Many people like the kinds of things I write and you write and the kind of value that it provides to various online and offline communities. But some people don't, and that's fine. Some people disagree with blog posts or the content of people's talks, and that's fine too. Some people take it even a step further, sniping in a passive-agressive manner online, in public, or even going out of their way to criticize everything someone does.
The last class of people are called "trolls" in geek-speak.
I like trolls. They let you know people are paying attention even when they don't like you. They hang on your every word. They remind you that you're being controversial. They're evidence that you're challenging the status quo in a community, and forcing people to reconsider the way they think. They let you know that the content you create is alive.
Don't let trolls get you down. Your content probably has reach; theirs tends not to. Haters are very interesting… but only to their ten best friends. Once in a while their criticisms are valid, but tend to get lost in a sea of uselessness. So when something's targeted directly at you, take it with a grain of salt - probably, no one else even saw it.
