I've experienced it at other forums, definitely. Less so here, though the site has been brigaded in the past and it's those types of communities that breed doxxers and stalkers. If there ever happened to be a significant queer community here (something I'd like to think isn't that far utside the realm of possibility) that's a good way to get a target painted on us.
Its a pretty valuable thing to be able to block who can see my posts. I won't argue that the implementation could be more user friendly (or safer!) because obviously it could be better. But the two-way ignore is a very, very, good thing.
If you find yourself blocked by enough people that it's making it hard for you to engage in threads, then that is the feature working as intended, and I have zero tears to shed for you. That's the bed you've made yourself, and you're gonna have to lie on it