Okay, we know this is going to make some of our readers want to throw up, but we couldn’t sit back and not write a post about this HuffPo article.
Warning: do not continue reading on a full stomach.
Just recently, we received this email from a site visitor:
Read this nightmare: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/penny-c-sansevieri/how-to-become-a-goodreads_b_3719161.html
I tried posting about goodreads in a sensible manner, not rude or cursing, and they deleted it.
Which article is she talking about? This one: How to Become a Goodreads Power User (and why you’d want to).
It starts off like this:
Okay, we’ll stop here for a second. We all know what you’re thinking and it’s exactly what we’re thinking:
*cough* bull *cough* shit
The only thing the author of this article got right was the fact that the GR trolls are bottom feeders who like free books. Remember what we said in our Guidelines For New Authors:
Don’t do giveaways on GR. That attracts trolls. Trolls like free things and they are usually the harshest and many times the most unfair critics. For example, take a look at this screenshot where a troll says: “It was free and I’ve heard bad things. I’m so excited!” This particular troll was trying to get her friends to do a buddy read so they could trash a book they got for free.
Now, if this wasn’t bad enough, the article goes on to say:
We’ll stop here as we don’t want to cause our readers too much pain. If still you’re interested in reading the rest, just go to the link above. But again, be warned. Reading it may cause extreme heart palpitations, fits of rage, and even seizures.
So, what did the first poster say in response to the article above?
You all see that? He was targeted for knowing another author, just like G.L. was in The Attack on L. Kirstein, Part 1.
As for the title of our post, how exactly can you avoid GR power abusers? Easy. Stay off GR, or at least stay off GR until Amazon decides to clean it up. For those who still wish to brave the minefields, study our BBG and Amazon Fora Troll lists. These are the people you want to watch out for and avoid like the plague. Also be wary of their close friends. Even if you stay away from the trolls, we can’t guarantee they still won’t target you, which is why we recommend the former solution.
Now, when we use the term “Goodreads Power Abusers”, we’re not just talking about the GR trolls. We’re also talking about the GR managers and moderators who let this crap continue on their site. Stay off of their radar, too.
So, why would you want to avoid these people?
Well, you can either surf our website for the answer or just take a look at the rest of the comments on the HuffPo article (you’ll notice a couple comments from our awesome blog readers):
We couldn’t have said it any better ourselves. 
