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Ignore feature

QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
I would very much appreciate having an ignore feature.

Sometimes there are people that don't really need reporting but they get under your skin constantly, and you and the rest of the forum would be better off without your frustration being heightened by them constantly.

Thanks.
TJ_Hookerbooinyoureyes
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Comments

  • TressetTresset Member, Moderator Posts: 8,262
    I dunno... I never really liked ignore features because they can sometimes be used like snub features...

    Also, since this is a forum and not a chatroom that sounds kinda unrealistic. Unless you are getting bothered in PM that is.

    Not to mention that the site rules say something like respect everyone and such and everyone has a right to express their views (I can only imagine that that means they can extend their views to everyone else as well) as long as they are civil. Ignoring people, even in real life, is considered rude I believe (social skills aren't my strong point).

    I mean, I understand where you are coming from. People can seem like jerks and sometimes it feels better to not have to deal with them, but I don't think this is a good solution.
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    Quartz
  • Troodon80Troodon80 Member, Developer Posts: 4,110
    It was talked about briefly in the badges thread, and appears unlikely that they will add such a feature to the forum—but an alternative, such as a plugin script/CSS for Greasemonkey (which would require you to make it yourself), was suggested.
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    I really don't think an ignore feature will be implemented. As @Troodon80 pointed out it was discussed already and it was decided it was not going to be implemented. If anyone is being rude or trolling you, the best solution is to send the problem to a moderator. In some cases it may result in the offending party being banished from the forum.
    elminster
  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
    edited July 2013
    @typo_tilly

    I've rarely used an ignore feature on forums, but I have had to use it so I understand why you'd want the option.

    Aye, same here. I'm glad you understand.

    @mlnevese
    mlnevese said:

    I really don't think an ignore feature will be implemented. As Troodon80 pointed out it was discussed already and it was decided it was not going to be implemented. If anyone is being rude or trolling you, the best solution is to send the problem to a moderator. In some cases it may result in the offending party being banished from the forum.

    I have someone who is getting under my skin, but it is, as one might say, a personal problem. What they are doing is not worthy of being banned. They just personally bother me, a lot. While they rarely do anything outright rude, they literally feed on nothing but negative energy, never contributing positive energy to the forums. That is not worthy of banishment, but it personally annoys me.

    I hope you can understand better now.
    Post edited by Quartz on
    booinyoureyes
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    Quartz
  • DeeDee Member Posts: 10,447

    Quartz said:

    @typo_tilly

    I've rarely used an ignore feature on forums, but I have had to use it so I understand why you'd want the option.

    Aye, same here. I'm glad you understand.
    *nods* Yeah, I totally get you. It's not too bad here, but on other forums I've been very glad to have an ignore button.

    Best you can do right now is to glaze over and scroll down whenever you see the posters' names. Avoiding reading it as best you can when you can.
    I do this all the ti--wait, tilly?

    Never mind, I forgot I wasn't supposed to read that post. :)

    As much as possible we try to encourage discussion and engagement on the forums; a feature that allows people to ignore other users runs counter to that mission. As @mlnevese said, if you're having an issue with someone, send a moderator a message and we'll take a look. Even if it's not someone breaking a rule, we might be able to help you work through whatever it is that's bothering you. I've been told I make a good mediator (and by a lawyer, no less!).

    If it turns out that you can't get over your personal issues with another person, the best thing to do is walk away--which, in the internets, means that whenever you see something that's liable to get you riled up, just stop reading, step away from your computer, take a shower, read a book, play some Gauntlet Legends or Dynasty Warriors, and come back with a clear head (everything looks rosier at the bottom of a glass filled with the armies of the Yellow Turbans).

    (If you still feel like banging your fist against a wall, then definitely don't keep reading those posts. There are enough threads on this site that no one should feel like they can't go anywhere without being faced with their own nemeses.)
  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
    edited July 2013
    I thought I reconciled with them already twice in the past, but their attitude has not changed one bit.

    Plus it's hard to ignore your "nemesis" when they find you and insist on tagging you with the @ and all.

    In case you guys didn't get this: I don't want to involve moderators. It's that simple. There is a time to involve moderators, but this is not such a time. It's not nearly that severe, just a constant small annoyance. Thus why I am requesting an ignore feature be implemented: For times when it's more simple to just let things be, but at the same time, you are doing yourself a favor. It entails far less drama, and in a lot of cases it's the mature thing to do.
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  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    Dee said:


    If it turns out that you can't get over your personal issues with another person, the best thing to do is walk away--which, in the internets, means that whenever you see something that's liable to get you riled up, just stop reading, step away from your computer, take a shower, read a book, play some Gauntlet Legends or Dynasty Warriors, and come back with a clear head (everything looks rosier at the bottom of a glass filled with the armies of the Yellow Turbans).

