Blocking rude users
I would like to be able to filter out members from corresponding with me who I have deemed to be rude or combative to my posts. I’m new here and I have embraced the WYZE cameras and their accessories. As a new user I’m enthusiastic and I experiment with every bell and whistle, but I have noticed a small number of “Experienced” users who demean some of the issues I propose. Rather than arguing my point with these types I’d just as well rather ignore them.
2 Likes
Click on the person’s username and you will see this (I used you as an example)
Click on ‘Ignored’ and you will no longer see their posts.
3 Likes
You can already do that in your preferences or here:
I’ve considered doing that with a few users who have caused me some frustration, but then I realized that it’s not necessary for me, because I can just choose not to read those folks’ topics or respond to them. Being an adult means you get to make your own choices.
4 Likes
Looks like that is via the App interface. You won’t get the same screen via the website.
Thanks, I asked support through chat and they said there wasn’t a way. This is a good thing to know.
Even I have a few users muted/ignored when they become excessively discourteous to me specifically and it is clear that we should avoid interacting with each other.
Ignoring basically just doesn’t notify me when they post something and it collapses their responses, so I can still see if they respond in the thread, but I can choose to just skip it, or I can choose to uncollapse it and read it anyway still even though they are “ignored”. There is at least one user that I “ignored” whose posts I will still read, but putting them in an ignored status helps to remind me that I want to avoid responding to, engaging with, or helping that user as they do not appreciate my input and I want the forum to remind me that if I respond to them (even in an attempt to be helpful) that they are likely to become emotionally unstable and make the thread unpleasant for others. So having their posts collapsed, helps remind me not to try to help them with anything to keep this a better atmosphere overall.
I just added someone to my ignore list within the last week. There are some that I have only muted/ignored for a short time period, and some that are basically permanently muted/ignored. It is a great feature to ensure your experience is more how you want it to be.
I do think this Discourse forum software should go a step further though and allow complete blocking. There should be a way to fully “block” someone from reading anything you say (or that someone quotes you as saying with your username attached to the quote), and block them from any threads you start, and block them from DMing you, and make it possible to completely block seeing anything they post (their comments, their threads, etc). I am not sure why they don’t implement full blocking like this instead of just “ignoring.”
(Note, I would not fully block anyone, myself, ignoring works great for me…but I think people should have the option to block people if that is what they prefer).
4 Likes
So you might actually choose to uncollapse this post and read it? 
That’s actually cool to know. Reading the description of the Ignored option, I assumed that an ignored user’s content would be screened out entirely, much like the way you describe the “complete blocking” mode you’d like to see.
…some collapsed opinions…
So far I haven’t felt the need to take any of these steps, though I’ve momentarily considered this for a few people. I haven’t for a few reasons:
- In a way, that would feel (to me) like “ghosting”, and I think that practice is too commonplace among a lot of people these days. Outside of fictionalized entertainment, I’m generally not a fan of conflict, especially if that can be avoided in a more actively constructive/productive manner, and
seems like just passively avoiding a problem entirely instead of trying to solve it. (I say this fully understanding that there are toxic people [problems] in this world who don’t want to be “solved”. I certainly don’t have a solution for “outrage culture”. Sometimes it’s necessary to just walk away permanently and cut your losses.) - I don’t want to miss something potentially useful by screening it out. Sometimes even people whom I vehemently disagree with have ideas where we can find some common ground, and with rare exception I don’t want to entirely dismiss another person out of hand. (I’m thinking of life in general here—not specific to this platform—but the idea is applicable here, as well.)
- I get frustrated. We all get frustrated. Humans are frustrating creatures. Humans are also thinking creatures with the ability to make choices, and the choice I’ve made in this situation is to just move past potential hot button comments and hopefully let them die on their own. Sometimes those feel like they’re put out as bait, anyway, and if other people want to bite, then they’re making their own choices to do so. I get to make my own choices not to engage.
- I also get frustrated when people say that they “don’t have time” to do this or that when other users here—in genuine attempts to be helpful—have suggested helpful links, advice to get better use out of the Forum, etc. Saying that someone “doesn’t have time” is just patently false. If someone can take time to post about how he or she “doesn’t have time”, then I wish[1] that person would just be honest: That’s not about not having time; that’s about making a choice. In that situation, my choice is not to spend so much time trying to be helpful to someone who maybe doesn’t want my help.
- My ego isn’t going to get bruised by comments from some faceless text in an online bulletin board. That’s a choice, as well. Having said that, I’ll also say that in my short time here I do feel a genuine sense of camaraderie with a few people who regularly post to this Forum, and that warmth and willingness to try to solve problems is a definite draw for me.
If I was going to use such a feature, then that seems like a sensible and adult way to do it. I think “cooling off” periods have their place in some situations, and I learned something new about Discourse recently when I saw a Moderator lock a topic for 24 hours. Before I saw that, I assumed a topic lock was permanent.
Thanks, @carverofchoice, for continuing to teach me things! 
