'Ignore' function

12tales·Aug 1, 2014·1 votes·556 views

Is there an ignore function on these boards? I've searched around, and I can't find any mention of one.

5 Comments

DaenAug 1, 20141 votes

Ignore gets a little weird on forums. I think something that could be a close approximation without causing a bunch of issues would be Autohide (people you put on your autohide list have their comments hidden under a spoiler), but I still disagree with the premise.

There isn't a whole lot of reason to ignore someone on a forum when the moderation systems are effective. If someone constantly posts trolly/spammy things, their comments should be getting removed regardless of whether you ignore him/her or not.

If there's someone whose responses you just don't like, I personally feel that you can either show that displeasure with a comment on the response or just not let it affect you. I know that seems like a cop out, but a forum is all about open communication. An ignore function allows players to effectively silence the opinions of those they might not agree with consistently, which could potentially have a pretty large negative impact on the health of the platform.

12talesAug 1, 20142 votes

Oh, I would have no intention of using the feature on people I disagree with. There are just one or two users who tend to repeat themselves pretty excessively, and it kinda disrupts the continuity of the threads they participate in. I'd like an option to 'de-clutter' threads, as it were.

Also, I disagree that such a function would have a negative impact. Suppose, for instance, that there are two users who absolutely hate each other and go at one another's throats whenever they can - an ignore function makes it a lot easier for both of them to restrain themselves and avoid being provoked into disruptive flame wars that hurt the board as a whole.

And while moderation would eventually achieve the same state - that of no flame war existing - an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as they say. It's not attractive to prospective members for a flame war to exist for any period of time.

DaenAug 1, 20141 votes

Oh, I would have no intention of using the feature on people I disagree with.

You might not, but others certainly would.

There are just one or two users who tend to repeat themselves pretty excessively, and it kinda disrupts the continuity of the threads they participate in.

Do you happen to have an example of this you wouldn't mind sharing? Obviously omit names and compromising details, I'm just curious as to in what sort of scenario you'd see this system benefiting you.

It's not attractive to prospective members for a flame war to exist for any period of time.

Agreed. I think the feature would be valuable in this particular scenario, but there are a few things to consider:

What is the underlying reason for those two users repeatedly flaming each other?
If they constantly do this (breaking the Universal Rules while doing so), why are they not banned from the Boards?
Would they choose to use the ignore function if they had the option?
What downsides would an Ignore system create in users not breaking Board rules?
Could Ignoring actually create more clutter and confusion? (e.g. seeing a large section of posts that look interesting but being unable to see the origin)

+1 on your comment either way, I really appreciate the thought-out response.

12talesAug 1, 20141 votes

Do you happen to have an example of this you wouldn't mind sharing? Obviously omit names and compromising details, I'm just curious as to in what sort of scenario you'd see this system benefiting you.

Let's say that Riot announces a change to the world championship format that upsets a very vocal minority of posters. For the next several weeks, whenever a thread is made that is conceivably related to esports, Riot, or such, these posters mention how much this change has upset them and how awful Riot is for doing it.

Even if the rest of their post is technically topical, it's obnoxious to have to read the same polemic over and over, and I'm willing to give up any legitimate points they might be making to spare myself the irritation of searching for them.

What is the underlying reason for those two users repeatedly flaming each other?

I imagine there'd be a few plausible reasons. Oftentimes, personalities just clash, or two users might hold diametrically opposed opinions on popular talking points (Lee Sin, AFKS, the state of top lane, etcetera). When two people routinely disagree over matters that they hold near and dear to their heart, expressing their mutual disgust for one another is essentially a way of establishing their own identity through negative example.

If they constantly do this (breaking the Universal Rules while doing so), why are they not banned from the Boards?

Well, to an extent, the ignore function would be useful because it would theoretically prevent people from breaking the Universal Rules, and thus allow the boards to retain members who otherwise contribute positively. If somebody is largely reasonable, intelligent and constructive, but really, really hates people who don't agree that top Lulu is cancer - banning them for a flame war on that topic is throwing the baby out with the bath water. It's much easier to implement a system that would allow our hypothetical user to avoid contact with people who really set them off.

Would they choose to use the ignore function if they had the option?

One hopes. Still, if an individual doesn't elect to use the ignore feature, they're still going to act no worse than they would under the current system. So, it's not like the boards would be losing anything by offering the option.

What downsides would an Ignore system create in users not breaking Board rules?

Could Ignoring actually create more clutter and confusion? (e.g. seeing a large section of posts that look interesting but being unable to see the origin)

The only downside that I've personally experienced is that some users attempt to weaponize their ignore list, essentially threatening the feature in an attempt to discourage other users from participating in a discussion. It's relatively easy to just include that in the universal rules, though, so it's not too bad.

Re: Clutter - I'm not certain if an ignore function is particularly easy to add to this particular platform or if it'd be possible to change its appearance, so this is hard for me to answer. On vBulletin, which is the platform I have the most personal experience with, the ignore feature looks something like this-

http://i.imgur.com/9Xl7f7i.jpg

-with a 'Show more' button on the side that allows you to view the post. So, in your example, it'd be easy to tell from whom the discussion originated and you could opt in to reading that particular post if you wanted to.