Duuuuuuude @jrswab as expected, another excellent, top-notch post! This is a subject matter that I myself am all too familiar with, as in the past I have been drawn into arguments that got really ugly really quick.
What hurts the most is when we are putting hours of our best into a post, press publish, and the first comment we get feels like an attack against us.
I have experienced my fair share of this in the past as well. I used to definitely take it as personal attacks, in my younger days. It wasn't until I got older and wiser (though that part is debatable haha) that I realized that no, they're not attacking me personally, they're just throwing their two cents in from how they are perceiving the situation/ideas that I shared.
We must be as a knight who goes out with his broadsword and conquers the dragon to save the town.
I loved this analogy in particular, as well as how you related each part with an aspect of our online presence. It really does feel like slaying a dragon, but like you mentioned a little further down, we can't slay the dragon if we are going to try to out-fire breathe it with our own dragon fire. We must be calm and collected and analytical like the majestic knight who rises to the challenge and slays the dragon with his sword (which, as a side note, it's funny because swords in the tarot are the suit of intellect and logic, ideas, etc.).
What I have found works well is to let the emotion ride. Let the dragon blow his fire while you stand on guard. During this time it is not good to post or comment anything.
I've found that that's really the best way to handle the situation. Always. I've begun to do that as well myself, recently. It never helps to have a knee-jerk reaction to that they're saying, because in those early stages of them unloading onto you, you have no idea what their real intentions are or what place they're coming from as they're leaving those comments. Allowing it time to fizzle out and for the atmosphere to become calmer makes it so much easier to connect with them from a place of trying to understand instead of trying to fight back.
This one is by far my favorite section in the whole thing, though:
Compassion leads to many angles of success and is the best route. It has the ability to solve so many of the issues we come across in our day-to-day interaction with people online. You won't always receive compassion but you should always give compassion.
I wholeheartedly believe in what you said, and I always strive to come from a place of compassion and trying to understand where the other person is coming from. I don't always succeed in my attempts, as I'm still human and still get carried away by my emotional state from time to time, but at least I can realize when I'm not being compassionate, and that's a step forward for me. :P I really believe that, not just online but in real life, so many problems/conflicts can be resolved through being compassionate and trying to understand where the other person is coming from, instead of judging their words right away and getting defensive (or offensive) about it.
Maybe the other person wasn't even trying to be an asshole, maybe they were just throwing their two cents into the mix and didn't realize that how they worded their response could be interpreted as a dick move, etc. Compassion and understanding really are the key to slaying the dragon and being that valiant knight who saves the town.
Great content as always, man! You know I'm always down to read your stuff :)
A killer comment! Glad to took the time to share your experience and what stuck out to you in the post!
A great way to say it my friend!
<3