Topic: So, You Can Now Ignore Users

@RubyCarbuncle I wouldn't say it's a silly idea, it would make sense not to see all the replies to people you've ignored, especially for article comments. I can see why that system would have issues too though.

So my understanding is, if a user ignores you, you can see their name appear in the latest thread post, and see other people’s replies, but can’t actually see their post?

I think this may be the case for me, as exactly that is happening. If that is the case, that is really disappointing. I can totally understand the need to block users who harass or break the rules, but excluding people from a public forum discussion just because you may not like them or what they said is really damaging in my opinion.

So far I have really enjoyed this forum, but that almost makes me want to not even bother, if I’m going to be excluded anyway.

Just my opinion.

@exit I agree with you, the ignore button shouldn’t be used to get rid of dissenting opinion. It should be used to silence abuse and bullying, etc. Naturally there’s people that hate being disagreed with and ignoring comes easier to them.

Yep that's how it works and quite honestly I agree with you, sadly the owners of the site don't see it that way. Funny thing is excluding people from something is a way of bullying yet that doesn't seem to matter I guess.

Ah, so you too have figured it out, you will be surprised with how many people agree with you, including me. I conversation one time, because of being blocked, but what sucks is that I had no interaction with said person, they can do whatever they want, They don’t have to talk to me it just sucks I was excluded from a whole conversation because of it.

However you can still se a blocked person post if someone quotes it.

Thank you all for the responses. The great thing about forums is that they allow anybody to have their say, and form a real organic community, compared to say social media which in my view, is more like to a bubble of self interest.

By excluding people from certain conversations you essentially alienate them, which is more or less a form of online bullying. It’s completely different from being banned by a moderator for bad behaviour. That’s why I think it can be incredibly damaging, especially if you don’t know why you are being excluded. How do you think that makes the user feel?

If that is how Nintendolife, it’s owners and moderators want it, then fair enough, it’s their platform. However, if you cannot read certain conversations, people’s views and share your own on the subject, then what is the point? It would be more beneficial for your own well being, and mental health to go somewhere else where you can have a mature discussion and be respected.

This is not meant to offend anybody, just food for thought really.

When I ignore someone in real life, it’s because they annoy me. I don’t need to ignore people here because I can just not read their posts if they annoy me. Nobody just gets randomly ignored in real life or on the internet. If you find yourself ignored by someone, it’s because you annoy them in some way. It’s probably not that you have a different opinion than this person, but how you state your differing opinion. What annoys one person might not annoy another person. It’s just that way.

While I agree with most of what you said, I mean, they kinda do. You don’t have to have a valid reason to not like somebody.

The point I’m making is, just like you said, you don’t have to read or respond to people you don’t like, or to views you disagree with. The ability for anybody to exclude people from certain conversations doesn’t quite work for forums. At the end of the day, it encourages division, creates somewhat of a bubble, and worsens the problem in my opinion.

I can understand the ability to hide users you don’t want to see, but totally disagree with hiding your own posts for them to see. Why even be on a public forum if you only want a certain group to see your posts?

@exit Again I agree what you said. I mean I can understand ignoring people on Twitter, or Facebook but like you said this a forum not a social media app. If users have the ability to block other users then what is the point of having Mods?? But I digress

Sadly though as I stated the owners of this site don't see it they way we do so if this feature is a problem, which it seems then unfortunately this place may not be for you. I am not trying to sound rude but many of us have voiced the same concerns to the owner but they are unwilling to change their mind on it and are adamant on keeping the feature they way it is.

@Tasuki You don’t sound rude at all, and thanks for the response. I greatly respect users like you, regardless of whether I agree or disagree with your views.

Yeah, I guess you are right. Overall it’s up to the owners to decide, and they have the right to enforce what they like. Personally I do not agree with it, and it has made me rethink whether I should continue using the site. It’s a shame because overall the site and my experience has been pleasant.

Anyway, no hard feelings. It is what it is.

@exit I like listening to everybody on here, I like reading all about peoples different tastes in games, movies and books.

You are good in my book!

@Kermit1 Thank you mate. As do I, it’s what forums are all about.

Users like you are what make the community great.

