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> Being blocked by someone you never heard of is a common experience online, as is the recognition that they likely have no idea that they are blocking you. Wh

> Being blocked by someone you never heard of is a common experience online, as is the recognition that they likely have no idea that they are blocking you. What is this talking about? I've never experienced that (I don't think). It sounds like people share adblock-style blocklists of social media accounts?

devin 7y ago
There was an effort to do something like what you’re describing some years back. I think I heard about a volunteer effort to build something like this around the time of gamergate.
- byuu 7y ago
  Block Together. A list blocking 100,000 people belonging to group X sometimes sweeps up people outside the group for the crime of eg following a friend who is part of said group. There is also intentional sabotage in adding someone innocent that a maintainer dislikes to such lists.
xxpor 7y ago
Blocklists are common in certain corners of twitter (leftist twitter for example)
dredmorbius 7y ago
There are groups which tend to attract heavy abuse. Disadvantaged minorities and celebrities tend to share in this, with some interesting intersections. Since blocking one annoying user at a time is itself tedious and something of a denial of service attack, common blocklists get created, and shared. When these affect out-groups, the impacts are relatively benign. Celbs' lists, given the share/rebroadcast nature of several social media platforms (notably Twitter), mean that getting on one of these lists is akin to being erased from the platform -- if your posts are invisible to a large fraction of the many-followers set, you lose amplification. This can be an appropriate and intended consequence (don't be an annoying git if you rely on others spreading your message(s)), or not (adding personal enemies to inappropriate lists, inadvertant additions to lists). A problem with shared blacklists generally. I witnessed some of this and resulting fallout in a Mastodon incident which had carried over from Twitter, August of 2018. Effective and fair abuse and harassment countermeasures are challenging.
ahaferburg 7y ago
I was thinking shadowbanning.

devin 7y ago

There was an effort to do something like what you’re describing some years back. I think I heard about a volunteer effort to build something like this around the time of gamergate.

byuu 7y ago
Block Together. A list blocking 100,000 people belonging to group X sometimes sweeps up people outside the group for the crime of eg following a friend who is part of said group. There is also intentional sabotage in adding someone innocent that a maintainer dislikes to such lists.

xxpor 7y ago

Blocklists are common in certain corners of twitter (leftist twitter for example)

dredmorbius 7y ago

There are groups which tend to attract heavy abuse. Disadvantaged minorities and celebrities tend to share in this, with some interesting intersections. Since blocking one annoying user at a time is itself tedious and something of a denial of service attack, common blocklists get created, and shared. When these affect out-groups, the impacts are relatively benign. Celbs' lists, given the share/rebroadcast nature of several social media platforms (notably Twitter), mean that getting on one of these lists is akin to being erased from the platform -- if your posts are invisible to a large fraction of the many-followers set, you lose amplification. This can be an appropriate and intended consequence (don't be an annoying git if you rely on others spreading your message(s)), or not (adding personal enemies to inappropriate lists, inadvertant additions to lists). A problem with shared blacklists generally. I witnessed some of this and resulting fallout in a Mastodon incident which had carried over from Twitter, August of 2018. Effective and fair abuse and harassment countermeasures are challenging.

ahaferburg 7y ago

I was thinking shadowbanning.