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Hello! Can it be easier to block someone from the forums? (without reporting?)

A topic by cutegamesclub created Jan 24, 2019 Views: 1,696 Replies: 8

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I love the community here on itch.io, but in general, for my peace of mind, when someone is saying something I strongly disagree with, I prefer blocking them instead of having a tedious, pointless argument. In a recent case, I encountered someone saying some deliberately inflammatory stuff, so I reported them. I noticed there was an option to block them in the report menu, but at the time I didn't choose it.

It's a couple days later and this person's response in my mentions (I get an email every time it happens) has made me reconsider. I looked around and realized there wasn't an option (where I could see) to block them. Clicking their name in the forums only shows me their recent posts and an option to follow them, and going to their creator page again only gives me the option to follow them.

I think as more people join itch.io and have opportunities to interact, there will be lots of people who will disagree, and need an easily accessible, peaceful option like blocking to continue using the platform happily. Not to mention, the format I'm encountering now makes it VERY easy for someone to be harassed--I get notified every time this person I don't want to hear from responds to my forum posts, and I cannot avoid looking at their posts whenever I revisit the forums.

EDIT: It is now possible to block someone from their account! Thanks for taking the time to hear me out! 👍👍👍

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leafoPinned ReplyAdmin5 years ago (2 edits) (+3)

The only way to create a block right now is through the report interface. Feel free to issue another report so you can block them. Edit: you can now block from someone's profile.

You can manage your blocks here: https://itch.io/blocks

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leafoAdmin5 years ago(+4)

I added a new menu on community profiles with a direct link to block someone.

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cutegamesclub5 years ago(+1)

holy cannoli! Thanks for the feature update! (that was so fast~)

I really appreciate y'all taking the time to hear me out.

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DaedalusMachina5 years ago (2 edits)

Hello 'chicmonster'.

1 - I haven't responded to any of your posts after the tantrum you threw in the content rating forum thread that triggered you.

2 - You were so upset by my opinions that you immediately rushed for the report functionality. That is kinda sad to report someone you disagree with rather than just acknowledge there are people in the world you won't always agree with.

3 - You already succeeded in censoring my articulate response. I'm not some neanderthal that screams obscenities in ALL CAPS and resorts to ad hominems without taking a breath. To accuse me of outright trolling fills me with great lulz but is sadly inaccurate. Moderators don't know how to handle someone like me precisely because blocking/banning me would be censorship since I'm not a 'troll' as you'd put it.

I do find it disrespectful that you talk about me as if I'm some kind of stalker when I have literally never cared about you as a person or following you in any capacity whatsoever. You aren't worth my time and never have been. If you accidentally followed me then unfollow me and never worry about it. Problem solved.

As for leafo, be aware that I don't take kindly to the aggressively childish moderation and censorship that I've encountered when breaking zero rules and using absolutely no obscenities or ad hominems in my postings. Please be sure your own mods allow for discussion without excessive censorship.

EDIT: I've gone ahead and blocked chicmonster so they can rest assured I don't care about anything they may ever post here or anywhere else on itch.

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leafoAdmin5 years ago (2 edits)

As for leafo, be aware that I don't take kindly to the aggressively childish moderation and censorship that I've encountered when breaking zero rules and using absolutely no obscenities or ad hominems in my postings. Please be sure your own mods allow for discussion without excessive censorship.

I'm not sure what you're referring to, did something you do get moderated? Keep in mind project owners are free to moderate their communities how they see fit. (Within reason, if we see some abuse happening we'll step in)

Edit: I think I see what you're talking about. itch.io's public community is not a haven of free speech, we have rules about things you shouldn't post to keep things civil. Sorry if it conflicts with opinions you want to share, you'll have to do that elsewhere. We have to do this to make sure we can manage things. Thanks for understanding.

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DaedalusMachina5 years ago (2 edits) (+2)

This is the best response I can offer to those who are 'offended' by the opinions of others.

In order to be able to think, you have to risk being offensive.

The thing is that I do not take kindly to those who are conversational bullies demanding that I remain silent and exclusively allow them to speak while I am not permitted to think for myself. That isn't how any (decent) forum works.

