Okay, MovieChat - this is it! Day One of the post IMDb Message board age. Seriously: F*** the IMDb!!!
So, as we all know, the IMDb boards were full of trolls and really stupid people. Therfore: If I could make a wish: Please make it also possible here to block specific users!
That's all.
I second that!
What would be really useful is a couple buttons right on the thread heading, that could block the whole thread, or just the thread creator. That would pretty much take care of trolls, who could be removed as fast as they can create socks and threads.
Agreed. It's getting really bad here, and at the IMDB v.2 site as well. Same stuff happening at both, as if someone (some thing?) is trying to literally wreck the place. This is beyond trolling: it's disturbing and literally sadistic.
shareIs this site being trolled to death?
It feels that way.
Sad.
Yes, it's important to have the choice of blocking them. This needs to be done.
sharethis function is *wanted* but surely not *needed*... please prioritize otter great ideas first?
shareAgree. Wanted but not needed at this stage.
It's useful especially because there will be less demand for banning and moderation if you can just block someone who annoys you. But some of these trolls just keep making new accounts so even if you block their known names, they will be back again tomorrow with a new name.
I think having a limit of one account per email could help slow down the sock puppetry. I know it's not foolproof because there are disposable email addy services. That's why I said 'slow down' rather than 'solve'.
A few years ago on the IMDb Help board, a few of us users wanted to know why they couldn't change their "Ignore" to a "Block". The reason we wanted this is because you can "Ignore" trolls 'til the cows come home, but it doesn't harm them one bit.
But if you "Block" them so they can't see or reply to your posts, it makes them think twice about what they're doing (and hopefully make them change their ways).
Col Needham himself came onto the thread and said that the reason they won't do this is because "Then you can't see what the trolls {who are blocking you} are saying about you".
What??? IMDb's whole stance on trolls is "Ignore Ignore Ignore" and don't care about what they say, and now he's saying that we HAVE to know what they're saying about us? I'd never seen a bigger contradiction.
So I totally agree with the OP and everybody on this thread. Forget all about "Ignore" and go straight for the "Block". And once people get blocked X amount of times, stop them from posting forever. No exceptions!
BLOCK. Period. "Ignore" is pointless. And what soggybottom said--BAN them and any of their sock puppet accounts after they're blocked X amount of times.
share*High-fives Maleficent*
It looks like I just made my first friend on MovieChat!
I totally agree about "Ignore". People would always use the standard "Just ignore the trolls and they'll go away" or "Don't feed the trolls" lines, and it sounds good, but it never worked.
Yeah, sometimes trolls do go away, but it's not because everyone ignored them--It's because they got tired of it. If they knew that people were trying hard to band together and ignore them, they'd take on the challenge and try even harder. They'd also be happy that people are (in effect) bowing down before them and refusing to fight anymore.
I've seen trolls take over entire boards (sometimes for years), and IMDb never cared. They would use the same old "If you don't like our boards, don't use them" cop-out.
I am also not a fan of their automated reporting system as people often found out how they worked and took advantage of them. I'm not a fan of moderators either since they're humans and prone to mistakes, biases, and mood-swings.
I really think that the "Block" system is the only way to go. I hope that Jim will consider it.
Excellent idea!
share" And once people get blocked X amount of times, stop them from posting forever. No exceptions! "
Okay but what is to stop one individual from creating 20 accounts, (or whatever your X number is) and using them all to BLOCK you? Then you are banned forever, just from one person.
Right now there is a troll who has made multiple accounts here, it's obviously the same person. We don't even have emails linked to our accounts so you can make 100 accounts if you have enough time on your hands.
You're right Popcorn--I forgot that we didn't even need to provide an E-mail address to start up our accounts--Did we?
I was thinking that they could limit us to one account per E-mail address--Then it would be harder to start up a ton of additional accounts.
I think Jim needs to put that into the web-site soon before that becomes a problem. I don't think he's gonna want everybody to have a ton of accounts. Nobody needs more than one.
Nope I was never asked for my email when I registered. Although the login form does say 'email address OR user name", but the accounts aren't even linked to emails yet, so maybe that is a signal that it is coming?
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