I know, I know: I can wish in one hand and
in the other and see which one fills up first. (My sister was not happy when I said this to my nephew years ago.) ↩︎
1 Like
Yeah, An ignored user’s looks like this:
So, the "1 REPLY: line at the top is the bottom of the previous post, and then for the person who is ignored, their entire post is collapsed into the message “VIEW 1 HIDDEN REPLY” and you can click on that to open it and view it if you want, or just leave it collapsed and ignore it. That’s why I was still able to see your post here (j/k) 
If they have 2 posts in a row it will just collapse both of them down to:
If they are the one who started the topic, it won’t collapse their message though. It will just replace their message with the following message:
I don’t think there is a way to view what they typed in the original thread starting message unless you un-ignore them first though.
I personally wish that the forum software had an option to add a “note” next to a username, then I probably wouldn’t even use the ignore function. But I can’t remember things for all 142K users on this forum. The only way to make any user stand out from another is the Ignore function. That at least reminds me that this is likely a user who does not actually want my help. Often they just want to vent and will be upset at me if I don’t feel and express similar negativity and outrage against Wyze. They are looking to feel good, not get help. I can respect that. This helps to remind me not to antagonize them by trying to explain something to them or make helpful suggestions, or remind me that they have previously asked me not to respond to them, etc. I have no other way to remember that for individual accounts, so using the ignore function allows me to still read their post, but remember that they do not want or appreciate anything I could share or do for them, and that I actually help the forum environment in general by “ghosting” them so to speak.
I don’t mind that. Take for example, my recent discussion with my buddy Resist … he and I talk a lot on here. In fact, He’s replied to me more than anyone else on there by almost 3x the runner up. I’ve liked his replies second most of anyone else, and he’s liked mine more than anyone else on here. Still, we often don’t see eye to eye, but we always respect each other and show each other courtesy. I know his stance against things like submitting a log. He strongly believes that should be unnecessary and Wyze should catch the problems before they happen, and figure them out on their own. That is what they are paid to do. So, I respect his personal decision and do not ask him for logs. Resist criticizes Wyze more than the majority of users (probably in the top 0.01% of users who criticize Wyze in here), but he also often catches bugs and issues before most users and is really helpful in many ways. I don’t really mind when we disagree or have opposite stances on anything. I’ve never marked him as ignored because he has never asked me to avoid responding to him, and while he can be really angry and frustrated at Wyze, he never turns that frustration on me, personally. He doesn’t call me names or demean/attack me on a personal level. I’ve come to like Resist and enjoy conversations with him in here even though we often have different perspectives from each other. 
I think it’s good the forum isn’t full of a bunch of “group think” of everyone who thinks the same thing. He follows the guidelines and focusses on the ideas and keeps his criticisms to being about Wyze. So I am happy enough to keep listening to his perspectives and frustrations and understanding whatever he is struggling with, especially since he often helps makes things better by sharing things early on that many other people don’t notice. He’s helped improve Wyze many times and is very appreciated for that. I am generally not too bothered by negativity.
Still, if anyone tells me they don’t ever want or appreciate my responses or help, I also feel that the right thing to do is to respect that and so I will stop responding to them or trying to help them in the future. It seems unethical to keep replying to someone who doesn’t appreciate it. For what purpose would one do that when it is known that it just makes them angry or rant. No, I accept some people don’t like me, sometimes specifically because I am well known to really like Wyze. It’s all good. I don’t mind, but there is no need for me to antagonize people who don’t want to hear something positive, or solutions, or explanations or whatever. I respect that some people want to be upset or vent, though if they are saying something patently false I may still add a clarification for the sake of the other observers anyway.
2 Likes
So you’re saying I’m a standout? Outstanding! 
I can see your point here, even if I don’t agree entirely (and that’s okay). I think sometimes people do want to vent and have others pile on, but they don’t get to make that choice for me. I do. If someone is upset at me because I don’t have the same negative feelings, that’s not my problem; that person has made his or her own decision to be upset. (I’m not saying that that’s wrong, it’s just not the choice I would make.)
I also think sometimes people are negative because they want to provoke, and we also get to make choices about whether or not we’ll allow things to provoke us.
Where I might disagree is that I think sometimes these people aren’t “looking to feel good”, but maybe that’s true. Maybe it’s a misguided attempt at self-soothing. Maybe it’s an attempt to bring others down to their level, “because if I’m feeling this way….” 
I can respect that from the “don’t poke the bear” perspective. I can’t respect it from a “this is a completely rational and healthy way to behave as an adult” perspective. I’m not saying their feelings or opinions are invalid, just that I disagree with their choices of methods to deal with ill feelings. I also can’t live their lives for them. If they want to be unhappy, then they’re allowed to make those choices for themselves.
Put that way, your use of the feature makes a lot of sense, and I appreciate the explanation.
Agree. 
(I like that we can have these respectful disagreements with some humor thrown into the mix.)
1 Like
Haha, you’re not a candidate 
2 Likes
I guess I’ll just have to try harder. Thanks for the constructive feedback!
1 Like