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You may have heard someone mention “answer guys” on Twitter or other social media platforms and wondered what they were talking about. A “reply guy” is a social media user who constantly makes annoying, rude or inappropriate comments on other people’s posts. In this article, we’ll explain everything you need to know about responders, including common behaviors, types of responders, and how to respond.
A “reply guy” is an annoying social media user — usually a man — who persistently and excessively comments on women’s posts. Their comments are often condescending, flirtatious or rude.
Life coach The Life Coach is a tough-love type who wants the poster to “toughen up, buttercup.” He’s there to help her in her time of need, but his comments sound like victim-blaming with comments like, “You need to dress like a programmer so guys like him aren’t tempted to pull something” or “If someone at work is bothering you, you have to stand up for yourself.” [7]
- Life Coach falls under So good the “reply guys” category, as defined by creators @shrewshrew and @sbarolo on Twitter.
- From Twitter: A woman in STEM announces that a trio of men have once again won the Nobel Prize in STEM. A life coach comments: “Better to work hard than to complain! There is no difference in Nobel Prizes!”
Tone police Tone Police’s “Answer Guy” is here to tell the original poster that he’s overreacting or getting too emotional.[8]
They redirect the conversation from the topic to the way it is being discussed with comments like, “Your angry tone is not productive” or “They would take you more seriously if you didn’t get so emotional.”[9]- Ton police falls under Focused on “Real” problems the “reply guys” category, as defined by creators @shrewshrew and @sbarolo on Twitter.
- From Twitter: A woman in STEM publishes about neglected research on women. A guy from Tone Police commented: “Could the citation gap be a result of the fact that there are fewer women in the top lab manager roles? I would find it weird if people chose references based on gender. Also, some may find the use of the word “dude” to be condescending and therefore risk reducing the range.”
Gaslighter This “answerer” tries to make their target confused and start doubting themselves.[10]
Gaslighting in a relationship is a form of emotional abuse where one person forces the other person to question their own feelings, instincts and reason.[11]
In his comments, Gaslighter tries to minimize sexism or pretend it doesn’t exist, saying things like, “Are you sure you’re not just exaggerating? I’ve never seen him grab a female like that” or “Cat-calling is no big deal. You should only take it as a compliment.”- Gaslighter falls under It doesn’t mean good the “reply guys” category, as defined by creators @shrewshrew and @sbarolo on Twitter.
- From Twitter: In response to a New York Times post about climate change activist Greta Thunberg’s speech, the Gaslighter man commented, “As a youth pastor, I take great joy in offering hope to my youth, pointing them to the Only One who can bring true hope, Jesus Christ. Shame on those who would steal their innocence and fill their heads with such terrible nonsense for political posturing.”
Cookie Manster Cookie Manster wants recognition for the minimum. She supports women, but not if it means actually doing something. His comments redirect any question or situation, making it all about him with comments like, “Not all men are villains! As far as I know, I have never harassed a woman” or “I treat women on my team the same as men.”[12]
- Cookie Manster falls into the category So good the “reply guys” category, as defined by creators @shrewshrew and @sbarolo on Twitter.
- From Twitter: In response to two women encouraging each other to stop apologizing at work, Cookie Manster responded by commenting, “I still don’t understand why she chose to love women in a thread that’s directed at everyone. There is no mention that this thread is aimed at women. Don’t get me wrong, she is allowed to love women as much as she wants. I love women too, but I also love work and this is a professional topic.”
Sympathy This “answer guy” is focused on making sure men are taken care of, with their well-being at the center of every question. They want to redirect any sympathy women can get back to men. Their comments often focus on reframing the conversation to a male perspective, such as, “How will men ever be able to approach a woman without being labeled as a stalker?” or “This is just a witch hunt. Men get fired for looking at a woman without any due process or investigation.”[13]
- The Himpathy falls under Focused on “Real” problems the “reply guys” category, as defined by creators @shrewshrew and @sbarolo on Twitter.
- From Twitter: A professor posts about an elderly man who interrupts her lecture to tell her he can’t turn on the projector in his classroom. The guy from Himpathy comments: “Did they think they didn’t have the right to ask for help because of their age, race or gender. And which annoyed you enough to comment to your class. If you’re ever in doubt, switch positions and see if you’d be satisfied with the same answer if you came to ask for help.”
Sealion Sealion “responder” wants to close all discussion. They got their name from David Malkin’s Wondermark online comic. Their comments often ask for evidence rather than addressing the point, such as “Can you provide specific statistics?” or “That’s an interesting point. Can you give me examples of research that shows this? I just want to learn.”[14]
- Sealion falls under It doesn’t mean good the “reply guys” category, as defined by creators @shrewshrew and @sbarolo on Twitter.
- From Twitter: A guy from Sealion commented on the professor’s tweet about the gender makeup of her classes with a series of questions including, “Context?” and “What is the distribution like at your institution, how is it for CS? How has it developed in recent years?”
Mansplainer This guy got his name from the term “mansplaining”, which means when a man explains something to a woman because he assumes she doesn’t know anything about it.[15]
And that’s exactly what this “answer guy” likes to do in his comments, such as: “Well actually, that’s a misconception of what ‘masculine’ means,” or “That idea was proven wrong years ago by side of the guy, oh, I think his name was Joe something. Do your research.” [16]- Mansplainer falls under So good the “reply guys” category, as defined by creators @shrewshrew and @sbarolo on Twitter.
- From Twitter: A Mansplainer guy comments on Roxane Gay’s post suggesting that a hotel called The Clan sounds like the Ku Klux Klan with: “KKK is spelled with a K. Klans are tribes that date back to prehistoric times.”
Prestige Prestige “respondents” are defenders of the status quo. They believe that bad behavior towards women should be justified if the man is important or famous. His comments reveal that he believes that men contribute to society while women are merely complaints. [17]
Like, “Maybe he wasn’t great to his wife, but he was a creative genius, so maybe it was worth it” or “We should do him justice.”- Prestige falls under Focused on “Real” problems the “reply guys” category, as defined by creators @shrewshrew and @sbarolo on Twitter.
- From Twitter: When writer Cheryl Strayed posted about watching a documentary about abuse allegations against director Woody Allen, a response from Prestige commented with a link to a YouTube video of his innocence.
Trolls, jerks and fools These guys are the worst offenders in the reply guy universe. They make comments that are overtly sexual, overtly sexist and often racist. They resort to insults when confronted about their inappropriate comments, saying things like, “You’re too hot. That poor guy couldn’t help himself” or “You’re too ugly to bully him.” [18]
- Trolls, jerks and fools fall under It doesn’t mean good the “reply guys” category, as defined by creators @shrewshrew and @sbarolo on Twitter.
- From Twitter: A woman made a post suggesting the addition of a female character to the comic. The guy who replied to Trolls, Creeps, & Fools commented, “Yeah, it must be hard playing the victim 24/7.”
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Source: HIS Education