Okay, can we talk about this rationally? Hide Poster Option

[Tee2072]

Without bringing up anyone's banning, who we want to hide or anything other than the possibility of Justine changing her mind and the feasibility of Tech being able to do it?

Main argument: will make holes in threads.
Counter argument: no more than a thread of a thousand deletions

Supplemental argument: You will still be able to see what others are saying to the hidden poster which could be even more annoying or confusing.
Counter argument: Take a look at how Delphi Forums does it. You have the option of seeing a hidden person's post if you want to.

Final argument: Total paranoia from people thinking people have hidden them.
Counter argument: there isn't one. nothing can be done about personal paranoia

Surely it is obvious that if you only block a certain poster everyone else can still see them so if the thread is full of holes it is only that way to the people who have blocked posters and therefore it is their decision.

I like this viewpoint

If you have a hide poster button would that poster be able to see you or would it be like blocking someone on FB?
What I mean is, could they reply to any comment you make but you just don't see it?
Obviously you'd be able to see they were also on a thread if other posters make reference to them, but you would be hiding anything they replied or said, terminally here.

Amber, thank you, I'm going to try that one forthwith.

I still believe in hide post/hide poster and would use it to great effect. However I was think more of a 'hide poster on this thread' rather than across the boards.

"If HQ made it a deletable offence to gloat about hiding people,"
Yes, that's a good idea. That's pretty much the on;y downside I can see.
When I was being goaded, no one else was involved. No one else was replying to the goadee. Once her posts were deleted it made no difference to the thread other than the odd post by me saying "stop doing that" look a little odd.

Reeling the other person would just think you weren't answering. Which happens all the time anyway.

And if you block someone and miss something wonderfully witty and insightful they say on another thread well, that's the risk you take. No real harm will be done :o

I think blocking so that they can't see you either is a whole other kettle of fish. What we're talking about here, as I understand it, is something that just means you can't see the posts of the poster you've blocked but they can still see you.

It would only be able to work for each individual nickname, obviously. Which is fine, if they're bothering you under a NC, then hide that too. If you don't know it's them then they're obviously not bothering you.

Exactly, Shriiiieeek.
It has to not apply to namechanges or it would be a way to find out who namechanges were.

Amber, thank you, I'm going to try that one forthwith

You're welcome.

And you wouldn't be able to see any threads they start either?

Oh god, namechanges, how would that work?

(I am not tech savvy)

If it works like the old one, then the hidden poster's thread titles would show up in Active Convos just like any other thread, but when you click on it (if for some weird reason you did) you just wouldn't be able to see the content of the post.

I dunno, I feel a bit differently about this. At the moment if you post something somebody disagrees with, you have to see what they've written. You can't stick your fingers in your ears and ignore. I think seeing disagreement is a good, challenging thing. That's how we grow
If everybody starts hiding the stuff they don't like then we'll end up talking in little bubbles.
This is a site for grown ups and sometimes grown ups argue. We need to distinguish between that and troll goady stuff of course and actually I think MNHQ are pretty up on the latter and possibly reflecting on being a bit more bold about individual deletions.
It's way too passive to just go about hiding folks who have a differing opinion but at the same time it's dangerous. It will allow people posting all sorts of hideous stuff to simply hide those who disagree with them and keep on posting unchallenged. To the casual observer that will be a really WEIRD thread.

So the title pops up, showing no content and no OP, but you could see what other posters are writing?
So you know it's someone to avoid anyway?
Yes?
for me!

God, I HAVE to go out.

'Add message | Report | Message poster Tee2072 Fri 01-Nov-13 07:51:08
Except when I deal with the people who annoy me, I get deleted.

So I would if I could but I can't so I won't."

Oh the sheer irony of this, considering what you were posting about AF yesterday

I think this is great if intended to deal with trolling goady behaviour and smooth out the inevitable angry reactions to it. If it's used to resolve personal differences by long standing posters then erm grow up?

It doesn't really resolve anything. But I think it would help prevent things escalating.

I agree Northern. I disagree with people all the time, but have no desire to hide them. I do want to hide the people who are just spoiling for a fight and making goady little comments. As I mentioned that's only been aimed at me once but it was so difficult not to bite. I have no idea how people who bear the brunt of it often manage to stay calm.

tbh it would probably make sense for threads started by a blocked name to be 'hidden' by default from you.

I think on a much smaller forum it would be useful. But with so many threads even if somebody annoys you it isn't going to be on every thread. But I could see if somebody really annoying was always in a certain section stirring up trouble then a hide poster button would be good.

We're supposedly adults. If you don't like, step away. You don't 'have' to 'deal with' comments/posters you don't like or agree with.

You don't have to 'deal' with them, but RTFT is a requirement of MN, remember

How fabulous not to have to waste your remaining life minutes RTFT which includes pointless crap.

I agree with NorthernLurker.

Also, I think the emphasis on "hide poster" is misplaced. There are two reasons why you wouldn't want to read stuff on mn:

1 - you just aren't interested, eg:
There is a lot of stuff I don't want to read which doesn't annoy me (like all the threads about clothes I can't afford). I just don't go there, no problem, a hide poster button has no function

2 - people saying actual pernicious nasty things. MRA crap, rape myths, EDL, shit like that. In those cases a hide poster button is useless because the problem isn't that I can see it, the problem is that they are saying it