3mo ago

What do you block people for?

Do you have a criteria for what qualifies as block-worthy offence or are you just doing it when you feel like it?

Bonus question: how long is your block list?

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167 comments

I don't on Lemmy because it doesn't really do anything besides hiding their posts. On Mastodon I block people who are AI trolls, political trolls, reactionaries, and in general people who are hostile. People who are objectively horrible people, sometimes it's because I see them doing it, but other times because they lashed out directly at me. Most blocks on Mastodon are preceded by reports to server admins but I still block them because it usually takes time for people to be moderated.
- it doesn’t really do anything besides hiding their posts.
  That's what I need it to do. Out of my sight. Doesn't matter if they can still see my posts. I hope they write me a lot of long and nasty messages that I never see.
  
  You don't find it limiting you can only talk to people who fit your understanding of acceptable conversation?
  
  I'm open to talk with anyone. It's only after they demonstrate their uncivility that I block them.
  
  Have you considered though that people are only a certain way for that bit of time. Essentially, they could be rude one day a year, and you got them on that day. Is it worth blocking the rest of it? What's the cutoff?
  
  Oh absolutely. A huge number of the people I've blocked are probably perfectly decent people and I just happened to notice them write that one snide response.
  However, I've quite often seen blocked people commenting to me and I've logged out to read the comment and I'd say about 50% of the time it has been a mean comment only proving that I blocked them for a good reason. I also sometimes go thru the modlog and a huge number of the the users I see there I have already blocked.
  I agree with your point though. You're right, I just don't care. There's so many people here that when I block someone there's another to take their place. There's just too much to pay attention to.
  
  Thats fair, I'm here for the different perspectives and opinions, so I have noone blocked right now.
  Even trolls give honest answers if you ask why enough, its interesting to learn how people think.
  
  I completely agree. It's not an echo chamber I'm trying to build here. I never block anyone only for having a different opinion. Quite the contrary; I actively look for a debate. I just don't want to engage with people who do it in bad faith.
  
  Nah, there is no point interacting with people who are pro Israeli military action. Supportive of Israel sure whatever but the people who are happy that they are actively killing civilians and think it's justified, just aren't people that are worth talking to, discussing, or arguing with. You're never going to be able to make them less shitty, all interacting with them is going to do is make your day worse. So block away, because conversation needs to be a two way street. If it's already one way, may as well not have any traffic on it at all.
  This goes for any vitriolic and aggressive people, not just active genocide supporters, they're just usually the ones I end up blocking. Tankies too but since I filtered ml I see way less of that shit.
  
  Well I'd say what you are describing is similar to using a screwdriver to hammer in a nail, and then giving up after the 5th time fails.
  Its not the goal thats impossible, its your methods. There are people changing peoples minds out there but they aren't doing it with unwavering arguments and unbeatable logic.
  
  Can I hammer a nail with my forehead? Maybe, if I try enough times. However, it fucking hurts, and there are literally thousands of nails to go. It just is not worth the personal cost.
  
  I guess thats gonna be true until you find a hammer I suppose.
  
  It's not about them seeing my posts it's their ability to interact without my knowledge since different types of harassment can be quite harmful even if you don't see it (i.e. lying, disinformation, accusations). So it's not in my best interest to block people on a platform where the block system treats the threat of these people as non-legitimate by allowing their continued interaction and replies.
  I hope they write me a lot of long and nasty messages that I never see.
  I sincerely hope you never meet with any of the more elaborate trolls or bad-faith actors who use more aggressive tactics like accusations or disinformation against you. This can be very harmful, even more so if you cannot see it and respond to or report it, especially reporting it. Also a lack of reporting and substituting reporting for blocking can be harmful in the long run because when users are not reported, they may never be actioned by mods or admins. Which is awful for the health of the community, maybe you think others can report for you but bystander effect is real and the people who think this way eventually compound allowing trolls and bad-faith actors to operate longer if not indefinitely, so it doesn't benefit anyone to hide them and pretend they don't exist.

167 comments