How do you react to those who push your buttons?

Ignore!!!!

NEVER let them see that it bothers you.

I agree with the two comments above... and would add that laughing at MYSELF seems to often dissuade them. See, what they want is to 'get my goat' (so to speak), and if I let them see that they have, then they are all the more encouraged to act that way.

When I was in grade school I complained to my Mom that the bigger boys on the bus always picked on me about EVERYTHING! If I wore a hat they picked on me, if I didn't wear a hat they picked on me about my hair, etc. Mom's solution? She suggested I join in the fun and agree with them, saying things like, "Yeh, I know this is an ugly hat, but my old lady makes me wear it...hahahaha...you know how cranky they can be!" Or, if they called me fat, or made fun of how I looked running to the bus (when late),, she said just agree and say something like, "Hahaha, I know! I'm a terrible runner, but I'm a great sleeper, that's why I'm always late!" Against my own will (nearly) I tried it... and it worked! It has worked for me all of my life! ;) Bullies just don't know what to say next when you keep agreeing with them! LOL!

avoiding them seems to work well for me.

I don't have anyone in my life that does that anymore. Why? In a fight I tend to go right for the face.

It depends I think, on your mood when you read it. You can choose to ignore, but once I got a comment that I needed spell check. I went over my article and I had one typo. I made a comment about not being perfect, or something. i wasn't in the right frame of mind for that comment, since it was a good article.
Sometimes I make a smart comment back. Take your pick!

Thanks al. I do tend to laugh when it is the face to face situation. Getting the giggles right in their face tends to deflate people really fast. The ones that get me going are like Kathleen mentioned the nit pickers that say spell check etc.

Just ignore them, they just want their 15 minutes of fame. If you let it upset you, then they have exactly what they want.

Myself, I think that "ignoring" is the
best course of action.
When someone acts in a way that
I don't like, . . or when someone is
negative here on Gather, I find it best to ignore
them and not give them the elevated reaction
they are looking for and expecting to cause.
When a person doesn't get the reactions they're
looking for, they'll end up going somewhere else.

It's always hard to deal with things like this. It's easy to say ignore but it's hard to do sometimes. Good luck!

I try to ignore the people who affect me with negativity but sometimes they really hurt me worse than they think.

I ignore them most of the time.

Carmel,

Applause for you, you should just write as you please after all these are YOUR articles. If others have something to say and it's contrary then who cares? This is an open forum, don't let anything they say get to you. Occassionally some should be put in their place but most of the time not responding is adequate to drive them nuts.

Alexander

Ignore! They may have trouble articulating their wishes and comments. I too have taken them to heart at times. If I know the person then it is much easier to deal with.

Have things gotten any better for you ?

Yes, thanks for asking. :)

I try to ignore them as much as possible, I have gotten hurt a few times but i did learn and won't "go there" again

I try to remember that they are most unloveable who need love most. Then I forget about it.

I wish I could ignore but I'm always so good at that.

I usually just ignore them. I've been lucky so far and haven't had any problems here on gather, but I have had the face to face experience. There's someone that I know that always tries to get me riled on purpose, they even admitted this to me. I just shook my head and walked on. I kind of laughed at them as I was walking. I think that threw a monkey wrench in their plan.

It depends on the person and situation. :)