What kind of person does this?

[3rd_time_around]

I have a video on YouTube of my dd competing level 9 bars at the Tiger Paw Classic last year. She won first place and scored 9.125. Someone commented "Wow, everyone else must have sucked." really? Why do people hiding behind anonymity feel they can insult a young girl publicly that way? Especially when they probably have no idea how strong she has to be and how her timing has to be perfect, etc. I'm so disgusted!

 

[Bajanswife]

Ugh. I can only guess that it's someone with sour grapes - either for herself or for her DD. There's nothing you can do about jealousy and its many ugly heads - I'm sorry your DD had to read that.

 

[Granny Smith]

All I can say is change the setting to you have to approve comments before they appear. That's what I did because I had some loon make stupid comments on one of dd's videos, now no comment goes up unless I approve it!

 

[JessLW]

People on the internet are just idiots, by and large. I am a freelance writer for an online publication concerning China and I had to stop reading the comments entirely because they'd just get me too riled up. People say stupid things just because they can, hiding behind the anonymity of the internet.

Delete the comment and block the user, if you can, and don't give it another thought. People like that are just not worth your energy.

 

[wallinbl]

It's probably another kid that isn't satisfied with their own scores/placements or is insecure. I would expect the same kind of comment in the school yard or on the bus. Like others have said, you at least have some control over the comments on YouTube, so set up the account such that comments aren't automatically posted.

 

[bogwoppit]

Nasty little words. I am with Granny Smith, change your settings so you have to approve comments. That score at that level is more than respectable. People let their internet "anonymity" go to their heads.

Nice to see you back on the CB by the way.

 

[k2bdeutmeyer]

I've run into this so many times! DD gets all kinds of crappy, rude, mean comments on her video(s). I didn't know I could set it to approval only for comments.

I'm going to go change my settings right now! Thanks for the heads up!

 

[mustlovejumping]

Definitely change your settings! I post videos to inspire other adults and show them that you don't have to be a kid to enjoy gymnastics, and I knew when I first started my channel that I wanted to keep it as positive as possible. I check out every single new subscriber I get and I don't hesitate to block or delete people that either seem sketchy or like they wouldn't be a positive contributor to my channel. I also delete any comment that is critical, not because I can't handle criticism, but because it goes against the environment I want to create. I may only get a few comments on each video, but that is fine with me because they are all nice comments from nice people :] It is possible to keep your youtube experience positive, and I wouldn't still be on youtube if that wasn't the case.

 

[cbone]

That's terrible to say- especially on a public forum like that. I wonder, though, if they meant to say, "That score seems low for a first place score."

 

[Kiwi]

I often see a lot of stupid comments on sites like YouTube. Some people just write a load of rubbish. Then you'll see commenters start to argue and abuse each other. Usually I don't bother reading many of the comments, because they are a waste of time.

I didn't know there was a setting to vet comments - useful to know!

 

[gymgurl]

I see lots of these comments when watching videos unfortunately and got the whole 'aren't you a little old to compete level 5?' and I see them and yes i naturally critique routines and some routines are obviously better than others but i would NEVER post something negative about someone on the internet because I don't know their circumstances. Maybe there tumbling was dodgy because they have been injured. Its sad to see such hateful comments!

 

[gymnut1]

That's terrible to say- especially on a public forum like that. I wonder, though, if they meant to say, "That score seems low for a first place score."

It isn't low though is it. We are talking level 9 here not level 3. It is just a nasty comment from someone who is jealous.

 

[KarenUK]

ah, envy is a terrible thing...

 

[bogwoppit]

It isn't low though is it. We are talking level 9 here not level 3. It is just a nasty comment from someone who is jealous.

I totally agree, that was a very, very nice score at L9. I know it is hard to understand when the teeny pre-teamers are pulling in 9.5's at their L1-L3 meets, but scoring at the competitive levels is very different and there are actually huge skills to evaluate.

It was just nasty for the sake of being nasty.

 

[gymmomtoo]

It isn't low though is it. We are talking level 9 here not level 3. It is just a nasty comment from someone who is jealous.

You're right--that isn't low. I'm guessing people who think it is, don't have a lot of experience with higher level gymnastics. Yes, some meets (State, Regionals, Nationals) have the higher scores, but local meets the top places are usually low 9s.

 

[Natasha]

I totally agree, that was a very, very nice score at L9. I know it is hard to understand when the teeny pre-teamers are pulling in 9.5's at their L1-L3 meets, but scoring at the competitive levels is very different and there are actually huge skills to evaluate.

It was just nasty for the sake of being nasty.

Yes, it probably was a nasty comment just for the sake of being nasty.
But, there are also a lot of people out there (especially new to gym) that don't understand scoring. It could be an older gymnast who just started out at a beginner Xcel level where they do tend to score high 9's and doesn't have a clue how good you have to be to score a 9 at all at L9! Or, people who haven't watched gymnastics at all except the televised college championships, where a gymnast scores a 9.0 and the announcers start talking about how much that score is going to hurt their team...

 

[Maitland]

Some people troll the internet with the goal of saying mean things to make themselves feel a little bit better about their own pathetic lives. It's sad really. Be proud...that is a great score and awesome achievement to even reach level 9!

 

[cbone]

It isn't low though is it. We are talking level 9 here not level 3. It is just a nasty comment from someone who is jealous.

I'm just trying to find a way to explain a comment that may not have been intended as nasty as it came off. Things you say on the internet can often be taken out of context. To add perspective, at our state championships this year only one winning score on an apparatus was 9.15 or lower out of 12 first place scores for Level 9. That may be all that comment was trying to point out. People often mean one thing while their words come off entirely differently. Take it from the guy who was told he was the most disrespectful poster ever on Chalk Bucket when he made a comment that was intended to be completely lighthearted and without mailce- sometimes you get misunderstood.

On a side note, I do find your response strangely ironic...

 

[J&A's mom]

I would try to read it as wow, that seems low for first place. but the person sounds rude because of the way it was worded.

Related, I was really upset a few nights ago because someone was trying to make jokes about an accident where no one was physically hurt. I was upset because my son was there and almost got hurt...well, more than hurt.

I think people are really dumb often when they make comments. Because they don't know the person, their empathy is not what it normally would be.

 

[agymmom]

Even if it was meant to say "wow, that was low for a first place" why on earth is that acceptable? Would you really say that to GAgymmom and her DD in person? I guess my rule for the internet is that if I wouldn't say it to the person directly, I don't write it online either.