered "ignore taunting." 

Due to recent Newsvine changes in interpreting the CoH and my own Vine-cations I came up with the Newsvine Serenity Prayer to help me avoid future suspensions or worse banning:

God grant me the serenity to accept the views I cannot change,
Courage to change the views I can, including my own.

And wisdom to not violate the CoH.

(Feel free to use it if you wish.)

What methods or techniques do you use to avoid the desire to reach through the monitor and throttle a poster who so desperately NEED correcting? How do you do you side step the "professional goader" who attemps to push you into a commenting snark trap? When someone is trolling you from seed to seed, how do you  cope with their comments?  What  do you do when a Viner and you have a personality conflict that is escalating to the point of verbal combat? When repeated efforts to contact the Newsvine Moderators concerning the person are never responded to, how do you avoid the urge to respond in a negative manner? If you were to encounter these kind of negative remarks in your personal daily lives, how would you handle them?

As always - REMEMBER the CoH!

• Engage others as you would during a face-to-face conversation (courteously).
• Give the benefit of the doubt by asking for clarification instead of assuming another's intent.
• Consider, then address specific arguments and ideas put forth by others, intelligently, rather than taking the easy route and attacking them personally. A "personal attack" is defined as directly or indirectly insulting another user (or group of users), oftentimes by name-calling, labeling, making sweeping generalizations or putting words into their mouth.
  

  Examples

  • "You are a racist..."
  • "Your ideas are idiotic..."
  • "[insert political affiliation]s are stupid."

  http://www.newsvine.com/_nv/cms/info/recommendedGuidelines