On number of ignores

[CapnZapp]

I just checked my stats, and it says that I'm not currently ignoring anyone.

You do realize we're not discussing "number of people you ignore".

We're discussing "number of people ignoring you".

Just checking, thanks

 

[CapnZapp]

I don't mind it existing. If people don't want to see my posts, they shouldn't have to. It's that the ignore feature goes the other way that I don't like. I should be able to see any posts I want in order to get context for the thread responses and so that I don't miss out on any good ideas. That the quote feature no longer shows those who block you that really, REALLY borks the threads.

You have to accept the sole focus is protecting the person compelled to put someone on his or her ignore list.

That this might make life harder for that ignored person is just not a concern (neither for the forum software devs not the owners of the sites using that software), since "be nicer so nobody puts you on their block list" is the preferred solution.

 

[CapnZapp]

Opposite of ignore lists, there used to be a way to see a list of everyone's likes and laughs. I can only assume that went away when the forum went to reactions in general (like, love, etc)

This is off topic for this thread, but:

If you want a list of likes you have given out I'm not sure you can't access that. At least I see no reason why the software would actively prevent you from viewing your own likes.

As for that list for a different user, yeah, no, I quite see why that's not available.

PS. The previous functionality described was active when the site used vBulletin yes but AFAIK it was a third-party hack and not part of a standard installation, not an official plug-in, so it isn't super surprising privacy and integrity wasn't quite as prioritized. Again AFAIK the site now runs Xenforo very stock - in particular the ignore system is using the default functionality that was decided by Xenforo and not EN World. (Obviously correct me if I'm wrong)

 

[CleverNickName]

You do realize we're not discussing "number of people you ignore".

We're discussing "number of people ignoring you".

Just checking, thanks

Yes, I'm aware of the topic of discussion, CZ. But through that discussion and tangent to that topic, I noticed that my ignore list had changed and asked about it.

I'll show myself out.

 

[CapnZapp]

Finally I can add for those unawares of how the site works when accessed through the app (not the mobile web skin - the EN World app, which really is just the Tapatalk app but just for one single forum):

When someone you have ignored posts, that post is visible but with the contents hidden as if that person wrapped their entire post in spoiler tags.

As for the other case; when a person that has put you on their block list posts, I ... really have no data. Either the app correctly makes those posts entirely invisible or I'm not on anyone's ignore list ...or (Edit I guess there's technically a third explanation where I somehow never happen to read the threads in which people ignoring me post

Edit: I can now confirm that the web site just silently hides posts from people that have you on their ignore list (and have enabled two-way blocking), but that the app completely ignores this functionality. (That is: those posts show up normally in the app, meaning that if you only use Tapatalk to access the forum you might not even realize somebody has blocked you. As I said above, posts made by users YOU have blocked does stand out, and that the app wraps them in spoiler tags to make it easy to skip, and if you expand the spoiler it is clear you're about to read a post from someone you've blocked. But Xenforo's two-way blocking feature does nothing in the app.​

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I can also add that - unlike the previous implementation - if you put me on your ignore list (and activate two-way blocking), that correctly doesn't kill off entire threads. Your first post will be the only post from you I see. Any subsequent posts you make just vanish while posts made by others appear normally, which is great. (Of course, if they directly engage the thread-starter in a back and forth you might be confused by the lack of context, but that is a feature and not a bug (as discussed later in this thread).​

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Furthermore, I can add (and this was new to me too) that Xenforo even strips quotes out of people's messages. That is, if person A blocks you, and person B replies to A with a quote, you will see B's post but not the quoted text - you won't even see that he or she quoted A unless the context hints at it. Again, this is the only rational implementation. (Addendum: I guess that this requires you to specify the user-post information in the quote. You know, the thing in the actual quote tag you see when you edit bbcode tags manually. I will simply assume non-specific quotes remain since the software doesn't know whose text you include in the quote.)​

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(I am assuming the former and I guess I could confirm it by comparing logged in and logged out post counts, but I have never had a reason to bother.

And no, I don't find the argument "since you technically can find out if you're on someone's ignore list the software should not hide their posts from you" compelling. Just because it's impossible to construct an ironclad protection system doesn't mean a system isn't appreciated for trying. tldr making it hard for stalkers is worth our while and that other more benign users can be inconvenienced by the ignore system is a price worth paying imo)

 

[CapnZapp]

Yes, I'm aware

Great and no problem!

 

[CapnZapp]

I will say that I think this implementation of the block feature is the worst one that I've seen this site enact.

For the record you're talking about a pretty standard two-way ignore feature.

To me the prize for "the implementation of the block feature that was the worst one that I've seen this site enact" goes to... when the system gave an error message when you clicked on a thread started by someone that had put you on their block list. (The thread wasn't made invisible - it was still shown in the lists, but when you clicked it, the software pretended you had entered an invalid thread number. This made it painfully clear to a stalker when you tried to shield yourself from them, practically daring them to further harass you in other ways!)

In other words, despite the moderators repeatedly claiming the mod policy is "threads have no owner, you can't complain if the thread is taken over by people wishing to discuss the exact opposite of what you started the thread to discuss", the thread starter in practice did own that thread in the sense he or she could control who could read and respond to it. Yes, he or she could prevent you from reading posts from uninvolved posters, posters neither blocking nor being blocked by you or the thread starter, just because they happened to post their thoughts in a thread started by him or her.

That was bad.

And definitely a bug - it did not prevent harassment the way proper two-way blocking does, it just allowed people to willfully punish others. Thankfully, mercifully, that whole creaky plugin wasn't supported by Tapatalk - by accessing the site thru the app it was like the plugin wasn't there at all!

PS. Had that plugin's practical outcome been advertised as a feature (= "now you can throw thread derailers out of your thread without involving the mod team!") I might have looked at it differently, but I never used it as such since it was clear to me that would have been considered abusive.

 

[Morrus]

I'd prefer if ignore did not exist as a function.

You might have no personal need for it, and you're welcome not to use it, but there are plenty of people for whom privacy controls are an important part of their online experience here and elsewhere.

 

[DammitVictor]

I just checked my Ignore List and it had quite a few more people on it than I was expecting. I guess I'm developing something of a hair-trigger in regards to blocking people on forums and social media-- because, quite frankly, forums and social media are something of a professional obligation for someone trying to break back into tabletop roleplaying and genre fiction, and being able to filter out the chess pigeons is the only way I can make the experience bearable.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

and being able to filter out the chess pigeons

I learned something new today!