    Alternatively might I suggest taking up sculpting?

    image


    Or maybe instead relieving some of that frustration or annoyance by embracing charname's heritage?

    image

    image

    image

    image

    image
    TressetBelgarathMTH[Deleted User]Silverstar
  • TressetTresset Member, Moderator Posts: 8,262
    elminster said:

    Dee said:


    If it turns out that you can't get over your personal issues with another person, the best thing to do is walk away--which, in the internets, means that whenever you see something that's liable to get you riled up, just stop reading, step away from your computer, take a shower, read a book, play some Gauntlet Legends or Dynasty Warriors, and come back with a clear head (everything looks rosier at the bottom of a glass filled with the armies of the Yellow Turbans).

    Alternatively might I suggest taking up sculpting?

    Picture...

    Or maybe instead relieving some of that frustration or annoyance by embracing charname's heritage?

    Bunch of pictures I'm not putting in a quote...

    That is actually a very good suggestion! Why not play the game if the forums about the game are proving problematic?
    elminster
  • BelgarathMTHBelgarathMTH Member Posts: 5,653
    @Quartz, I am very sympathetic to where you're coming from. I don't know how old you are, but let me try to give you an insight from "the old days."

    I am a venerable old man by internet standards. I started learning my way around the internet when we had nothing but dial-up connections and AOL for a "browser".

    In the old days, there was no such thing as a "forum". We had "chatrooms", and "bulletin boards".

    Now, in those ancient days of yore, we had all the same social problems as people have today. Given the cover of most convenient anonymity, many people drop all pretense of polite society, and follow their darkest and worst impulses of behavior.

    And in those ancient days of AOL "chatrooms" and "bulletin boards", we had the "ignore" feature readily available. Please let me tell you how people treat each other when given that option. Frankly, they wield it as a weapon.

    "I don't like your opinions. If you don't change your mind immediately and agree with me this instant, I am going to put you on ignore!" (They actually didn't put it quite that politely most of the time.)

    "If you keep up this stupid nonsense, I am going to put you on ignore!"

    "I don't like you, and you're full of poop! (click)!" (Yes, they actually typed the word "click", in various creative ways meant to maximize the insult.)

    We had a cute little expression in those days. "The goddess Ignora." She was worshipped quite widely in the old days.

    "You're stupid. I am now praying to the goddess Ignora. Yay! She smites you from my computer! *click*"

    "If you don't stop being a doody turd, I'm going to the goddess Ignora!"

    After someone had "ignored" a troublesome community member, who, in the current vernacular would have been called a "troll" (we didn't have that word for it, if I remember), the conversation would proceed thusly:

    "I just put so-and-so on ignore! Thanks to the great goddess Ignora!" "I worship Ignora too - I'm gonna get her to smite Trollboy on my computer!"

    And they would try to organize mobs against Trollboy (who probably was nothing of the sort - he only dared to disagree with them).

    "Let's all ignore Trollboy! C'mon y'all, click it now! You know you want to!" "Methinks Trollboy deserves to be sacrificed on the altar of the great Ignora *stabs Trollboy - click*"

    Etc., etc. It's about the same as the fabled "disagree" button that I hear used to be part of this forum. It's a way for forum members who don't like each other to punish each other. And, it's a very bad idea, that encourages very bad behavior. That's human nature, my friend.

    MortiannaFredSRichardsonTressetMERLANCE
  • FredSRichardsonFredSRichardson Member Posts: 465
    @belgarathmth - Very good point! The venerable usenet news has the kill file and of course real satisfaction was achieved by announcing to someone that they were being added to your killfile. I don't think this is a helpful dynamic for this forum. Moderators are here for a reason.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited July 2013
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    FredSRichardsonQuartzMortianna
  • TressetTresset Member, Moderator Posts: 8,262
    I was ignored in a chatroom once for the most ridiculous reason ever... I truthfully answered a question someone asked.

    Without naming names here's what happened: Someone asked "Have any of you ever recruited this ridiculously hard to recruit character?" and I answered with complete honesty "Yes, I did that." Then that someone who had obviously never recruited that character said "Yeah, right! What level was it then?" Again I honestly answered "90" Then this person said "You liar! You just made up a high number. I'm going to ignore you now!"

    But that isn't really where the story ends though because I believe I got the last laugh...

    I stayed on the chatroom for a bit after that happened and when someone who missed the above conversation asked me why I was being ignored by the doorknob he un-ignored me for some reason just as I gave my answer "He's just jealous that I recruited this character." Of course the doorknob denied it, but I still think that was the real reason I got ignored.

    And since this is the only encounter I have ever had with an ignore feature, I'm sure you can understand my initial reaction.
  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
    edited July 2013

    The rare times I've ignored someone I did not announce that I was doing so... I just wanted them to stop harassing me.

    This.

    I'm big on the "human nature" thing, but I don't see how everyone threatening to ignore each other is human nature. Something like anonymity causing people to reveal the worst of themselves, that's human nature. Being loud and obnoxious about "ignoring" other people, that varies person to person quite a lot.
  • BelgarathMTHBelgarathMTH Member Posts: 5,653
    @Quartz, I lived through it on AOL circa 1995-2000. If you don't think people will get "loud and obnoxious" and "announce" that they're ignoring someone else, I have to tell you that that's what they do, given the feature. It creates an extremely unpleasant environment that we probably don't want here.

