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Why not have user curated and shareable blocklists? So if I never want to see anything from Alex Jones or Milo Yiannopoulos and the like, I just subscribe to a

Why not have user curated and shareable blocklists? So if I never want to see anything from Alex Jones or Milo Yiannopoulos and the like, I just subscribe to a blocklist that eliminates far right commentators. You could even create networks of trusted users where anyone they block, is blocked for everyone in the network. Or have shareable rulesets, like "block anyone who uses this word", or "block anyone who follows this account". Of course you could create huge echo chambers that way, but that happens anyways when you curated your followers, so I don't see that as a huge issue. Just now in addition to deciding who you follow, you also decide who you block. Twitter (or whatever platform) would still be responsible for eliminating bad actors (spammers, people posting illegal content) but other than that could just let users curate what they see on the platform.

X6S1x6Okd1st 6y ago
I started to build this out, but the twitter api access grants are basically all or nothing and that dismayed me enough to give up
Anon1096 6y ago
I think this is a pretty good solution to the social media algorithmic problems. In a post-S230 world, it'd be pretty neat to see platforms implement decentralized moderation schemes.
- mulmen 6y ago
  In a post-S230 world there are no platforms. https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200531/23325444617/hello-youve-been-referred-here-because-youre-wrong-about-section-230-communications-decency-act.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200531/23325444617/hello...
  - Anon1096 6y ago
    Thanks for linking me to an article that I've already read, but I made none of the statements written there, nor does that article state that "In a post-S230 world there are no platforms."
detaro 6y ago
Shared twitter blocklists are a thing through third-party apps. (Twitter did have basic CSV import/export for block lists too, but didn't further improve that feature and silently dropped it at some point)
WillPostForFood 6y ago
Why isn’t it sufficient to not follow Alex Jones? I’ve never seen a tweet by him. Twitter is one of the least pushy platforms in algorithmically pushing content. Just follow people you want to see content from, and unfollow if they tweet things you don’t want to see.
- oe 6y ago
  Do you use the official Twitter clients? Because they seem to push different, “popular” content pretty hard. Many people joked that ‘Super follow’ should have been replaced by ‘Super block’
- Andrew_nenakhov 6y ago
  No, it's not enough. Twitter constantly showes me nudes that are liked by some people I follow. I hate this feature. They should be an option to limit your feed only to the people you follow, but it is unlikely we'll see it because it contradicts the platform aim to increase engagement, by hook or by crook.
  - fakename11 6y ago
    Follow better people? (Or at least don't follow their "personal" accounts)
    - Andrew_nenakhov 6y ago
      The people are ok. It just happened that within russian opposition female members have a weird tradition to do #nudesthursday I am generally interested in what they write but on Thursdays they post nudes and like nudes of other females I don't follow, and Twitter shows me a lot of their likes. It annoys me to no end.
  - dkarras 6y ago
    I think that feature exists unless I am imagining things? There should be a ... button on the top of the tweet and there should be something like "Not interested in this tweet" there. When you click it, I think it says "show fewer tweets by X" and there should also be an option to see fewer of the likes / retweets from a person. But in reality, in twitter, like is a soft form of retweeting and users know it. So if someone you follow uses the "like / favorite" feature it also kind of means they want people to see it. For bookmarks, there is a different bookmark functionality. On twitter, like is a low weighted retweet that does not show up in the user's profile directly.
Camillo 6y ago
> Why not have user curated and shareable blocklists? Because often the goal is to control what _others_ can see.
- andybak 6y ago
  Whilst what you say isn't bereft of truth, your phrasing conjours up a shadowy cabal - which in turn makes me wonder if you're deep down one of several potential conspiracy rabbit holes yourself. If you don't want to give this impression you would benefit from modifying your tone.
  - lupire 6y ago
    It was a simple statement of undisputed fact proclaimed by Twitter management and their peers.
SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
This does happen on a small scale with third party apps, but it seems like doing it on a large scale would just shift the review problem to the curators of the blocklists. If I ran a "known doxxers" blocklist, I'd have to rely on the same kinds of scripts that got Twitter in trouble here.
rodgerd 6y ago
You could probably get some value from https://secateur.app/ https://secateur.app/ but there are also various blocktogether the groups.
- duskwuff 6y ago
  BlockTogether shut down in January, after Twitter disabled the APIs it used.
  - rodgerd 6y ago
    Well, arse.
fortyseven 6y ago
> Why not have user curated and shareable blocklists? Not a fan of this. I've found myself banned a couple times, only to find out I likely got caught up someones blocklist that put out a large blanket block on anyone friends with someone who followed someone else. Or some similar indirect nonsense. The idea being you're isolating yourself from someone who's friends with an asshole, so you're less likely to encounter someone you don't like. And if innocent people get caught up in the dragnet, then so be it. I found this incredibly unfair, and not really smart, either -- not every "follow" is an endorsement. :P
- GhostVII 6y ago
  Sure, but that is the users choice when they chose to use a particular list. I think it is better to give someone the option to choose which people or classes of people to block than decide for them. If someone thinks the risk of blocking someone they are interested in is outweighed by the cost of being exposed to people who's opinions they find damaging, that is their choice. Personally I wouldn't really block anyone, but I think it is better to have the option that to not.
- TheSmiddy 6y ago
  I find myself blocked from all kinds of accounts that I've never interacted with and as far as I can tell the primary reason is because I follow Sam Harris which is a ludicrous reason to block someone.
offby37years 6y ago
Why would big tech voluntarily surrender the unprecedented power to shape worldwide discourse? "Power intoxicates men. It is never voluntarily surrendered. It must be taken from them." — James F. Byrnes
- ChainOfFools 6y ago
  > "Power intoxicates men. It is never voluntarily surrendered. It must be taken from them." — James F. Byrnes A great quote that could be understood as a proof that decentralization is a mirage. For decentralization to work it requires its participanta to voluntarily surrender their prerogative to accumulate a relative advantage through exceptional personal agency. "Decentralization for thee and not for me."
fortran77 6y ago
Twitter does allow sharable blocklists. I maintain and distribute a very popular one.

