As a mod you should probably ask mods, not users. An obvious glimpse of it that I can think of: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=pastYear&page=0&prefix=tru... Many insights there alone, what do, what not do.

I guess you’re asking about the whole internet, not only small communities. Well, I’d advise to stop caring that much about what others say or fall for. It’s not under your control and should not spend too much of your attention on it. Get out of the pot and let them all boil, both trolls/etc and naive prey. Not your direct problem.

1. Negative or even toxic reactions typically tell much more about the ones stating them, but this is easily overlooked in the midst of a heated communication exchange. It shouldn't be forgotten that such people usually do not know nearly enough about what they are reacting to and their reflex is normally just a reaction to their own prejudice or ignorance without any understanding.

2. The best critiques to be used for sharpening one's own ideas are the negative ones, not the comfy positive ones. Only the negative comments make you think more in depth about your own ideas, while the positive ones only strengthen your own cognitive biases and thus undermine the actual validity of your ideas.

It is very hard to remember these two precepts in the heat of a discussion. But if you learn to slow down and abstain from the illusion of "winning" an argument, then such negativities can be turned into a powerful ally against the intentions of those emitting them.

And remember, experienced competitors typically negate one's creativity to secretely take advantage of thus accidently newfound ideas of others while their adversary is still puzzled by this unexpected negativity.

It's all a (serious) game if you are able to put it into proper perspective.

I don't know if I would have had the confidence to continue if in the beginning I hadn't had some bit of success often enough to keep my hopes alive. I think that a lot of that has to do with the way I was raised. Parents that encouraged you to think and do different things, that gave you positive feedback and encouragement. Schools that did the same. Sports. Different classes. Interaction with different children at different schools. Which as a kid were scary and painful but also they prepared you for unexpected things.

The new world, social media, etc... really doesn't promote that stuff well. We have information at our fingertips but we don't put nearly enough effort into the positive stuff. It seems to be human nature at this point to default to the negative. I fear it will only get worse.

Thick skin, willingness to put yourself out there and fail over and over are necessary. My best advice is to just tell yourself over and over to never stop trying. You haven't failed until you give up... nothing wrong with moving onto another project. But, be like a shark... once you stop swimming, you die.

- George Bernard Shaw