One of the most important tools for trust and safety efforts is the “block” feature, allowing a user to entirely block someone else from following them. Yes, on Twitter you can get around this by g…
it's unavoidable to center Elon here but can we just take a step back and appreciate how stupid, bad, and completely antithetical to a usable website this idea is? blocking has been a feature on like everything since phpBB forums because it literally just works. it's an easy way to curate your experience without escalating and it's a logical imitation of being able to simply avoid a person in real life. the idea of removing this in favor of nothing but mutes is just goofy as fuck (and if you make muting the new "block", what's even the difference between them? people will just use them basically the same way!).
95% of the people or groups I would want to follow are not on Mastodon.
And frankly, the Fediverse isn't as user-friendly. It is a but tougher when you have to choose an instance, as well as learn how to follow from other instances.
Fun fact: a block feature is required to be accepted by the Apple AppStore review process. So Twitter will disappear from Apple devices with this change.
Since this got some votes and became visible, here's the source:
Apps with user-generated content present particular challenges, ranging from intellectual property infringement to anonymous bullying. To prevent abuse, apps with user-generated content or social networking services must include:
- A method for filtering objectionable material from being posted to the app
- A mechanism to report offensive content and timely responses to concerns
- The ability to block abusive users from the service
- Published contact information so users can easily reach you
Apple's review process is inconsistent at best. I used to work for an iOS app and it took several years before they blocked our release for not having a report feature on products. Never had the ability to block users, despite the ability to DM people.
Plus, for an app the size of Twitter, Apple will likely ignore most rules that doesn't lose them money.
Hmm. Hate to be a downer, but that sounds like there needs to be a way for the service itself to block (ban) users and material, not for users to be able to block other users. So I wouldn't be too optimistic about Apple's response....
There's been a big effort to block anybody with a blue checkmark since any major story or viral post will have them automatically bumped up to the top of the replies. So, when the whiners started complaining, he started openly considering this.
Good for twitter. What is called "harassement" is usually not. Time for people to grow up . Moderation is fascism . Everybody went to federated service to be free only to jump right into big police moderation.
I really hope platforms like Lemmy and Mastodon take off. Just the idea of no single person with control over how we all communicate and share ideas gives me hope for the future.
I think if one of them goes sour it'll be easier for people migrate to another mastodon instance, and for that instance to grow. When Twitter goes bad, there's not just a convenient alternative exactly-Twitter-but-run-by-different-people around the corner. But those small Mastodon instances could grow if they had an influx (to a point, and probably better so if the influx was gradual).
Edit: especially because federation means that the people who move to the new instance can still see and interact with everyone on the old instance, so they can't be held to the old instance merely by the presence of their friends on that instance. Unless the old instance blocks federation with wherever people start moving to, but still.
What does it take to facilitate this? Do individuals have the ability to help it along, or does it take more resources? I'm new to this but would like to learn.
There's a saying, " never attribute to malice what is easily explained by incompetence".
But we're quickly reaching the point where it's no longer easily explained incompetence. Elon is either the most incompetent person in the known universe, which is saying a lot, or he's doing this on purpose for some reason.
I'm not into conspiracies, but it's starting to make more sense if he's actively trying to tank the stock.
If it’s not easy to use reddit, who will use reddit?
The same people who hooted and hollered about Netflix ending password sharing and then went ahead and made their own account anyway because they can't be arsed to read a book or find something else to do to fill their sad little lives.