Why do you block people?

People who complain about being blocked really are the worst.

I block people who use insults and name-calling instead of conversation. Don't need that shit.

I was really hoping that these terrible PizzaCake comics would stay on reddit. Every single one of her comics is like this. There's no punchline. It's just self-righteous whining one way or another. Her whole shtick on reddit is angering people in the comments and then making a comic about them. Literally every single comic. I've got a few thousand webcomics saved and none by her for a reason.
Edit: Actually, this comic kind of perfectly sums up everything I hate about her. She's denying the dude a platform by... essentially giving him a platform. "You don't bother me so much that I made a whole comic about you and how you don't bother me and I don't owe you anything." It's performative for the sake of attention. There's no content to this, just narcissism.

I really dislike this person's comics for some reason

Really its the same as meatspace. You don't hang with folks you don't like or take phone calls from them. My dream is a block thats symetrical. Blocking is in some ways creepy because its only one way.
- No more creepy than blocking a spammer's phone number IMO.
  
  no I mean since its one way they can still see your stuff. I would sorta like it to be both ways. I felt this way ever since blocking cleaned up mmo chat nicely. I don't want that person to see my stuff really.

i block rude and hateful people, it’s gotten bad on Lemmy recently but you can disagree with someone’s point while agreeing with their overall belief system, in the most normal way and you get back name calling, hateful comments, lots of anger by people just waiting to throw shit at someone for anything. Used to be you could have a group of people who agree on a subject but not the execution, and you could have a discussion, now if your view doesn’t conform 100% you get treated like you’re garbage.
- Yes there's an increasingly popular zero-tolerance binary attitude that says people are either 100% right or a million percent wrong. Either you subscribe to every detail of someone's worldview or you're obviously a shill for the hateful opposite of everything they stand for and cherish. It's the People's Front of Judea vs the (fucking) Judean People's Front.

Man all get comics these days seem to be mostly about people bothering her online. I get the desire to vent that frustration but it's been a while since I've seen anything else.
- She has posted a lot about other stuff, I don't see that many about this myself.

Why did you tag NSFW
- Not Safe For Wombats. They get riled easily.

It's really crazy how internet regressed in this regard. "Don't feed the troll" is been the moto of the web but not it's almost inverse. People try to justify this as justice seeking but its clearly doesn't work.
- An increasing number of things are justified as justice seeking. I think it's because people are increasingly desperate to feel powerful against the real injustices of the world. In that light it's understandable, but seeking that feeling by trying to win online arguments with randos seems seriously pathetic.
- It's because of engagement algorithms, partially. Unlike 'dumb' forums/boards, the bulk of the modern internet heavily rewards trolling (and engaging with trolls) in every form.
  That, and very little community moderation.

What is incredibly toxic is insulting someone and then blocking them, so they can't defend themselves.
- Doesn't work on lemmy.

Pretty much.
Would the same anti-block people be okay with people showing up to their house, job, or on the street to argue about some stupid point? Why is it okay on social media? You have the right to tell people to go fuck off, it's called the 1st amendment.

I block people mostly because I don't want to upvote anything they have to say in the future. Usually because something they have said to me or someone else is so egregious that I don't care to know what else they might say.
The other reason comes down to harassment, or deliberate misuse of tags.
- Well put.
- That's why I used the Enhancement extension when I was on Reddit. I could just tag some one with "Fuckhead" and toss them a down vote if I ever saw them again.

I don't block people. It's better to downvote them.

Nobody is changing their mind from modern debates online. We are in a culture of anti-intellectualism. So there really is no point. I only block if someone is annoying or there is no point in engagement.
- I don't think that's 100% true though. I've changed my mind several times but these talks needs both parties to argue in good faith not just throwing stones at each other.
  The main issue with main areas where this happens is because the communication tools are incredibly limited on purpose. Its impossible to have a conversation on Instagram, twitter or tiktok or even Facebook comments. And that's done on purpose - isn't that crazy?
  on the other hand, I generally really like discussions on hacker news because everyone at least pretends to approach in good faith and the discussion culture is quite professional. There are several small communities on the web that function this way and it really works!
- the basic and long forgotten sloga. Of "don't feed the trolls"
  I accept opinions other than my own, but if there is no sincere commitment from the other, why bother. Don't feed the trolls.
  
  We really should have never moved from that mindset. Now it is people rage baiting with actual trauma for money or the love of the game. 🥲
- That's not true.
  ...On the other hand, I largely feel it's not worth any effort unless its a passion/niche, where one has an outsized effect.

