From Tiffany
I think a rumor is harmless when it glorifies or exaggerates something good a person might have done. A rumor becomes ugly, on the other hand, when it hurts feelings or tarnishes the image of the person the rumor is about. When someone is spreading rumors about me, I try to find out who started them, and why. If it’s a really outlandish rumor, I usually don’t care, because not too many people will believe it anyway.

From Hydie
When I find out someone has been gossiping about me, I try not to get upset about it and just ignore it. But sometimes that’s hard to do, especially if the rumor has to do with another person and not just me. In those cases, when it’s not enough just to deny the rumor, I try to talk to the person responsible. Usually, the rumor was just a miscommunication and an honest mistake! That’s why it’s important to remember that talking to someone can be different from accusing or blaming. Being sensitive to the other person can really help you avoid a conflict. Sometimes though, it’s not possible to deal with the person who started the rumor. For instance, you might not know who it was or if you do, you might not get along with that person. In those cases, I think it’s best to just forget it and trust that your real friends will know the difference between the truth and the rumor. If you don’t make a big deal about it, everybody else will soon forget about it and drop it!