It's a shame that they won't budge on this, since I agree with everyone commenting now within the thread. It's pretty much just cutting people out of conversations, as they're not allowed to have context to said conversations. If you can't see one singular message, then it looks like someone is just talking to themselves, or it makes it hard to actually get in on the topic at hand.

They main thing I would like to know is why the owners see fit to exclude people from conversations, it just doesn't make sense to me. Why give people a tool to bully others and excluding people just because? Seems like they don't want to stop bullying they just want to cater to certain people who want to bully others themselves.

@Tasuki I guess it's because to them, it isn't bullying. It's ignoring problematic people who aren't breaking the rules of the community, but are making members uncomfortable.

@VoidofLight By making the forums uncomfortable for others it seems.

I will admit it’s a bit of a beat down when you can somewhat see that public conversation is happening, but you cannot partake because you potentially made a comment someone disagrees with. It’s not a fair system.

I can totally understand the ability to hide posts you dislike, that makes sense, but to block a user entirely just doesn’t work for a forum unless a mod has removed them for breaking the site rules. I’d imagine it may also discourage people to voice their opinion, due to fear of being alienated.

Unfortunately, the reality of the Internet isn't that optimistic.

I had the displeasure of dealing with a lot of jerks on the Internet over the years, so that built a rather defensive reaction in me when dealing with strangers online, people I've never met and will probably never meet halfway across the world. If they say something that upsets me - which they usually do online - would I rather block them or let myself get dragged into a pointless argument that drains my energy? I'd prefer the former.

Now, that's not to say that NintendoLife forum is the same. If anything, I do feel that this community is one of the more positive ones that try to respect each other's opinion - most of the time (there are still certain rather aggressive users whom I shall not name that aggressively challenge your viewpoint if you dislike something they like, even going so far as to call your opinion ridiculous). So I'll admit that the same rules don't necessarily apply as they do on Reddit, YouTube, or even Facebook, where people will attack anyone for just about anything. Even certain other forums aren't always filled with an affable atmosphere even if they're "moderated," because gatekeeping is a thing, and certain forums and their moderators can be biased and would let certain abusive behavior slide when certain opinions they dislike are voiced.

It's not a topic I like to discuss because I want to have a fresh start here and try to fit in, but since it's been brought up, I thought I'd share my viewpoint on why I put people on ignore and even block them. It's not a matter of silencing you guys specifically, it's a matter of how I see most people on the Internet as potentially toxic. It's how I was brought up on the Internet over two decades of Internet usage, arguing against many, many trolls and bullies online.

As far as I know, putting NL users on "Ignore" doesn't prevent them from seeing your posts; blocking them does, so I don't think it's as big of a deal if it's the former case. I get why people are upset on a principle level... but still. Ignorance is bliss. Again, I'll admit that over the past week of communicating with users here, I could accept that such a defensive behavior might not be as necessary as they're on other platforms.

As a side note, does that mean I'm insecure about my own views that I'm afraid I'll get attacked? Yes. Hello, I'm seeing a therapist, I'm taking anxiety pills, so of course I'm insecure. I was bullied severely in school, I never had a lot of friends, don't even have a girlfriend - of course I'm insecure. It's not something I'm proud of, but that's just the reality of things.

But if there's one thing I've learned on the Internet, it's that I should never let toxic people drag me down. I have my own life to live. I shouldn't let someone spoil my day and make me feel small, going out of their way to say "Your opinion is dumb" just because I happen to have an unpopular opinion.

@Maxenmus That’s fair, you have a right to protect yourself online, and I’m sorry to hear about the unpleasant encounters you have had. The idea of ignoring a user is great, and allows everyone to continue to partake in the conversation, while also allowing those who choose to ignore certain users do so. I fully support that system.

What I don’t understand is why it blocks the user entirely. The end result is people are excluded from public discussion, which really only worsens the bullying issue.

That's something I can agree on. Even when I've "blocked" someone from my "Ignore" list on NL in the past week, it was kinda an accident as I didn't know what that function does (I didn't see the fine print, the instructions, till after the fact). So yeah, that was my fault. It does make you feel bad when you realized that someone has blocked you, that you can't see their post, so I do agree that it's not exactly the best way to fix bullying.