I'd frame it more as 'a comic artist is not spreading normative ideas. They're just using the ideas people already have and juxtaposing them to get a laugh. They aren't there for debate because no one should be taking a comic artist's ideas that seriously. e.g. Dilbert guy'

So I'm fully expecting a big reaction given how much of a reaction this comic always provokes, I'm not a huge fan of pizzacake's art style or the whole negativity around it but I also haven't found a way to just filter it out without blocking the whole instance. I'm not attacking anyone though, you keep on enjoying this if you like, I'm just putting my thoughts out and I might just be missing an option.
- Tell me about it. I don't need this bland-millenial-shouting-about-their-extremely-standard-lives fodder.
- I blocked her on reddit and it was good for a while.
  But now people are reposting here :<
- Yup I'm in agreement. Yes this is the comic strip sub, but this literally offers nothing of entertainment or comedy value at all. Plus why tf is this marked NSFW??? In reference to your question maybe block the User?
  
  As the OP mentioned, this is the 1st time they posted this artist. If there was a single dedicated account posting PC comics, that would work, but not in this context.

The irony of THIS comic is, you could apply that argument to every single opinion in existence.
- The online comment context and usage of "Why won't you debate, are you scared" suggests the response is directed at online trolls, people who argue in bad faith, and imperiously demand rigourous debate without offering the same let alone an ounce of intellectual generosity, i.e. sealioning. In contrast, something like a movie review is a structured evaluation is still an opinion, but it doesn't deride readers for not engaging with it.
  
  I DON'T OWE YOU AN AUDIENCE FOR YOUR ANNOYING BULLSHIT

Why is this nsfw?
- Try blocking your boss and see how it goes

Honestly I've come around on pizzacake. I now think it's actually an impressive artistic feat to make a successful webcomic where your secondary main character is consistently a non-existent strawman.
It's like social commentary on social commentary, wrapped in countless layers of irony and meta, right?
- Every time I see this comic I think "you totally had a confrontation you fumbled, then came up with a response a week later and made a comic to 'own' someone".
  
  You're onto something here
- I also just generally like the Mary Sue nature of drawing yourself into your own comics and making yourself look good under all circumstances. It really communicates a lack of narcissism and arrogance.
  
  I like how you sarcasm.
- Well, same way Stormtroopers wear helmets. You can’t really individualize them or people start to appreciate them and root for them, like they do every villain.
- your secondary main character is consistently a non-existent strawman
  Y'all gonna pretend the person in the comic isn't real? I've seen comments of that exact nature discussing people who block others before bruh, find a legitimate comic to post this on next time
  
  That's fair criticism. In the comic at hand, you're right, they're not a non-existent strawman, as this strawman does exist. The apt critique for this specific comic is more about how blaringly obvious the conclusion that is being presented as revelatory is, so I shouldn't have used the word "non-existent" in this specific critique. Very fair, cheers.
  edit: typo
- You will notice that it was not pizzacake that posted this.
  Also I think we need a reset if we're at the point where critiquing and criticizing media is suddenly "being butthurt."

I don't block people unless it's an emergency

Freedom of Speech != Obligation to Listen
- Yeah and it goes both ways. She can post her crap, and haters can hate. She can ignore them and they choose not to ignore her. That's where the conflict comes in.
  The whole DMCA thing only made it worse. She exposed herself as a target for hatred and the haters love nothing more than for the enemy to expose their glowing weak point to shoot at.
  But that's because if we want copyright and parody to coexist, they need to have limits. Parody gets a blanket license to reuse source material endlessly unless you can justify the expense of an attorney to hit a moving target that may be made from hundreds of individuals mocking your content. That's kind of shitty and almost impossible to defend against. It's like how you can't copyright a tweet because it is too short. But you should be able to copyright a body of tweets because aggregated they are (checks notes) not too short. In her case the bonehurtingjuice community turned into an active troll campaign to target every one of her comics to harass and demean her.
  So in this case I do think the internet trolls on bhj were shitheads and were in the wrong. Even if that coexists with my opinion that her comics kind of suck. And frankly I think the current legal system is at fault for not having adapted to coordinated trolling. She's probably going to get killed by one of those gamergate nutjobs now that she's been doxxed.
  
  The issue with doxxing that really frustrates me as a coder is that individual developers and companies are never held responsible for making negligently insecure software.

Sometimes, the only winning move is not to play.

I've never blocked anyone. 14 years of reddit and now Lemmy and there has never been a reason to. I find it weird when people do it.
I get it if someone is harrasing you, but an anonymous disagreement? Meh, whatever. If I am done I just quit responding and move on.
I suppose being online since the 80's gives you a little bit of perspective. Don't feed the trolls, everyone is a liar, and nothing anyone says matters unless you want it to.
And never use social media.
- I block people liberally. I agree 100% with the comic. And blocking idiots is good for my health.
  
