Let's talk about Blocking

Hi r/zen,

As some of you might know, reddit has recently updated the "Block" feature. The mods have been in discussion for a couple weeks about this, and we'd like for us to have a place to talk about this update and what it means for our subreddit.

What's the change?

As a brief summary, the change focuses on the "blockee" rather than the "blocker".

To best explain the change, let us envision that Alice has blocked Bob.

Alice will still be able to view Bob's content if she wished. However, the Bob will be unable to:

1. View the content of Alice's posts. Bob can see the title of a post, but the username and content will appear as [deleted].

2. View comments by Alice. Similar to the above, both the username and content of Alice's comments will appear as [deleted] to Bob.

3. Upvote/Downvote Alice's posts and comments. Since Bob is unable to see both the name and content of Alice's posts and comments, Bob will be unable to vote on such.

4. Reply to Alice's posts and comments. Same reasons as above.

5. (This one's a bit more complicated) Reply to comments by other users in threads where Alice has posted.

That last one could use some clarification:

Suppose Alice comments on a post, and Carl responds. Bob will see [deleted], but will still be able to see that Carl has responded to Alice's comment. However, Bob will not be able to reply to Carl's comment.

This is intended as a very cursory explanation - you can find more information in the admin announcement here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/modnews/comments/rkyoeq/previewing_upcoming_changes_to_blocking/ht8ciwh/

Some noteworthy points:

• Moderators of a given subreddit will be able to see all comments and posts in said subreddit - regardless of whether they have been blocked by a given user.

• Moderator posts and comments, when distinguished as moderator (in green text) will still be seen by users - regardless of whether either has blocked the other. (This includes Automod)

• Moderators are unable to view information about who has blocked whom, and all reports on comments and posts are anonymous.

 

What does this mean for r/zen?

We intend this thread to specifically get at this question. We welcome all thoughts on this change and any recommendations on any feasible changes or additions to the current subreddit functionality.

Please note that the subreddit has no intention at this time of attempting to circumvent reddit administration decisions, power to change the update, nor information on potential future changes to the update.

 

It is our intent to make this subreddit approachable for new users, and discouraging participation is the last thing we wish to see. And, of course, we want said participation to be on-topic, interesting, and engaging.

So, r/zen, what are your thoughts? Feel free to use this thread to give your thoughts, suggestions, critiques, etc.

Submitted February 09, 2022 at 05:51AM by NegativeGPA https://ift.tt/8BY0EIj