Mean, ugly response when posting?

To anyone who has reached out, posted, and gotten a hurtful response: Please don't let a mean comment stand in the way of your success. You are worth too much! Just note that some people may have good intentions and poor communication skills, they may be a know-it-all, a mean person, or they may just be a miserable being hoping to look and feel superior. Don't let them stop you from being all that you can be.

To anyone who has posted when angry, or when passionate about the post containing incorrect info, or when you feel the writer is faulted in their reasoning, and you can't type fast enough....please read on:

We go thru stages in life. Thank heavens! What we think today influences how we view things tomorrow. For instance...

My stages of losing over 100 pounds:
1st: Motivated to lose weight, not interested in getting healthy other than losing. Ate unhealthy foods, but a heck of a lot less of them. At this stage I was easily "wounded" since I was at my most insecure.
2nd: Learned healthy foods were "satisfying". Learned to like them too.
3rd: Felt better and realized the type of foods I eat affect my body more than I thought. Learned to like exercise too.
4th: Went crazy with "clean" foods and "exercise" . Drove family nuts with my expanding knowledge base of healthy foods and nutritional supplements, etc... Participated in triathlons, charity sporting events, etc... Became a know-it-all and wanted to share what I knew more than listen and support others, especially if they didn't share my goals.
5th: Became aware of, and started to strive for, balance in my life. Exercise moderately, almost every day, much more active in everyday lifestyle, eat healthy, but sneak in a sweet or fried item here and there.

We are all different and have different goals. How we ant to achieve them, may not be for all of us, but may be all they can do for now. For some, like me, moderation is key. For others extreme exercise or all clean foods is paramount (me just a few months ago), and for others losing weight is their only goal, so cutting down the amount of fries they eat, or going from regular to diet soda is all they are capable of changing right now.

Wherever we are in our thought process, I think it's important to be a positive support to each other. Hurtful comments, or comments that may make someone feel you look down on them may sway them into leaving MFP, or feel bad about themselves and want to binge! You may trigger them to fail. MFP is such a valuable tool... I'd hate for that to happen. Remember, we are all struggling to make this work in our lives, where we are right now. You may not understand why someone is eating Fat Free Whipped Cream, or (2) 2-Liters of Diet soda each day, or tracking their playing guitar as calories burned. Is your goal to prove your way of thinking is better, or that you know more, or that their poor choices in eating are suddenly "your" responsibility? Don't fool yourself into thinking you just want to be helpful. Re-read your posts and see if you post in a caring, thoughtful, and respectful manner. The chances you'll convince them they are worth the time, effort and investment to think like you, is less likely if you make them feel bad about themselves.

If you are interested in helping motivate others... Call out the people who write mean things and let them know their comment(s) could have come across as hurtful. It's possible they meant well, and can re-phrase their post. If they are a bully, they may have no idea their comments are seen as mean. They just get off on the power of feeling superior. Let's take that power right back and shed light on their poor choice in words.

Perhaps write something like this :

quote them and add:

The above comments may or may not be supported by most MFP users, but in case they came across as harsh, please know that most of us on MFP are supportive and would like to help you regardless.

@ _______________ - Please consider stating your thoughts, ideas and/or suggestions in a more supportive manner.