There may be an age or generational explanation for this, but I especially notice this behavior on Reddit while not nearly as much here on Lemmy (though maybe that’s also a mater of implementation).
It seems many are so quick to assert overly-confident positions, but then hit-and-run with some smarmy remark at even the slightest challenge, then quickly block. Like, not even crazy stuff. Just basic, civil disagreements. I can pretty well predict when it will happen, and it always feels like such a petty ego-sparing fingers-in-ears denial thing to do, and to me if anything shows they were not very confident in their views being challenged.
I think I’ve only blocked a handful of people over a decade who were actively spamming, stalking, or spewing extremely hateful rhetoric and I just reported them simultaneously. You have to cross a pretty extreme and irrational line for me to do that.
The reason I ask is to see if I’m missing something; to better understand the mindset of those who do.
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Personally, I block people who espouse things I believe are genuinely spiteful, hateful, or shitty. Generally, I use the block button to “curate” my experience with the intention that I can use Lemmy as brief escapism when I’m in the bathroom or on the train without having my mood affected by somebody posting something shitty.
I don’t block anyone for normal disagreements, because I’m a relatively normal adult and as such that sort of thing doesn’t bother me.
Blocking is a VERY GOOD THING.
The internet is a cesspool. You need to curate it.
They never said otherwise. They’re just talking about a relatively recent cultural shift towards blocking people for no real reason
Yeah, you are missing context. I can tell right away when someone is arguing from bad faith or spewing propaganda. I don’t report, I just block.
You don’t want to get blocked, I get it. You think it is some failing in people but it is just you who is failing to understand other people’s decisions.
You are thinking about this from your very naive point of view. You are being very disingenuous painting everyone who blocks as someone who is not interesting conversation especially with people who don’t agree with them.
While I am sure this happens there is another side to this which is just people blocking obvious trolls for their mental health. I am never going to convince an incel to stop hating women. There is no point in talking to them.
incel to stop hating women.
i have been on fedi for a hot minute and i have never seen these mythical incels. you got a link to check out?
hmm, blocked! /j
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Im very pro block. I prefer that users can do stuff themselves over moderation honestly. I would like blocking to be reciprical and I have to do a lot of it for communities because the language thing often either seems to not work or my suspicion is the person making the community did not set it. That being said I block few users but tons of communities. The fediverse is not really large enough to subscribe to some stuff and ignore the rest. I block anything I have no interest in or sometimes just because its to niche for me. Things like sports, memes, and communities about like one specific thing like a tv series or video game.
Trolls have no right to any of my time.
Someone disagreeing with you isn’t a troll.
I see what you did there.
I’ve blocked like 2 people total, it’s pretty clear when someone isn’t arguing in good faith.
Regardless, my point is the same. No one has a right to demand I read what they write.
Or when you know they have
racist, sexist, homophobic, or Naziconservative ideals and are either overt OR covert about it.
Blocked.
I constantly block both users and communities on Lemmy. Mostly because they are spouting doomer nonsense, and I ain’t got no time for their bullshit.
Quake is better anyway.
People don’t like being forced to engage with belligerent reactionaries.
I’m 31 now but I’ve always been pretty quick with a block button, i don’t mind people disagreeing with me, but some people are just overly aggressive and I find life’s better to just not care about them and block.
I also block trolls because you know don’t feed the trolls.
I’ve got better things to do than read a load of horseshit from bad-faith weirdos, so I block them. No point engaging with them and reading their opinions makes my day measurably worse.
It’s how society is degenerating. Respect for each other is gone. The bullets have started to fly.
The bullets have started to fly.
bullets have been flying US is the most violent “first” world country by far.
I’ve not blocked anyone here or on Reddit. I have on Mastodon but only becase the 3 people I have blocked are fucking interminably boring not because of any philsophival difference of opinion or they were rude or some shit.
I tend not to engage too much, it is some random on the internet after all. I am old, I’ve been doing this shit from IRL meetups of computer clubs, to BBS’s where I actually personally knew just about everyone from meet ups, then Usenet and IRC opened the world, then fora, then reddit (because Usenet died) now here and Mastodon…
It depends what you’re on (social media) for.
If you’re there to get some positive social interaction and read some articles or funny pictures, it completely makes sense to block agitators or regular shitposters.
If you’re there to have political arguments and engage with rage bait then you leave everyone unblocked.
Its really not that complicated.
For me personally, I just don’t feel like dealing with yet another source of garbage that I don’t want to read.
In happier times, I felt a different way about blocking. Nowadays, the fucking potus forces the country to match some phony fucking Fox News image, and I don’t really care about reading some dumb assholes dumb rant anymore. Not blocking people and “dialog” and “debate bro” shit isn’t fixing this crap anyway, so I’m going to go ahead and make my own life contain a little less hassle.
That’s also why I’m only really here and on mastodon. I know they’re basically left wing safe spaces. I frankly don’t give a fuck.
