If you have a blog/group/public, at some point you ask yourself the question: should you leave comments open and rake out the Augean stables or close opportunities for self-expression for visitors ? And if left open, what do we do with those who behave unpleasantly? Convince? Ignore? Ban? After all, no one is immune from aggression on the Internet. I have something to share on this matter. I used to have a cozy chat on Telegram, where one day a man came, called himself a psychologist, and then began to insult people and start political arguments, in general. When I came and saw the situation, I deleted everything that I considered unacceptable and warned that continuation will result in a ban. There was a continuation. Ban too. So that's what I'm talking about. Many people ask: “Is banning a sign of weakness or strength?” In addition, psychologists are expected to be as calm, polite and correct in communication as possible (even in comments and public pages, where the psychologist is anyone: an author, a moderator, an administrator, but clearly not your psychotherapist, and you are not at the reception), and “How Is that so, a psychologist dared to ban someone?!” and in general “the Internet is a public place, and I have freedom of speech, why can’t I write something?!” Yes, the Internet is public, but a blog is already someone’s place, someone’s work and investment a piece of the soul, that’s why the rules work there. We can invite guests to the apartment, or we can invite people to our virtual space. And it is important to us what it will be like. We want to keep our homes clean. If guests start breaking furniture, breaking dishes, insulting the hosts, or shitting on the carpet, it would be foolish to hope that the hosts will look at it happily and allow such people to come visit again. This also applies to the virtual space. Therefore, banning for rudeness and rudeness is normal. This is not at all a sign of weakness of spirit. In such situations, there is no point in arguing or tolerating. In addition, a ban for toxic behavior is also a concern for other visitors, who are provided with comfort and safety. Of course, you can estimate and evaluate whether it makes sense to enter into a discussion. If the interlocutor writes with irritation, but there is also rationalism in his words, then this is one story. But if these are just emotions and subjective value judgments about the author’s personality, the author’s appearance, the author’s mother, this is a completely different situation. And I would also like to say a few words about the psychological state of authors who are approached by toxic people. A huge number of people refuse to appear on the Internet precisely because they are afraid of running into a rude comment or an evil word. It is very sad. And even when you already have experience in blogging, and have years of personal therapy behind you, it still becomes unpleasant. How to overcome the fear of negativity in the comments? My next post will be about this. Subscribe to my group on VK, if it’s not difficult for you, it’s very valuable to me https://vk.com/safronenko_psi