Again, I was not flaming/trolling/harassing anyone, nor was I even speaking to the person in question. I don't feel that catering to 'tumblrinas' is productive for either itch.io or the greater gaming community at large. We should all be permitted to THINK for ourselves and if we think for ourselves we take the risk of being 'offensive' to someone somewhere somehow. That's the nature of a conversation/discussion.

Those who cannot handle a decent convo/discussion without being offended are not likely to improve themselves if they demand the silence of others instead.

I also would vehemently oppose any 'trigger warning' tagging system that invites drama and dissent rather than being useful in any way for those that actually matter (the gamers/players/consumers). Devs need to ultimately realize that the consumers are the ones with money and ignoring their needs in the marketplace is a one-way ticket to obscurity and low/zero profits. Too many want to just act as if the world revolves around them but it does not do so.

Trigger warnings do not belong in games, movies, or any other form of media. Those who rely on them lack the mental faculties to be considered adults. I stand fully by that statement and will gladly get into a more detailed discussion with citations, sources, and links from academic instutitions/papers. The infantalization of gaming into a homogenized 'agreeable' 'non offensive' sludge is not something I will sit by idly and remain silent upon.

I have several people on my FreshGaming Discord server with mental issues and other special needs, but none of them expect/demand that others cater to them. There are people who are trans or genderfluid or whatever but they never demand that anyone on the server calls them by specific pronouns.

It is as I have stated before. A child demands that the world bends to their whims. An adult understands the world is cold, cruel, and careless and does their best to adjust to what life throws at them.

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firecat5 years ago(+1)

yes but at the same time there are good reasons to keep things NSFW, it is a balance. If everything was allow like steam did than you would see scammers, AO rated games, more realistic gory games than Mortal Kombat, questionable things in NSFW, etc.

what you asking is having people not be ignored but that is impossable since that leads to fights. you can not change people minds unless you somehow did. And sometimes people push the question someone ask for into uncomfortable or unneeded infomation.

itch.io rules are fine it stops the fighting or gang-ups, block button to not see and reply back/get reply to user is also ok.

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DaedalusMachina5 years ago

Hello firecat, I appreciate the thoughtful response. When someone asks for NSFW content to be flagged, that is 'adult' content. It is already widely-established that adult content on the internet is suitable only for those 18+ by law and by the standards of society as it currently exists.

I do believe 'everything should be allowed' on itch.io as long as it is not: virus/malware/trojan, scam, misrepresentative content, it works and doesn't just break/crash constantly.

While I enjoy the curation of GoG, I don't believe that curation should be the 'only' standard of a games platform. So far itch.io has been heavily favored towards game developers and less towards the actual end-users. It will remain a very niche platform as long as this is the case. The itch.io platform has the potential to be something truely amazing on-par with and directly competing with others. That won't happen if we allow tumblrinas to control the system.

Trigger warnings are not 'standard' in the world (thankfully) nor are they required. A simple tagging system for 'potentially objectionable' content is sufficient. Allow both the community and the creators to use tags and have mods handle reported tags that may be inaccurate.

I have no issue with the itch.io rules other than how vague they are (by design) that allows for wide/open interpretation that permits for censorship of reasonable ideas and viewpoints that happen to contradict what some special snowflake happens to dislike. I don't care for them, to be honest.

I'll stand by my statements in how I feel about trigger warnings being added to the itch platform and that it would be to the severe detriment (and possible outright destruction/abandonment) of the entire platform. That would be a shame :(

I'm not really here to make friends or change minds. Just expressing my opinions without the threat of overly-aggressive moderation/censorship. I'm not screaming obscenities or using all caps or otherwise directly naming & shaming individuals. They cannot fit me or those like me into a simple 'troll' box. Their attempts to do so will ultimately fail miserably.

Firecat, you seem to have a good grasp of how things work and I would greatly enjoy if you were willing to join my FreshGaming Discord server to chat with myself and others. I already have some other fellow game designers and am hoping to bring on more as time goes on. Gamer perspective is nice but game designers have their own perspective and it is really useful to get a variety of viewpoints on things.

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