People who ignore/mute others

[Polak]

Just wondering what people’s opinions were of these actions?

Obviously the option is there and of course people have a right to use it if they feel it necessary, but I have never used it. . . .

I’ve never hit the ignore or mute button on anybody, nor have I ever blocked anyone on social media. I don’t think there is a ever a reason to do so actually. If someone is attacking you personally or being abusive, you should report them. If I ever get fed up with what somebody is saying, or feel we simply won’t get anywhere in the debate, I tend to just back away from the discussion and let them know I won’t be responding to the topic anymore. That doesn’t mean we might not have an interesting discussion/debate on another topic.

I don’t know, I’ve just never been a fan of this response from people, as it often occurs when they don’t like what you have said. Not liking an opinion or view shouldn’t be enough to block or ignore in my view.

 

[Lou2U]

I think it’s fine to mute or ignore others. Actually, I feel completely the opposite to you - I don’t believe you have to have a reason to mute or ignore others, if that’s what you want to do. I don’t think it’s fair to say people are cowards for wanting to use the options available to them.

Until very recently, I hadn’t muted/ignored any users or topics. I had a couple of bad days where I felt quite irritated with CAF and I decided at that point, it wasn’t worth my peace of mind to read particular topics. I had, and have, no qualms about muting or ignoring users that post on those topics. It’s nothing personal about them.

 

[EricF]

You would never know if I muted you.

 

[Irishmom2]

I don’t mute people, just topics.

I never understand the people that have to announce they are muting someone. Just mute them, no need to make a big deal about it.

 

[puer.dei]

I personally think using it shows a certain level of cowardice.

That’s rather insulting, when you have no idea of what their reasons are.

 

[Beryllos]

I have never used it, and I personally think using it shows a certain level of cowardice.

That’s a bit harsh, and some users may have excellent reasons for muting others. Try to think of one or two good reasons.

I don’t mute others, because it doesn’t work for me. This forum platform (Discourse) has a weak form of muting others; too many traces remain, and for me, that makes it ineffective.

Luckily, the users who irritate me, give me anxiety, or provoke me to uncharity tend to be most active in certain forums (World News, Catholic News, and, to a lesser extent, Social Justice and Traditional Catholicism). I have muted those categories, the latter two with some regret, and it has made a world of difference to me.

 

[ImQuiet]

Someone’s bitter.

 

[Polak]

. . . . Now if you choose to mute or ignore them because they have insulted or personally attacked you, I’d understand that more, but as mentioned, I feel if they do that, you ought to report them, as that isn’t acceptable.

I think there are a couple of people who have me on their ‘ignore list’. One of them decided to publicly announce it in a thread today. The other was from a while ago. Both times were because they didn’t like what I said. I just feel like what is the point of taking part in discussions if as soon as someone says something you disagree with or think is wrong, you decide to ignore them.

I don’t mute people, just topics.

Is it possible to ignore or mute people only for a certain topic but see what they write in other topics? How does it work? Can you choose to ignore or mute people for a certain topic or generally? As somebody who hasn’t done it anybody, I am curious.

I never understand the people that have to announce they are muting someone. Just mute them, no need to make a big deal about it.

Agreed.

 

[ImQuiet]

I think there are a couple of people who have me on their ‘ignore list’. One of them decided to publicly announce it in a thread today. The other was from a while ago. Both times were because they didn’t like what I said. I just feel like what is the point of taking part in discussions if as soon as someone says something you disagree with or think is wrong, you decide to ignore them.

I find it incredibly petty to make a thread complaining about people ignoring you and implying that they’re cowards. It’s the internet, people disagree all the time. . . .

 

[RolandThompsonGunner]

I’ve only done it once, to a person who frequently posted long, rambling walls of texts that were just eyesores.

 

[Polak]

Just curious, did you mute them in a particular thread or ignore them in general?

 

[RolandThompsonGunner]

Ignored them in general.

 

[Lou2U]

There isn’t an objective criteria for muting/ignoring people. What’s no good reason to one person will make perfect sense to another.

Is it possible to ignore or mute people only for a certain topic but see what they write in other topics? How does it work? Can you choose to ignore or mute people for a certain topic or generally? As somebody who hasn’t done it anybody, I am curious.

