hide poster button, impersonally

"'I'm going to hide your posts now' "

As other people have pointed out, this goes into bullying territory and others have said that shouldn't be allowed - could be bannae. Although even if it wasn't being done publicly it would probably go on behind the scenes via PM as someone said earlier.

If you could see a person you had hidden was posting, and a newbie was in need of rescue possibly, then you could unhide and see what was going on and say something.

No I think you're right - it makes more sense to have everything visible doesn't it. Not a great deal to be gained from hiding anyone.

I am going to fall off the fence in a minute.

But the new people/visitors/people who haven't hidden would still see them and that no one is challenging them. No one would even able to offer support because they can't see the abuse they're getting from the hidden poster.

I wonder if having the facility in one topic but not in others might be a way forward initially?

Not sure which though. AIBU would be a baptism of fire

also if they are on a thread pissing everyone off, and everyone goes 'I'm going to hide your posts now' instead of 'I can't bear this, I am bowing out of the thread' it might achieve something?

I don't think we will know unless we have a trial tbh. It could go either way.

[thinks]

But you can confront them over and over and they carry on doing it.

What then? It's not bannable. If no one sees it it takes away the impact, the power of it.

It's like placing them and their sharp stick in a metaphorical cage.

I don't think people like that should be hidden. I think people should confront them for bullying and trying to chase people off threads. What is hiding them going to achieve? It's just turning a blind eye to their behaviour.

There are also those who have probably got some sort of personality disorder which they may not even be aware of - who seem to take great pleasure in being incisive and putting others down.

That's not about debate or conflicting views. It's about hurting people. If you can't do one thing without the other then you don't belong in a place like this. I think often people can choose whether to step beyond the line and be far too nasty, and they choose to because it satisfies the need to show off their talent for incisiveness.

I think you can only do that if you're up against someone equally cutting and equally nasty, then it's gloves off I suppose. Otherwise it is an unfair fight and no sense of triumph ought to be forthcoming.

Sparkling, me neither.

Modestine it isn't about not liking others having an opinion and I think it is patronising to suggest we are all a bunch of pearl clutching offendees.

I can take robust debate. What I can't stand is personal attack in the form of goading or bullying. I can't stand people being unnecessarily hurtful, to make themselves feel clever.

It adds nothing and takes away a lot. Posters who are new being reated like dirt, for posting on the wrong thread for example, and met with a cascade of abuse to the point where they leave the site.

If that isn't 'silencing' then I don't know what is. People who do that deserve to be hidden by everyone.

Bunfights and weird threads PenisBeaker bring in lots more posters and therefore more revenue re advertising I guess.

I very much doubt any of these suggestions would bring MN sufficient revenues to compensate for the tech costs.

fish, you're thinking about this too much, go have a

I think hiding a poster altogether is a bad idea for the reasons others already gave - disjointed threads, and the rudeness of completely blanking someone who is engaging in debate, even if you disagree with them.

AN ALTERNATE SUGGESTION.

what if we had the option to have a list of posters who have a tendency to get our backs up. Call it "my amber list" For reasons explained below, nothing happens if there are fewer than 5 active posters (who have posted more than 5 times in the past 3 months for example) in your list. If that minimum is reached, then any thread containing 2 or more posts from people on your amber list (whether 2 from the same poster or one each from different people) gets shown highlighted in orange whether it's in the category area, in active conversations or in Threads I'm On. But the individual posts would not be hidden or highlighted. because of the minimum number above, this could transcend name changes as you wouldn't be able to see which poster on a thread was a name changed or which name on your list either. Grown ups who wanted to choose to walk away from irritating people could then choose to not click on orange threads in the knowledge that they are thus avoiding high blood pressure.

It would need a little policing to make sure people don't use it to alert themselves to threads they actively want to disrupt - perhaps the facility is withdrawn from a specific poster if they get in the habit of jumping into amber threads to pick a fight.

Agree with ssd. Trolls, sockies, goady fuckers - just terms of abuse. People will have divergent views on the internet. Either learn to educate yourself by appreciating views different from your own, or join the right branch of the WI. They are conservative in some branches, with a small c and in many places, a big C. A club for like-minded people who heartily disapprove of women with other opinions, and will run them out of town.

I think MN is the same as its ever been, theres always been nice folk and then the smart arses, it depends what mood I'm in who I like better

what I do hate is calls of trolls and sock puppets, I dont really know what either of them are and I cant be arsed finding out

Not my experience TFC. I wouldn't have hung around too long if it was like this when I joined.

It's been like this since I joined in 2008.

I did a quick AS and the "Hide the Poster" button has been talked about since 2010.

I do that too Like. There are some fun threads on MN you just have to look a bit harder.

Jaded by an Internet forum

Log off & take a stroll through the park - there's more to life.

I don't think 'delicate flowers' at all I think it's more jaded and fed up with the same old, same old from some posters. Having to continually hide threads or leave a thread because someone has turned up that make you .

I only joined in 2011 so a relative newbie really, but it was not like this back then. It felt much more welcoming and calm.

It's not a function I'd use as I haven't come across anyone who annoys me enough - & I kinda take the view that if I post on a massive forum like this they'll be all sorts of opinions & people who don't agree with each other. Plus, one day that annoying person I've hidden might be able to offer me fantastic advice ( & vice versa ) so I've got a 'live & let live' attitude ( apart from the people who annoy me in RL - they're all under the patio )

MN has turned into a nation of delicate flowers who have lost the ability to just read and ignore, or skip a thread completely if it's started by a certain person.

Actually MNHQ, would that be an option - hide all threads started by X, rather than chipping out individual messages.

Not that I think either is necessary.

It does seem that there are people using MN to get the attention that they clearly crave.