What do you think of a blocking feature on fluther to block certain members?

I’d probably use it. But, overall it’s a bad idea. Censorship, on any level is not good. The “name callers” here should be allowed to expose themselves as just who they are.

It can’t be a proper source of amusement unless the blocked user can see who blocked them.

I don’t like that idea. I’ve noticed that some of the people whom I find irritating or too…passionate… in their opposing views can at other times be insightful and interesting. I know that if I post a question on a public forum it won’t be a private conversation with only people I like or who will agree with me.

We’ve been through this before – it’d destory this site like it did others with such a feature. We’ve been there, done that and it didn’t work out like we thought it would.

I hate this see no evil hear no evil mentality, and it totally defeats the purpose of having a community. And what you suggest is by far the worse idea for a blocking system I’ve ever heard; actually disallowing people from participating to things just cuz you don’t like them? At the very least, if you clicked on a little box next to their names, you shouldn’t be able to see their activity, like an ignore feature.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir I was once not allowed to reply to somebody’s question about how much the blocking feautre sucked, because that person had blocked me. Oh, the irony :)

On a public website, the only ones that should be able to say who responds to your questions or replies should be the moderators/admins. If you have an issue with someone’s reply, flag it. If it is not flagable, then just don’t read it.

I would not like it for a simple reason that I believe in the freedom of speech and expression; that is what forms the basis for existence of sites like these. Moreover, I agree with what @JilltheTooth said, on a public forum its its unreasonable to expect everyone you meet would think like you.

I don’t like it at all. And as I said in another question about this very thing, I like that Fluther has all kinds of people with all different perspectives. People who are being downright abusive should be flagged, and if the mods feel it’s appropriate their reply will go away.
If it’s a matter of not liking someone’s opinion, maybe you (not just you, @Aster. Other people have brought up the same idea) should find a more exclusive forum with like-minded people so you don’t get exposed to dissenting ideas. We all have the ability to make the decision to ignore someone’s advice or theories in our minds.

Hopefully Fluther never becomes a place where people go to be exclusively agreed with and have their heads patted by people who won’t give a differing opinion.

It’s not a bad idea considering some users can get pretty nasty sometimes, and they’re usually the same bunch. It’s unfortunate that one cannot make a simple, unbiased (even helpful) comment, and it always seems that someone has to make a rebuttal to it with a negative or critical response. Sigh!

But I think the moderators here are doing a very good job, and for me that’s pretty sufficient. Now if things were to get worse, then something like that would be very appealing.

We’re never planning on doing a ‘block’ (preventing people from posting), but we will most likely implement a ‘hide’, where certain people’s comments on the sites would be, by default, privately hidden from you.

Gosh dang, and was hoping to block @bob_ ! loll

Seriously, I would never use it. What happens here does not effect my real life in any, shape, fashion or form. Just not that big of a deal.

@BoBo1946 : Yay! The voice of reason and perspective!

@JilltheTooth thank you my friend!

No. I would never use it and I think it’s a bad idea. Let the moderators do their job of dealing with posts that break the TOS.

I figure it is a little like TV. If I don’t like what I see, I change the channel . I have no burning need to reply to someone I don’t respect.

I think it’s a bad idea and could potentially ruin the flow of conversations. If several people are having an in depth debate on a topic and you (general you) have one or two of them blocked, when you jump in, you could be missing important parts of the debate and throw of the conversation completely. It think it’s best for people just to try to avoid the posts they don’t like.

Petty.

Childish. ‘I don’t like you or your words, so you can’t join in on my post’. . So no I would not favor blocking anyone from resonding to my questions. If you really think about it, we don’t know each other personally but only by the words we write. Words can be ignored.

This is the first moderated site like this that I have been on but the mods seem to do a pretty good job, with the help of members of the community flagging questions and comments, keeping things civil and on an even keel here. If you want or need have the option, on top of that, to block certain people from commenting on your questions you run the risk of simply refusing to listen to things that you don’t want to hear or perhaps really just need to develop a thicker skin. There web sites, plenty of them, on the internet where you will never have to hear, have to tolerate or expose yourself to anyone who thinks differently, or has a different style, or who might not be quite as articulate or educated as you or comes from a different background or set of circumstances or experiences than you. If that’s what you want, then find those places. As I said, the mods here are pretty good at removing the most objectionable posts, and that is coming from someone who isn’t a big fan of moderation in the first place. If you require yet another layer of protection, yet another layer of insulation, to protect you from insult or affront then maybe you would be happier if you found a different venue.

I wouldn’t agree with necessary blocking someone because you have the option of flagging spam/attacks. That would destroy alot of interesting debates.

Once you accept yourself as part of a community the desire to censor certain parts of that community diminishes.

We’re all in this together.

What fun is it if you can’t be annoyed by the rude and nasty? That is the allure of the site, it gives you the opportunity to get totally pissed off at someone without it affecting your real life!

I wrote the same question long time ago and many people seem HATE it. I try to ignore those who try to abuse me.

Sometimes it is fun to block the obnoxious ones…just to hear them whine and cry that they’ve been blocked by so and so…Then they write an Op asking publicly why so and so blocked them. then so and so says s/he didn’t block them, it must be a glitch (but really s/he did block ‘em). Then there is a hubub and a fuss over it and then both sorry ass parties kiss and make up and the world seems a sweeter, gentler place.

Wow, all that from a block feature.

I vote against blocking. Let the mods mod em and ban em… That kind of censorship is far more relevant.

I would really like the ability to block certain users from being able to pm me here. I hope this is in the works. It would be greatly appreciated.