  I have seen people have some obnoxious weird idea about one thing and be brilliant about another. Not everyone, some are just trolls, but some people are really. Good at something interesting and have stupid ideas about others.
  I am not so quick to just write everyone off, but I also find it easy to just not read things I don't care about.
- pizzacake has been critical of alt-right chuds, and as such, is a target of harassment…
  you can just move on, this person is being followed… big differences.
  trolls will latch onto people and dox and harass them for years… blocking early and often is a good idea.
  
  I get that this is a specific experience. It just made me think about how so many people go for the block button on silly sites like this one..
- Yeah, same here. I just don't see the need to block people. Some might have a different opinion on one topic than me, but be no in agreement or have something worthwile to say on another.
  If I was activly harassed or anything, I'd use the block function to protect myself from that. Never had to do that so far.
- There's a couple I've blocked, because they're simply incapable of having any type of discussion unless you're rabidly in agreement with them, and they immediately turn to insulting anyone who disagrees.
- The only weirdo I know that blocks people left and right is one that signs every comment with a "no AI license" thingy. Anyone that correctly comments how that's useless/pointless because bots ignore that is blocked
- I had a long time on Reddit also and I haven't ever blocked anyone either. But I have blocked subreddits and communities here.
- If you never had to block anyone, you might be in a more lucky spot. Just because you don't have or see a problem, does not mean the problem does not exist. Just a reminder.
  It's the same as with racism, for example. If you're not part of a minority, or hide it well enough, you don't see the racism.
  Or so I've heard. I'm also in a lucky spot.
  
  I’m like @AugustWest@lemm.ee on the no-blocking-ever front.
  None of us want Lemmy to be a Nazi bar, right? So if we see a Nazi on here and all of us block them today, they can circlejerk in a comment tomorrow and a newly registered user will see no one downvoted them or called them out.*
  As a privileged person, I feel an obligation not to block anyone, and even feel I’m abdicating my duty a little by not browsing logged out sometimes to make sure Nazis can’t block me and spread hate without counterpoints lodged against them.
  *would a “widely-blocked user” tag help? Not if they create a new account after every other post, & scummy users could mitigate by proactively blocking using “SJW user” lists, but it’s an idea
- Anybody who immediatelly starts insulting others gets blocked.
  I'm not interested in watching somebody's public self-masturbation shows: insulting others achieves nothing but give those doing the insulting the pleasure of thinking that they're hurting others - it won't convince the person they're replying to and it won't convince the audience (since an insult is as much an argument for a viewpoint as a punching somebody's face), so directly insulting random strangers is only for the pleasure of those doing it.
  Further, people whose default reaction to disagreeing with others is to try and hurt them don't really deserve any of my time.
  Being deep down in an argument, losing one's patience and ending up throwing insults is one thing, just being obnoxious and insulting from the get go is something else altogether and betrays a very different kind of character, one that there is no point in listening to.
  
  I guess I just don't read it. It's that simple.
- I got some of the stalinist people like cowbee blocked because they are extremely annoying.
- Some people make it clear that their ideas are not worth entering my head.
  That's when they get the easy-block.

I don't mind pizzacake commics, but at this point just seeing the art style is enough to get me pre-emptivly upset at how stupid and insane the comment section is going to be.
- I see it and just sigh because I know nobody will talk about the actual comic it will just be about how shitty of a person she is for X reason.
  
  I’m out of the loop, what’s the pizza cake drama?
  
  I'm here to tell you I just dislike the comic itself, I don't even know about any controversy. I see that shit, I close it and downvote. Nearly as bad as Family Circus.
  
  I'm unfamiliar, this is the first thing of hers I've encountered and I thought it fun enough to post here. Is there one of those Reasons people don't like her?
  
  Maybe because the comics rarely have any substance to talk about. Besides, I don't want to see or support someone's work when they threaten people with litigation for making fun of and criticizing their comics
  
  Yeah. I recommend a drink.
  
  That's not true, we also insult her half assed art style and middle of the road takes.
- Same. I have no problem with her or her comics. But whenever I see one being posted, I sigh and ponder whether to open the clusterfuck that the comment section will be.
  
  take it from someone who knew better and did it anyway, don't engage the clusterfuck.
- That's why I blocked her.

