Having been on Deviantart for almost 7 months now I've witnessed a good amount of drama by trolls or flamers. They have a variety of methods; some might just come out and attack you on your deviations or user pages, others will fave your art for the purpose of getting you to come to their page and see the insulting journal about everything they fave. Other may use collections to this cause, putting your work into the "bad" category or whatever term they might come up with.

In any case, many deviants targeted, including myself in one particular instance, often lash out and viciously attack the person, writing journals or news stories about them, maybe even going to the complaints forum to attempt at rallying a counter attack.

This is the exact opposite of what should be done. When it comes to trolls, go to this plz account for wisdom If you give these people the attention they crave and get all your friends to attack them, then they win. The absolute best method of dealing with trolls is to simply leave them to their "fun" and do not show them that you are a potential victim. Telling everyone on your contacts to flame them only shows them that you can be repeatedly targeted and used as a tool for their game. If you ignore them, then they will most likely move on to find another, easier target that will give them what they want.

Now, suppose they don't go away. In this case, blocking might seem like an easy solution, but if you have been in conflict with this person and they have allies, then this will just give them more ammunition to use against you. Blocking may seem like an easy way out, but in reality it could be your downfall. Use blocking only in extreme cases. Hiding comments is another thing that will hurt you in the long run. How many Deviants with Encyclopedia Dramatica articles utilize this? Pretty much all of them. Eventually those comments will get pushed off your user page, and as for deviations, you don't need to keep checking the comments long after you've already read them. Deleting journals also gives them more ammo, as it makes you look like you're hiding evidence from them.

Now, if you DO get into an argument, watch your mouth. No matter how nasty their attacks get, no matter how personal, you must stay calm and keep as civil as humanly possible. Completely refrain from swearing. If you make a reactionary attack against the flamer and you get reported for doing so, not only will he/she see that you are a good target, but you could end up getting banned for defending yourself as well. And remember, ANY response can egg them on to keep attacking you. Unless you feel that you absolutely MUST flame back, do not engage the troll in an argument.

Responses not to use:
"you're just jealous"
"I'm more popular than you"
"I have more pageviews"
Anything pertaining to popularity is VERY bad. Keep as far away from these statements as possible. And we've already mentioned acting overtly defensively.Also, don't make completely off-topic statements, but you probably already knew that.

Responses to use:
"Lurk moar."
This really is the only good thing to say to a troll. Either that or dissect their arguments (I can't get into specifics, since there are too many they might use and it pertains to the target). But the best strategy is still silence.

Also be careful not to confuse constructive criticism with flaming. This is another thing that I see a lot. If a person is giving you feedback on your art and telling you how you can improve, its not the same thing as them saying "You suck." They're trying to help you. Listen to what the artist has to say, and it'll help get better and not make those mistakes again.

I hope this article has been informative and will help you in case you are targeted.

Remember: Don't feed the trolls. They come back for more.