It depends. You can mute threads and you can mute subforums. You can mute or ignore users, depending on which you’d prefer. If you ignore, you don’t see any posts or notifications by that user; if you mute you just don’t see any notifications.

 

[Polak]

Okay well was it based solely on how that person wrote rather than the content of what they wrote? If so, did you mention it to them at any point, that it’s very difficult to read and suggesting they write a bit less or space it out a bit more, before ignoring them?

Not judging you btw, once again, just curious.

 

[RolandThompsonGunner]

It was also the content. This individual had a fixation on one particular saint and seemed to think that their teachings were like the infallible doctrine of the church itself. When people disagreed with something they said, they’d just respond with another massive rambling wall of text. Frankly, it was just annoying and unproductive.

 

[Irishmom2]

I think you can only mute a person entirely, or a topic entirely.

 

[CarolAnnSFO]

I only ever muted one person, and that was on this forum (it was a temporary measure, and I didn’t mention it to anyone). The person was being rude – not report-it-to-the-moderators rude, just I-don’t-feel-like-dealing-with-it rude. There are some people who are simply contentious, and they will always argue with you, disagree with you, or challenge you, no matter what you say. Sometimes it isn’t even what you say, but just who you are. My feeling is that life is just too precious and short to engage with anyone who will challenge every single thing I say. Fortunately, I rarely encounter people like that.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I love the “ignore user” feature. I make frequent use of it on Facebook and it easily solves large numbers of problems and greatly reduces stress. Discourse didn’t have an ignore feature for a long time, and it was very frustrating to the point where I promised to make a large donation to CAF if ignore was ever implemented. It was, and I kept my promise.

I also like the “mute thread” feature as it allows me to just not have to look at threads that have devolved into arguments or that for one reason or another I’d rather not see. If I mute the thread, I don’t have to see that topic any more, but the people in it are free to continue their discussion; it’s equivalent to my leaving the room at a party and going to another room instead.

I realize there is a school of thought that removing the ability to ignore posters or mute threads forces everyone to engage in civil discourse and to listen to others’ points of view, etc. That’s a pipe dream. When you don’t have an ignore or mute button, you’re just forced to wade through unpalatable posts, sometimes even harassing or toxic posts, in order to find beneficial and interesting posts. You have no way of “taking a break” from another poster without taking a break from all the threads they’re on, perhaps even from the whole forum. And you’re forced to look at the posts of trolls or bad actors until the moderator shows up with the mop to clean up, which on this forum can take a while since mods are not hovering around 24/7.

From a personal standpoint, the ignore poster and mute thread feature also reduces the temptation to get into protracted arguments with someone or get angry with them, both of which are not good board behavior and may even be sinful.

If someone does not like the features, they don’t have to use them. I have no idea why someone who didn’t like the features would want or need to impose their views on the whole forum though. My use of an ignore poster or mute thread does not affect the content for anyone else. I can see where somebody might not like the announcement of muting or ignoring that some posters make (“I am furious with you and I’m putting you on ignore”) but that’s a different issue from the mere use of the feature. I try not to make announcements that I am ignoring someone unless their behavior has been really egregious; announcements that you’re ignoring someone have sometimes been disciplined by the mods. However, I’m fine with saying “I’m muting this thread”, usually with an explanation like “I’ve said enough on this and now I am repeating myself so it’s time to mute”.

I also honestly don’t care what anyone else on here thinks of my ignoring or muting behavior. It’s permitted by the platform and there is no rule against it. We have had threads in the past where posters got very judgmental of those who ignore or mute, to the point where they ended up getting disciplined by the moderators themselves for violating the civility rule, and therefore became exhibit A of why one might want to ignore or mute.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Sometimes it isn’t even what you say, but just who you are. My feeling is that life is just too precious and short to engage with anyone who will challenge every single thing I say.

This is exactly how I feel. Some people love to argue. Some people feel a need to win every argument or convince others that their view is the right view. Some people incessantly bring up the same topics over and over. Life’s too short to have that stuff taking up my time.

 

[EricF]

Nothing ever written here was ever profound enough to be preserved for eternity. There are no Augustine’s or Aquinas’ posting here. Nothing here rises to the level of required reading for Catholics. If you don’t want to look at it, don’t. If you want to mute it, mute it. It’s a good feature.