A Blocking function on the Forum

I don't see a purpose in the blocking function because if someone were to play a game and another person played that game too, how would they be able to play that game?

Hi again!

Its actually an interesting idea Curtis.

BUT...

I've seen it implemented in "chat rooms" where you can actually block certain users from chatting with you. Therefore you don't have to read their words sent to you and they in turn actually get a message saying "User _____ has blocked your messages"

I feel if Curtis is going to block someone's words off the Forum, then turnabout is only "fair" that the person who is being blocked gets "notified" (maybe in the notification section under your User Name in the top row of the Forum page) a message, that _____ User or Users are currently "blocking" your messages.

Also to help remedy this problem, (someone being blocked and can't do anything about it)....I seriously recommend that the affected person should still be allowed to send PM's to the person who blocked them.
In this way you can politely (or not so politely) ask/inquire as to why they are being blocked or ask them to remove the block, etc.

Its only being fair...

Again, the purpose of my comment is to say and show this is basically something that appears during chats, not totally suited to an open "Forum" bulletin type board site, where everyone's opinion, no matter what (*or in my case how long I type!*) is a valued opinion!

And it just makes it difficult to follow a thread if everyone is commenting about someone else's comment that you have blocked out (so this feature should be easy to turn on/off at will, so if you really want to read the person's comment you can turn it back off briefly, then turn on the blocking again) (Telephones have a similar option for blocking their numbers as well on/off by doing "Star *" and a number). It should be that simple here if it is implemented by Ray.

Good luck to all!

Thanks for letting me air, and for reading my two cents Curtis....

That's a good point, Jeff, but I'm sure it would be an "opt-in" option and I imagine Curt would happily not play games again if it meant being able to block certain members' posts.

I would assume it would be an "opt-in." :p

It might be problematic if a member chose to block every forum mod, lol.

Great point haha.

Well anyone can do an "N" topic because it means "new."

Well that let the air out of my balloon......

So forum mods can't be blocked. Any thread opened in the Game section does not allow blocking of users. Everything else that a user posts can be blocked.

No, I don't want to have the function. However, if you develop it - it definitely should be "opt in".

Additional technical material:

How about (if it is implemented), having a "symbol" or a "place holding" on the forum, so at least the person requesting the blocking knows "how many Forum postings" are being blocked in a conversation. I'll do a Photoshop if you want... but in text form it appears thus: (Notice I slipped in a "choice" in the second posting, for others to consider too if they want to see or not see the Member's name each time they post?)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posting by User name: i.e PracticePractic
Text of Posting : abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posting by Blocked User : ________(User name blocked out too? or do we want the User name revealed, but only their text blocked?)

Text of Posting _______________________(blank space)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next posting by User name i.e. PracticePractic
Text of Posting: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think this occurs anyway if someone (i.e. Curtis had this for a while) does not choose an Avatar photo----the text appears but the space that the posting takes up on the Forum page is "squashed" and shortened by the missing Avatar---I'll look back and see if I see one, but Curtis has an Avatar picture again, so I can't look for his to use as an example here.

Just some technical stuff for Ray about implementing the idea.

oh oh....topic temperature has dropped to "W" Warm : (

(I need a really unhappy Emoticon---the red faced one looks angry to me!)

a blocking function for certain posts would be EXCELLENT!

I read a lot about the idea itself, what it is an how it could work on the site, but I can't get an idea how valuable this option is. I have a "valuable" - and a "bling-bling" to-do list. My bling-bling to-do list is about 100 years of work long and or course I'd rather spend (most of) my time on the other list that contains the to-do's that can make a difference on the site of course.

Is this block feature a life-changer or is it more just a new "cool" toy? Just asking, I don't know how you guy think about this. You can use a percentage for "valuable" vs "bling-bling". That would help give me an idea. Merci

As the first poster of the topic I should reply first...

I posted this for Curtis as he didn't have the opportunity to set it up as a separate discussion from Randomness and I wanted to give it a honest chance to see if it really had any interest out there.

As for myself----I'd vote a 10% cool toy/game and 90% unnecessary for this item.

The reasons are clear... the Internet is supposed to be a free and open place for conversations and discussions on any topic, and I see a blocking function (while making it "nice" for someone to look at a page and only see their friends or who they accept postings, sort of like Facebook I think does), but it does not foster good thoughts and ideas.

Consider this scenario: if someone started a discussion between two or three people that another person blocked all of them, then the blocking person would suddenly see a fourth person commenting on that same topic and have no way to catch up or understand what the whole topic is about without unblocking all of the others they just blocked... it creates more trouble than its worth with its rules we would have to set up as to who can block who and when....

In short... I vote for Ray's efforts to be spent elsewhere rather than on blocking the open and free spirit of the internet at this site.

Here is what I think:

Right now what we need is 'a personal level of block'. It is like Facebook's blocking system. At LSI, we can have an option of blocking a person from:
1. commenting on our profile page (pictures included),
2. inviting us for a chat session, and
3. sending us a friend request or a message.

The ultimate goal of this blocking option is that we can stop that person from contacting us on a personal level (at LSI) straightaway without involving mods in the process.

Mods can always take care of what's happening on public level.

The thing Curt was asking for I think is unnecessary. When you see the unwanted person's name/ avatar just avoid reading the whole thing.

It still seems to me as a pointless feature because this is a music site... lmao

but it's NOT just a music site anymore. With all of the games and forums....it's not all about music. That is it's main feature....but it's evolved.

What's the point of a blocking function anyways? Can't we all just get along?

I've tried.

All I would ask of everyone is:
All You Need Is Love

* offtopic :
The Beatles Video is not playable here in the USA, does someone have the real video or want to change it to one that does work here? It says something like: "This video contains content from UMG_MK. It is not available in your country.

I don't care one way or another if there is a blocking function.

I simply ignore those I don't want to talk to. Eventually, they'll get the hint or not even notice since there's so much other stuff going on.

I don't think it's a good idea. I think there's only a couple of people who really want this, and a few more who might use it if it's there. There would have to be restrictions, like not being able to block mods, 'cause we can't do our job if people can't see our posts. And it would go both ways, with mods not being allowed to block people. And it would get very confusing in discussion, when someone replies to something you can't see, answering something that's already been answered, etc. And it wouldn't work in games. I see it causing more problems than it solves. (Mainly because I don't see a problem in the first place. Don't read the posts you don't want to read.)