    That said, I'm not without sympathy to your problem. You said it wasn't bad enough to report them to the moderators. If it was actual harassment of one member by another, I think our moderators would do something about it.

    I've occasionally run into "thorn in my side" people here, and what I do is to just let it go. I don't post in that thread anymore, or I close my internet browser and go play Baldur's Gate. Or watch TV. Or go outside. Get the grocery shopping done. Mow the grass. Feed my cats. Etc., etc. It's really just not worth it to get upset about what people post in forums. We're nominally doing this to entertain ourselves and share ideas.

    So, you know, if it stops serving its purpose, turn it off.

    And interestingly, I've sometimes later become friends with and had interesting conversations with some of those people who started out as "thorns in my side", upsetting me with everything they posted.
  • reedmilfamreedmilfam Member Posts: 2,808
    I do wish I could ignore (dismiss) normal threads. Particularly those that get into PC (political correctness) and whatnot. I do IGNORE them, but I see them when I'm looking for what's new.
    QuartzbooinyoureyesGodKaiserHell
  • FredSRichardsonFredSRichardson Member Posts: 465
    Well, maybe client-side ignore is possible (filtering out parts of the HTML after it reaches the browser)...
  • Troodon80Troodon80 Member, Developer Posts: 4,110
    @FredSRichardson, it's possible to do. Someone did something like that before, but it won't currently work on this forum. If I had the time to dedicate to it, I would do so. For the effort required to do it, however, it would be easier to just ignore the undesirables.
  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
    edited July 2013
    @belgarathmth I'm not saying people won't do it, of course some people will do it. I just don't see it as something everyone is bound to do ... which, you pulled the "it's human nature" card, which implies that everyone is bound to do it, or at least feel the urge to do so. I have 6 people on my ignore list in my 9 years on Gaia Online ... I never even *thought* to go bragging or threatening anyone about such a thing. And I know I'm not the only one with such a story. There are exceptions to every rule, but there are a damn lot of exceptions to what you're proposing considering I've been on the internet for 9 or so years and I haven't even seen what you're mentioning. To be honest, I think you are just bitter, and need to open up your mind a little bit.

    And I'll say it again: I personally feel harassed by someone on this forum, but it does not warrant a banning or even me using those stupid "Abuse" flags (that nine times out of ten, people just use back and forth on each other to get at each other, instead of using them responsibly) as it is clearly not intentional. I just happen to feel incredibly annoyed by their insistence on bringing negative energy into any and every topic they touch. That wouldn't be a huge issue, except for the fact that they use the @ tagging feature constantly, making it impossible for me to ignore them on a personal level.
  • FredSRichardsonFredSRichardson Member Posts: 465
    @Troodon80 - I was actually just being tongue-in-cheek, I didn't think anyone would actually do this.
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  • MortiannaMortianna Member Posts: 1,356

    I know an ignore option won't be made available here... but for the sake argument, why wouldn't a forum just make it a bannable offense to brag or threaten or boast about putting someone on ignore? :/

    Would that make it a "meta-ignore?" What about threatening to brag about boasting that you'll ignore.....oh nevermind. :P

    [Deleted User]Quartz
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    MortiannaQuartz
  • reedmilfamreedmilfam Member Posts: 2,808
    I have no interest in ignoring certain members - only certain topics. I don't mind the topic being discussed - I just don't want it spamming the 'what's new'; it's not meant to insult people so much as a method to make the forum more useful to me.
    alnair
  • NWN_babaYagaNWN_babaYaga Member Posts: 732
    Why not tell the member directly that you have no interest in his/ her oppinion or comment and that he/ she just s... and no conversation will change that! A clear and direct message to the person is always the best imo.

    If that doesnt help make a thread in the OT forum with his name so he has to say something why his inner demon needs your attention...
  • reedmilfamreedmilfam Member Posts: 2,808

    Why not tell the member directly that you have no interest in his/ her oppinion or comment and that he/ she just s... and no conversation will change that! A clear and direct message to the person is always the best imo.

    If that doesnt help make a thread in the OT forum with his name so he has to say something why his inner demon needs your attention...

    Not for me, it isn't. I don't ever feel it's my place to tell people that their conversation has no value; only that it has none to me (which is why I'd prefer to be able to dismiss such threads, like I can for announcements). It's not about the author (believe me, I'm no shy violet if a person posts something offensive or whatnot); it's more to keep threads that I won't even open from being in the 'what's new' area (and pushing down threads that might actually interest me).
    Quartz[Deleted User]GodKaiserHell
  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853

    I don't ever feel it's my place to tell people that their conversation has no value; only that it has none to me.

    This nails it.

    So while belgarathmth tells me that ignore features are for audacious jerks, I'm going to go ahead and insist it's for people who are humble. :P
  • chuukoguchuukogu Member Posts: 40
    Nope, nope, nope. A forum doesn't generally need an ignore feature, as long as moderators deal with spam, other rule violations and such. Plain text is easy enough to skip. Maybe if someone had too many images or embedded videos in their post, they could be turned off, but not the post itself.
    Now, a multiplayer game or any kind of online chat is another matter, and those should always have the most flexible ignore features.
    elminster
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