"why did you block me we're trying to have a debate"
"because i want to shitpost about doctor who on twitter not debate some random dick about how they think i shouldn't exist"

I wish blocking also prevented them from viewing my posts
- I wish that too, but I understand why it isn't. Opens the blocking mechanism up to abuse.
  
  Extremely obnoxious on Reddit. That is a massive strategy people use, insulting someone and then blocking them so they can't reply, or even report
  
  It’s really obnoxious on tumblr.
  Someone says something factually incorrect (usually about trans people, usually a “detrans lesbian” who is most certainly a 21 year old cis man alternating between /pol/ and tumblr). Just straight up lies. You call them out, they block you, and then continue posting lies.
  I get blocking as a tool for mental health, avoiding harassment, keeping one’s sanity - but it’s problematic when blocks are used to hide lies.

Why is this marked as nsfw?
- because some users on here are triggered by PCC and are dealing with feelings of inferiority and have contempt for an artist that refuses to put up with their bullshit.
  ironically, it's pretty much this comic.
  
  Or people don't want to see stuff from someone who threatens people with litigation for making fun of their comics
  
  You're hilarious.
  
  how can anyone dislike pizzacake, especially on leftist lemmy?

As a leftist, as a progressive, I long for a world where I never have to see these comics again. It's not that I disagree with them, they're just so goddamn annoying and low hanging fruit shit
- So downvote and move on. The moaning about her is even more dull and repetitive.
  
  "droll and repetitive" is some serious projection my apparently terminally online friend. I've never heard of this artist before in my life
  
  Droll means amusing. You might have meant dull instead
- If some rando did this exact scenario in ragemaker and posted it, with no connection to pizzacake, everyone would be talking about how relatable it is. I'd wager you'd be included in that 'everyone'.
  
  And then if that rando did it every day for like five years, I'd get tired of their shit too.
  
  Well that's kind of the point. It's low hanging fruit because everyone agrees with it. No one thinks you are obligated to argue with others, which is the straw man's position. It's not that you don't have a right to block critics, the question is "When is it a good idea?".
  It sounds like a lot of people think the author does it too liberally, which can lead to an echo chamber. Most people would say creating a lawsuit against your critics is also an overreaction, but people have also been saying she gets harassed a lot. That makes it more reasonable if true.
- It's been fascinating seeing this platform slowly turn against Pizzacake as more of her stuff gets posted.

As obvious and uncontroversial as this comic may seem, the message still needs to be said.
- the message still needs to be said.
  No it doesn't, because this shit is just ragebait.
  
  How? It says nothing rageworthy
  
  Uh... to whom?
- I really don't think it does.
  
  Care to elaborate? Or are we edging “I just don’t like that my opinion is bad and people have the right to tell me fuck off”?
  
  And you saying that is why it does need to be said.

I block the losers posting AI slop. Can't force me to look at that trash.

I’ll block anybody I see posting ai crap regularly. I want to see as little of that garbage as possible.
- it's annoying when power users contribute 90% quality content and 10% slop

Until these comments I didn’t know there was any drama around PizzaCake but goddamn this comic … content, its content.
- I'm not even sure this counts as drama. These people are addicted to wallowing in negativity. Gives me r/questionablecontent vibes, a subreddit about a webcomic where people purport to hate it but continue reading it every day just so they can get mad about it.
  Like, I strongly dislike the Far Side, but despite how frequently it gets upvoted I don't go into every comment section to talk about why. I just blocked the sub and scroll past it when it shows up in other subs. The behavior in these threads is pathetic.
  
  Why on earth would you hate the Far Side?
  
  wait, people hate Questionable Content? fucking why?

Double benefit from my perspective. I block people for three reasons, they are not mutually exclusive. Willful stupidity and being argumentative. If someone refuses to learn objective truth or insists I believe their objectively wrong position I have no need to interact with them in the future. I’m done with them. The third reason is getting the last word, myself or them. I have a hard time shutting up sometimes, so if someone meets either of the above criterial and has to continue to keep commenting on any rebuttal I make I just block them. There’s no reason to allow myself to continue the interaction, and the other person has no interest in a good faith discussion.

Be normal on the internet about a female artist you don't like challenge (impossible).
- I didn't enjoy the comic. Coincidentally, the author may be female.
- Lol yepp

Generally, here there's less annoying people, and I'm less likely to see a dipshit again, so I don't block much.
On tumblr and mastodon? Anyone who's slightly annoying gets blocked.

Why nsfw?
- The word "bullshit." I usually like to err on the side of caution with this stuff.
  
  No need here. Fuck, shit, piss, Satan, broccoli, gay butt sex.
  
