Disable the ignore function

JoinTheSchwarz aka JohnTheShorts, what's your view on this?

 

I used to be in favor of the ignore feature, thinking that it could help isolate trolls and borderline trolls. Now, I'm not that sure of that anymore. It might be doing more bad than good. I'm seeing some good arguments in here.

I, for obvious reasons, have never been able to use this function, so I'm following this thread closely and with interest. As is all of Mod Squad.

 

It really could be great for identifying trolls/semitrolls/demitrolls/hemisemidemitrolls if there were some sort of 'ignored by' counter. I'd prefer such a counter to be visible to all (some could see it as a badge of honour), but it would certainly be useful to have it visible to mods.

 

That assumes the only way Mods can spot trolls is through this ignore counter. If a mod doesn't recognise a troll in their own community, they shouldn't damn well be moderating it.

 

This would only be an indicator if everyone used the function. Even if they did, it'd be easily abused if used in that fashion. "Hey guys I hate this person put him/her on ignore so the mods see it and get rid fo them."

 

I agree with Ender. What does that mean? Are we like to close neighbors that hate each other but agree to fight unfair tax burdens?

 

What bad is it doing, exactly? Causing people who use the ignore button to miss comments from certain users, aka working exactly as they intended?

Removing the ignore button will force people to expend energy to ignore others at best, inspire more volatility at worst. I doubt it will result in increased discussion, except for maybe the kind that ends in bans.

You can't force people to play with people they don't want to play with.

The thing is, someone who has decided to use the ignore button has decided they don't want to participate in a debate with that person at all.

The post is still there even if you have a person on ignore, and you can decide to read and respond to it if you want. You can even see that that person has posted something, it just removes the post.

I find it much easier to not have to skim at all, especially through a thread that has one person saying "dis was gud" or some other unintelligible nonsense dozens of times. Or the RLM fools who drop by to tell us the same crap we've heard a billion times. Or any other example of clutter that I don't want taking up my time and energy.

The ignore button makes it literally effortless to avoid somebody who bugs you.

It may not be necessary, but this is the internet, where everyone can have it their way.

It wrecks discussion with someone who has chosen not to have a discussion with you. Remove the ignore button and that person probably still won't respond.

Personally, I haven't seen a single good reason to remove the ignore button, unless you count "it slightly hindered discussion for some people that one time". Even the very rare occasions it does hinder discussion, it often only hinders discussion for the person being ignored. When the potential discussion is limited to only two people, it works perfectly.

Even that one time in the JCC, the damn thread still hit 40+ pages, because people just couldn't ignore nonsense not worth a response anyway.

Moviefan2k4 has "gotten" the JCC better than anyone I've seen, if it was intentional, he'd be the most effective troll since I've registered.

 

I didn't make that assumption at all. Mods are not perfect beings, they can't read everything, some people are not inclined to report nasty behaviour, and most importantly different people have different opinions on what constitutes trolling.

I disagree. Good trolls don't antagonise everyone.

But saying that would surely be bullying, which would be breaking the rules. Every feature can probably be abused and exploited by mean spirited people.

An ignored-by counter wouldn't just be useful for identifying trolls but also spammers, the terminally dull, the inescapably annoying, etc. It might also be beneficial for mods to identify the biggest ignoreERs if indeed there is a problem with disjointed threads (which isn't something that's ever troubled me).

 

You miss my point, V2.

A good mod is across the discussions in the forum, knows the personalities, and when something is amiss.

 

Using their spidey sense or their omniscience?

Not everyone is as vocal as the people in this thread. Not everyone has a personality, let's face it.

Yeah but the mods should be aware of ignores. I'll file my wish for an ignore counter next to the 'dislike' button for the time being, it seems to have no support whatsoever.

 

I'm sure our userpages will feature a "Ignores received," complete with their own trophies.

 

V2, I'm drawing on my experience as a mod here for 3 years. You?

 

If you can't take this community and all of us **** then you risk getting labeled when you pick and choose who you want to listen to. Why labeled, cause instead of being able to contribute to the discussion you will just make yourself look foolish.

