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submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by Dot@feddit.org to c/technology@lemmy.world

A notice from X (formerly Twitter) stating: 'Block is changing soon. If your posts are set to public, accounts you have blocked will be able to view them, but they will not be able to engage. For more control over who can see your posts, you can still protect your account.' There is an 'OK' button at the bottom of the notice.

  • X is telling users that blocking will soon be useless and trolls and stalkers will soon be able to see their posts again.
  • Instead of blocking, X advises that users take their account private, the antithesis to what X and its progenitor Twitter was about.
  • This removal of blocking may violate Apple and Google’s policies regarding platforms that host user generated content.
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[-] steve_floof@lemm.ee 222 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Step 1 delete your X account.

[-] muntedcrocodile@lemm.ee 45 points 2 years ago

Step 2 create a mastodon account

[-] Default_Defect@midwest.social 5 points 2 years ago

You're right, blocking doesn't matter when there's no one to block.

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[-] lvxferre@mander.xyz 15 points 2 years ago

That's a better way, I agree.

[-] ech@lemm.ee 7 points 2 years ago

This was my first thought too, hah.

[-] Illegalmexicant@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

I do miss my traffic closer alerts, but that's all.

[-] zante@lemmy.wtf 3 points 2 years ago

Right, but you’re smart enough to know it’s the right thing to do. Many aren’t , sadly.

[-] ContrarianTrail@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Every time someone makes a blanket demand like 'everyone just get off Twitter,' and I ask why I should, the answer is more or less: 'I don’t like Elon, so I don’t want anyone using his platform.'

I’ve yet to figure out why I should care how somebody else feels about what I do online. I don't like TikTok either yet I don't go around telling people to get off the platform.

[-] wesker@lemmy.sdf.org 56 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Having an X account is in no way, shape, or form a necessity. Imagine thinking you need to participate in the toxic, mainstream socialsphere.

[-] precarious_primes@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 years ago

The only way to protect yourself from fomo and narcissism in life

[-] Vaggumon@lemm.ee 34 points 2 years ago

I protected myself by deleting Twitter the day douche nozzle took over because I'm not a fucking moron.

[-] kokesh@lemmy.world 30 points 2 years ago

Maybe... Leave that cesspool?

[-] acosmichippo@lemmy.world 25 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Instead of blocking, X advises that users take their account private, the antithesis to what X and its progenitor Twitter was about.

so basically remove your voice from the public sphere, giving the platform fully to the trolls and bullies.

This will also majorly affect professionals who must use twitter publicly for their job. Reporters, artists, PR people, etc. - they have all had to block abusive users over the years, so I think this may finally push them away to other platforms.

[-] pycorax@lemmy.world 18 points 2 years ago

Not to mention the change that makes it no longer possible to opt out of being used for AI training. A lot of artists are now jumping ship to blue sky.

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[-] Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 18 points 2 years ago

People still using this platform get what they get. I could not care less.

[-] cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de 16 points 2 years ago

That's the same way it works on the fediverse. You post something publicly and anyone can see it regardless of whether you block them or not.

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[-] ContrarianTrail@lemm.ee 15 points 2 years ago

So even after this update, the block feature on Twitter is still more effective than it is on Lemmy, yet nobody seems to be complaining about that.

[-] Senal@programming.dev 3 points 2 years ago
[-] ContrarianTrail@lemm.ee 7 points 2 years ago

Blocking on Lemmy does nothing else but hide that user's posts and messages from you

[-] caveman8000@lemmy.world 14 points 2 years ago

What else do you want it to do?

[-] JohnEdwa@sopuli.xyz 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Hide you from the view of anyone you block. Essentially, when you block someone, they should automatically be forced to block you as well.

Block on Lemmy, and now Twitter, works like it used to on Reddit few years back, and the main criticism and massive issue with is that because it's just a mute/hide, you can't see what they post and they can keep commenting on your posts with whatever they want. It was huge issue on Reddit where assholes kept following users and commenting slander and falsehoods to every single post or comment they made.
Everyone else sees all of those comments as the first reply, but you are blissfully ignorant of them.

[-] ContrarianTrail@lemm.ee 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Me? Nothing. That's all I need it for.

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[-] carl_dungeon@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago

I’m confused, what should it do instead?

[-] TexMexBazooka@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago

Hide the other user from seeing your posts as well is what they’re going for I think

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[-] Senal@programming.dev 3 points 2 years ago

Is...that not what's supposed to happen?

I don't have any other socials so I'm not too up on what the standards are.

[-] ContrarianTrail@lemm.ee 7 points 2 years ago

Technically, it’s 'mute,' not 'block.' In most cases, blocking not only prevents you from seeing their content but also them from seeing yours.

What Twitter is being criticized for here is changing blocking to work similarly to how it does on Lemmy, with the exception that you still couldn’t engage with content from users who have blocked you, whereas on Lemmy, you can.

It’s being argued that 'weakening' the block feature in this way makes stalking and harassment easier.

[-] Senal@programming.dev 1 points 2 years ago

Ah, so it's a mutual block but initiated from one side.

Thanks.

[-] ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.org 11 points 2 years ago

TL;DR: Set your account to "private"

No alternatives to ex-Twitter are mentioned. Lame.

[-] LiamMayfair@lemmy.sdf.org 10 points 2 years ago

I know of a better way still to protect yourself from stalkers and trolls on X.

Quit X.

[-] DogPeePoo@lemm.ee 7 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

There is nothing behind those eyes. Looks like an empty vessel with an over soaked ketamine brain.

[-] dreikelvin@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago

getting a lot of new followers on bsky all of a sudden 🤷‍♂️

[-] rsuri@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

It really comes down to feature removal. Elon annihilated Twitter's staff, and the more features they can cut, the less staff they need. It may not seem like much to maintain a block feature, and if you have a staff, it's not. But you do need to have probably some sort of blocker backend service, a blocking UI, probably an unblocking UI (I dunno if that's a thing I don't use twitter), storage that keeps track of who blocked who, and somebody who knows how all that works.

[-] nialv7@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

Unpopular opinion but I don't see what is wrong with this? With the current policy, if your account is public people who you block will still be able to see your tweets by simply logout (e.g. by opening twitter in a private window, using a different browser where they are not logged in, etc. doesn't take any effort).

I think this is setting the wrong expectations.

[-] LiamMayfair@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

The article addresses this point.

This change is justified by the fact that a user can simply log out and view another user’s posts anyway. Except that’s not entirely true. Since Elon Musk took over the site, being logged out of X makes it very hard to view a user’s profile, individual posts are viewable but viewing an account triggers a log in pop up.

So technically it is possible for a logged out user to view your tweets but it's a lot more inconvenient. Anything you can do to make it not worth their while helps.

With this change they won't even have to put any effort anymore to stalk your content on X.

[-] nialv7@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

Ah I see! Thanks, I wasn't really aware of this change.

[-] Ghoelian@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 years ago

He kinda looks like Lars Ulrich in that picture

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this post was submitted on 18 Oct 2024
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