  Hey, why are you simping for the corporate takeover of the internet? Self-censoring in fear that the big bad Google or Meta will get mad at your no-no words and take them down. Fuck them. They are trying to sanitize the internet to make it more appealing for ads. Don't help them.
  
  you should've just censored the word and then let everyone complain about that, it means more engagement
  
  .......you can fucking curse on the fucking internet, asshole! What fucking kind of shitty bullshit do you think will happen if you piss off some cocksucking dickhead by saying shit?
  Here, I'm going to do this shit for you. Just for you, I'm going to curse for you on the god damned internet. Get ready for this shit. Are you ready for me to fucking curse? Ok. Here we go!
  Fudge.
  
  Holy fucking shit, did you just fucking curse on the internet. Eveyone know you cant fucking do that without the internet police coming to your home to beat your ass. Never fucking do that again you shit
  /s (if its not obvious)

Block? Lmao
report post to admins
keep chatting until the entire thread gets removed

Maybe I should block more. People say you only need to block like five users to drastically improve your Lemmy experience.

Good suggestion, I'll do this from now on instead

The Alt text on this is really well done. I'm going to use it as my example when I berate folks for not doing it.
Lovely. Thanks!
- when I berate folks for not doing it
  At least you know you're a dick
- I appreciate that, thank you!

Another daring and controversial take from Pizzacake.

why do you ask? spam mainly

People I block don't deserve my energy more like. In social media sites that differentiate between blocking and muting I usually mute because they might learn something from me.

I don't give a damn about your argument, you're taking the web too serious. That's why i block yo ass because if you stopped being annoying i would just ignore you.
But alas you got nothing better to do, so it's a block.

Man, this post gave me so many new people to block!

Ironic considering she could've just blocked the subreddit that made fun of her work instead of threatening to sue them. But hey, that's toxic people for you.

Shouldn't block people. You can make good money by arguing

Just did that a minute ago.

Gosh I really don't like this art style but it's better than whatever I can draw so whatever.
- Pizza Cake's art style is at least better than their humour. Absolute garbage comedic insight.

Imagine getting triggered for something so simple and stupid.
- Are you talking about the artist or the person the artist is complaining about?
  
  Both are equally pathetic. Having said that, only one person made the comic

I am cold AF. I block and ghost people when I decide they're not worth my time. I don't even tell them why.

lol just say they're wrong and platform your own position

Every block enforced your echo chamber, brick by brick.
This is why i don't block things in general. How could I possibly have the slightest bit of nuanced idea of what other people talk about, if i just block it?
- Ok, blocked.
  Just kidding. Debate is good, but unfortunately some of them is done in bad faith, either just for trolling, or because the oposing side just has no intention of even considering your arguments.
  In both case, blocking is justified.
  
  I tend to steer clear of online debate, i just want to see what is being written so that I don't get a skewed view. The only way to avoid the echo chamber is likely not participating in social media at all.
  If I have the energy for it, I browse some classical forums, where you have to go through every reply. Kind of tedious, but atleast every post gets the same "weight".
- I'm with you, to a degree. If I see someone clearly acting in bad faith and/or trolling, then they are just wasting my time.
  However, if we have a disagreement of opinion, I don't feel right about blocking that someone. This would lead to a lonely existence, because the odds of having someone that agrees with every single one of my opinions is pretty low, so that means over time, I'd have blocked everyone.
- I block people very rarely (I think I have just two or three blocks on Lemmy and Mastodon combined) but when I do it's because of tone, not because of content. I'm fine with reading things I don't agree with or that I think are disconnected from reality. As you say, it gives you an idea of what others think. But if someone is needlessly and consistently rude, I just don't need that in my life.
  
  so you’re saying people are rarely trolls?
  that’s some bs
- ive debated these maga morons for nearly a decade. i'm done. there's no amount of logic or facts that will ever save them.
  
  Devils advocate hat ON: I recon they feel the same way about you. What's the play? Just ignore them while they take over your country? Do you think that you can solve the problem without infringing on peoples right to listen to whatever they want?
- I dunno, the censorship is what creates an echo chamber on lemmy.
- How could I possibly have the slightest bit of nuanced idea of what other people talk about, if i just block it?
  Because you read (past tense) it before you blocked it?
  also- It's certainly not hard to get a nuanced idea of others non-nuanced ideas.
  Or read up on what their ideas are and not engage with the worst version of a person with that belief system.
  
  Because you read (past tense) it before you blocked it?
  That's the whole point. I don't want a "past tense" understanding of what is being said and written by "people".
  Obviously spammers get blocked, cause they make it hard to read. The rest are just words and opinions. All of which I'm perfectly capable of dealing with.