Watch your language.

 

It seems impossible to determine the extent of the problem. Just how common are these disjointed discussions? I'm all over the boards and I haven't seen them much. That one in the JCC is the very first that I can recall happening in the JCC. I've seen it happen in one thread in Lit, due to someone who could be Moviefan's sock being ignored. That's it, I can't think of any other examples. The latter wasn't what I'd call a problem, merely a minor hiccup.

Are these disjointed discussions as common as, say, toxic blow ups between people that destroy a discussion, thread or even an entire forum? It seems like I see those blow ups, on one scale or another, almost every time I log in.

Is preventing these disjointed discussions as important as preventing blow ups?

 

Its not who you ignore that gets you labeled. Its when you misread a discussion cause you ignored a poster.
Puts new meaning to the word Ignorance.

 

I'm drawing on your experience as a mod too.

 

I thought you only joined in 2012.

 

You're very tiring when you want to be. If only there were some way of pretending you weren't there...

 

Maybe its me but most people that claim to use the ignore button haven't really been given hard time. Those that have been banned a long time seem to understand its part of this place.

 

In relation to this thread topic, and due to my unfamiliarity with using the 'ignore' feature, I just did a little experiment to see as to how much ignoring someone actually derails the thread. I know... I am that committed...

So, anyway, I ignored Ender Sai (nothing personal, of course, but as this is your thread and you are one of the key spokesmen toward discontinuing the ignore system I thought it would be wise to see just how much of a potential problem clicking ignore actually is in terms of impeding a topic that is currently ensconced in discussion).

Admittedly, it was weird, nay downright bizarre seeing Cushing's Admirer and others talk to themselves straight out of the gate. Also, I would have never known Ender's viewpoints had it not been for a vague mention here and there, or due to a scattered name drop, but basically, while I found ignore to be disorienting on some occasion, it did not hinder the overall thread, as right away I could still see that 'twas Ender who began the thread topic, which tells me if I truly wanted I could click un-ignore to get Ender's perspective or click show ignored content... both of which are just a click away. Another nicety that apparently is displayed even during the ignore process is that I could still view Ender's 'likes' which again lent me a peek at his perspective if I were inclined to care.

Bottom line... the ignore feature may cause one to lose their bearings amidst an ongoing discussion, made more so if you were to ignore the thread creator, but all-in-all not once did it feel as if I were missing an integral point of discussion, so much so, that I felt I could not jump right in at any time and contribute to the discourse. Nothing about the process felt at odds with the theme of the thread, and say someone decided to abuse such a privilege with its' oversaturation (abusing said privilege being a subjective opinion, of course, as I would not know as to what truly constitutes as such) I cannot see any instance in which such a course of action would incite disjuncture of the thread as a whole.

Say I were to ignore all but two people on this particular thread, then post an opinion... how would that then detract from those whose perspectives I chose to ignore? In my opinion, it simply does not. Others would still be privy to their prior discussions. At most, if I were to post an outlandish statement that makes no sense it would leave said declaration subject to a mods' authority, or it would make me appear quite the fool... neither of which would prove detrimental to the debate. Just, perhaps, my pride. Luckily enough, if my ignoring others became too much of a burden for any one individual - along with my comments - those people have the option of using a function perfect for such a situation... yes, ignore. 'Tis a saving grace of sorts, a tool used to weed out any perceived impurities for oneself.

People have brought up here the question as to how one might handle a real-life circumstance whereby the ignore button is not present. Honestly, I find this flabbergasting as I have never seen an occasion in which the option to not have to deal with unpleasantness has ever been brought into question, and put up as an idea for the chopping block. That is laugh out loud funny, odd and slightly disturbing all at once in my opinion. Leave it to the Internet.

The only occasion I could see the ignore function having any overt impact on whatsoever were to be if the majority of users were to ignore nearly everyone, as that could then hurt future traffic to the site, but that is a long shot at best... especially the future traffic part, as that is but a pipe dream.