Excellent post, sorry they dragged you into their butthurt drama. You being on that list, if only shortly, proves what so many have been saying since they arrived: they're yellow journalists, and report a lot a crap as 'fact' when it was nothing less than unverifiable hearsay. N
It's not like I'm hurt by their actions, but the fact that such people exist makes me sad. I'd like them to stay away from us. We left GR. What do they want from us?
Yes, I agree with you. Some of them may have experienced it but mostly its a gross exaggeration - and that insulting. It's 'first world problems'. It's a kid crying because he didn't get a chocolate bar and calling it abuse, when some poor kid got beaten to death.
Which is why I don't know how to feel about them. Mostly they seem to have passed all levels of reasonable long ago and now got so caught up in their own twisted world, they don't see what they've become. Maybe there was a worthwhile idea somewhere along the way, but now? It's beyond outrageous. And for me that means - nothing. It's just sad, but you know there's no point in trying to change them. I just wish they left us alone.
And stopped with their 'bully' claims. It's catchy, but please, use something else.
Yes, luckily STGRB are mostly harmless, just bothersome and unpleasant (or maybe I haven't heard all stories yet). I wish I always had only that kind of problems ^^ Good thing about the internet - I can walk away from it. They have no idea what abuse is (*probably, I can't be certain non of them ever go any real abuse, but saying 'I didn't like this book' shouldn't be illegal)
Not harmless, they harvest IP addresses and openly offer a $500 bounty for anyone providing real location and identity info on targeted reviewers which is then doxxed out on various sites and in vicious phone calls.
Oh. My. God. Yes, I most definitely haven't heard everything yet. But that's insane! And illegal (I think). What would they need it for? How crazy do you have to be to think you need personal data of a person? What for? This is just... How come they still exist and haven't been arrested? That is no joking matter. It's one thing to be annoying and moan on the internet about injustice of this world. It's something else to pose a real threat.
It is so much more than that. In one example, they have been circulating work information and email addresses of co-workers for one person they detest (and who has never written a negative review...etc.!) You can do the math, crazy fucks harassing her employer and co-workers. This will backfire on them if they continue, her work is fully behind her. They are the extremists, but in this case they really cross the line. She had a few two-way conversations with an author who makes no bones about how women are inferior to men, and as a result of her not backing down he cried to STGRB saying she is an author bully. And now they have a few nut crazies drinking that Kool-aide of distorted lies.
There's a humongous difference between crying wolf on the internet and being an annoyance and serious harassment and threats! What you say seem insane. They should have been arrested.
That's why I keep my long BBA list offline. I honestly don't want to deal with some of these authors because...well, they just don't react the way most people do to the bad reviews. It doesn't just scare me away from shelving them - their own actions/words keep me from buying and reviewing them. I already have enough books on my To Read shelf.
It's funny though, when they happen to be right about something. Like rating books you haven't read. But they went wrong about this, they should have addressed GR and ask them to create some easy shelving options for people, so they wouldn't have to resort to giving a one star when they don't mean it. Instead they attacked reviewers :/
Mostly they hate competent reviewers that have standards and follow GR rating guidelines. I always felt I had to remind people that three stars mean I liked a book. They're wrong if they think losing the best, the most prolific reviewers is a good thing, and they'll see that (unless somebody fills the void)
And authors will get what they want. So many erratic readers of YA that think every book deserves five stars because... Undying love.
But at the same time it will make their ratings even less relevant than they are. Besides, I don't care about ratings. I came there to find new books and found added bonus of people. They can fail or succeed. I just want to be happy without their drama.
Yep ^^ I knew about the site for longer than that. A few months ago I started writing reviews and became an active member. Earlier it was only a source of information.
This. Kaia wrote such a beautiful and heartbreaking post about her person experience with bullying and that was hard to even read. What the STGRB site is doing is watering down a word that should never be watered down. The word bully is not one that should lose meaning.
Fear of jellyfish is totally normal! It's when you want to find them on the beach and poke them, or go hunting for them in the ocean so you can watch them, that's weird...not that I'm talking about myself or anything. >_>; Great post, Anna! Loved it! xo
Some people might be able to identify with me when I say it took almost as long to get my comment posted correctly as the time I spent at work today! Every time I forgot and hit return I had to delete and start over.
Oh, and I couldn't seem to quote some of your awesomely funny sentences.
But look, I can do returns. When I remember to hold down the Shift key.
Hahahaha!!!!!!!!!!! I was wondering if people would keep getting notices and, not being able to find my posts, think I was playing tricks or something.
It's the arrows that are messing things up. I left them in my previous comment to show what happened. I've become accustomed to using them when I post a quote, but I guess the program here recognizes them as breaks.
I'm going to be known as "Sock Poppet, the Invisible Commenter" if I don't figure this out!
As you said so well: "To all wonderful Booklikes users I want to say thank you for your support and words of kindness. I sincerely hope we can build a strong, peaceful and fun community of book lovers. After all, this is our natural habitat." Sign me right up for that!
I think booklikers who make the STGRB list should have a widget or badge on their booklikes page so we can more easily find them to follow. (What sort of "victim" of actual bullying goes looking for their abusers to add to their pogrom lists? I really hope law enforcement steps in soon in response to their often public threats for all the car-wreck style entertainment they have provided -- I'm still laughing that someone with only two positive reviews got targeted. They are so making sure that if they can't get good reviews then by golly they'll make it hard for all indies to find reviewers.)
And stopped with their 'bully' claims. It's catchy, but please, use something else.
Mostly they hate competent reviewers that have standards and follow GR rating guidelines. I always felt I had to remind people that three stars mean I liked a book. They're wrong if they think losing the best, the most prolific reviewers is a good thing, and they'll see that (unless somebody fills the void)
But at the same time it will make their ratings even less relevant than they are. Besides, I don't care about ratings. I came there to find new books and found added bonus of people. They can fail or succeed. I just want to be happy without their drama.
I'm sorry you were ever targeted by them.
But I'll be here reading your blog regularly. How does lunchtime sound?
Oh, and I couldn't seem to quote some of your awesomely funny sentences.
But look, I can do returns. When I remember to hold down the Shift key.
I'm going to be known as "Sock Poppet, the Invisible Commenter" if I don't figure this out!
The question is, would I be the one who is invisible or would it be my comments? Only the Sock Poppet knows for sure!