Fediverse

I've never really felt the need to block anyone (except the odd spam bot but I don't think that counts). I think that might be because I pretty much exclusively browse my subscribed feed which means I basically only see posts that interest me, and I find any bad comments are usually heavily downvoted anyway. And its rare enough that I just ignore it.

On Lemmy I usually block communities, if they are a drag in any way, like too negative, too weird, too much discussion of violence, etc. Didn't have to block individuals that much, but in smaller communities it's sometimes just an individual that makes it a drag, while most users post more pleasant things.

I don't block unless it's excessive spam. Informational disadvantage, yadda yadda.

I just exercise the same muscle I use to restrain myself from responding to bait on modern day Reddit, since my account there is still active but not posting (yes, even lurking is technically contribution, but there's too much useful information there for me to justify completely cutting it out).

And for the record, I disagree with block features removing posts from the user on the other end. Public information -> only I get to decide what I do and don't see. Private information -> only I get to decide what I do and don't share. A bit idealistic, but we're talking about a web forum here.

I use the Boost app, so I just tag users who are being annoying. I only rarely block someone.

I block any hexbear and .ml

i do the same you are not alone. besides nazis, PROPaganda, or conservatives. condescending, passive aggressive, or "actually this is or that is wrong, and why you should do this or that to be better" i will block them too. or try to correct you on what they believe his "historically correct of a mythos", like an example couple weeks ago i was commenting on the nature of a specific "angel" and someone said actually i dont believe your interpretarion is corrects, its not to my view of the angel mythos, i dont want to know which one of your opinion is correct on a fabricated being. i regurlarly did this on reddit, it has saved me from getting into reportable arguements from time to time. confrontational and judgemental are also up on my list of blocks.

That's what the feature is there for.

A lot of people get confused and think that every time they see a comment they don't like, it's up to a mod to remove it.

I find that kind of behaviour near ubiquitous but odd.

I have the cats /c blocked becase of the enviormental devesatioan cats do (including killing dolphins with toxoplasmosis) and it saddems me to see people extolling that but that's it as afar as blocking goes here.

On Mastodon the only people I've blocked are the tediously boring, often it's people who I agree with but they seem unable to use any joined up thinking and labour over a particular issue endlessly.

I think thats perhas becase I consider my own opinions way outside the norm and am prelared to listen to others, just in case.

I block only when I see a user who is unhinged enough and is obviously not getting banned by moderators. Usually theses people can be baited into making terrible arguments terrible opinions backed by either terrible ideology or lies, and mods can deal with them.

I think reporting users is more effective to not let the whole site become completely unusable by attracting shitheads/trolls/agitators who even if blocked keep posting garbage because that might be seen by new users.

Also responding to them is taxing on some people's mental health, so this isint for everyone and I get why people might opt for it. I prefer arguing since there is a chance that they might be misinformed or hot headed (me included).

Honestly it depends on how you want to engage with a platform.

People over use blocking like crazy.

I constantly see people blocking others just for making a point they disagree with. Rather than actually think through the logic and reasoning of what the other person is saying they go 'oh I have no counter point to that, that must mean that you're arguing in bad faith, blocked'.

The internet is already an inherent filter bubble, you don't need to accelerate that. Most people would benefit from spending more time deeply considering that they might be wrong in ways they can't fully comprehend, then they would blocking people who fervently disagree with them.

I block reposters. I don't understand people that post the same link to 3+ communities.

Cool, block me too

The electronic machine you’re operating, and the electrons flowing through it that illuminate the screen constitute a highly ordered abstraction that your human brain interprets to have meaning. The software implementing that abstraction has been structured with paradigms developed over decades with functionality specifically created for you to manage the information displayed to you. Such is the power of these technologies that they are widely regarded to have culminated in a digital information age of revolution. One of the defining moments of that age is the point at which the software, which previously was designed to implement the will and preferences of the user, began changing to instead serve the developer. It could be said that the fundamental philosophy of social media software has become to optimize it such that the user continues to use it while still freely feeding it information and being subject to manipulation.

The abstraction has become hostile, and the tools to manage the information displayed are quickly disappearing as the implementation is abstracted away. The ability to block mimetically harmful information is being designed out of software - exposure to advertising, propaganda, violent or disturbing content, and even the addictive abstractions themselves, have become requirements for use. The filtering and management of information through the hardware and software that you OWN is not just a feature, it is a RIGHT that must be intrinsic to its design.

In my view, the use of blocking technology should not be considered a human social action with emotional weight, but rather a mechanical one like switching off a light or moving an object out of the way. They are information management tools built to serve YOU, the user. If the technology you are using does not serve you, then who are you serving?