X6S1x6Okd1st 6y ago

I started to build this out, but the twitter api access grants are basically all or nothing and that dismayed me enough to give up

Anon1096 6y ago

I think this is a pretty good solution to the social media algorithmic problems. In a post-S230 world, it'd be pretty neat to see platforms implement decentralized moderation schemes.

mulmen 6y ago
In a post-S230 world there are no platforms. https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200531/23325444617/hello-youve-been-referred-here-because-youre-wrong-about-section-230-communications-decency-act.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200531/23325444617/hello...
- Anon1096 6y ago
  Thanks for linking me to an article that I've already read, but I made none of the statements written there, nor does that article state that "In a post-S230 world there are no platforms."

detaro 6y ago

Shared twitter blocklists are a thing through third-party apps. (Twitter did have basic CSV import/export for block lists too, but didn't further improve that feature and silently dropped it at some point)

WillPostForFood 6y ago

Why isn’t it sufficient to not follow Alex Jones? I’ve never seen a tweet by him. Twitter is one of the least pushy platforms in algorithmically pushing content. Just follow people you want to see content from, and unfollow if they tweet things you don’t want to see.

oe 6y ago
Do you use the official Twitter clients? Because they seem to push different, “popular” content pretty hard. Many people joked that ‘Super follow’ should have been replaced by ‘Super block’
Andrew_nenakhov 6y ago
No, it's not enough. Twitter constantly showes me nudes that are liked by some people I follow. I hate this feature. They should be an option to limit your feed only to the people you follow, but it is unlikely we'll see it because it contradicts the platform aim to increase engagement, by hook or by crook.
- fakename11 6y ago
  Follow better people? (Or at least don't follow their "personal" accounts)
  - Andrew_nenakhov 6y ago
    The people are ok. It just happened that within russian opposition female members have a weird tradition to do #nudesthursday I am generally interested in what they write but on Thursdays they post nudes and like nudes of other females I don't follow, and Twitter shows me a lot of their likes. It annoys me to no end.
- dkarras 6y ago
  I think that feature exists unless I am imagining things? There should be a ... button on the top of the tweet and there should be something like "Not interested in this tweet" there. When you click it, I think it says "show fewer tweets by X" and there should also be an option to see fewer of the likes / retweets from a person. But in reality, in twitter, like is a soft form of retweeting and users know it. So if someone you follow uses the "like / favorite" feature it also kind of means they want people to see it. For bookmarks, there is a different bookmark functionality. On twitter, like is a low weighted retweet that does not show up in the user's profile directly.

Camillo 6y ago

> Why not have user curated and shareable blocklists? Because often the goal is to control what _others_ can see.

andybak 6y ago
Whilst what you say isn't bereft of truth, your phrasing conjours up a shadowy cabal - which in turn makes me wonder if you're deep down one of several potential conspiracy rabbit holes yourself. If you don't want to give this impression you would benefit from modifying your tone.
- lupire 6y ago
  It was a simple statement of undisputed fact proclaimed by Twitter management and their peers.

SpicyLemonZest 6y ago

This does happen on a small scale with third party apps, but it seems like doing it on a large scale would just shift the review problem to the curators of the blocklists. If I ran a "known doxxers" blocklist, I'd have to rely on the same kinds of scripts that got Twitter in trouble here.

rodgerd 6y ago

You could probably get some value from https://secateur.app/ https://secateur.app/ but there are also various blocktogether the groups.

duskwuff 6y ago
BlockTogether shut down in January, after Twitter disabled the APIs it used.
- rodgerd 6y ago
  Well, arse.

fortyseven 6y ago

> Why not have user curated and shareable blocklists? Not a fan of this. I've found myself banned a couple times, only to find out I likely got caught up someones blocklist that put out a large blanket block on anyone friends with someone who followed someone else. Or some similar indirect nonsense. The idea being you're isolating yourself from someone who's friends with an asshole, so you're less likely to encounter someone you don't like. And if innocent people get caught up in the dragnet, then so be it. I found this incredibly unfair, and not really smart, either -- not every "follow" is an endorsement. :P

GhostVII 6y ago
Sure, but that is the users choice when they chose to use a particular list. I think it is better to give someone the option to choose which people or classes of people to block than decide for them. If someone thinks the risk of blocking someone they are interested in is outweighed by the cost of being exposed to people who's opinions they find damaging, that is their choice. Personally I wouldn't really block anyone, but I think it is better to have the option that to not.
TheSmiddy 6y ago
I find myself blocked from all kinds of accounts that I've never interacted with and as far as I can tell the primary reason is because I follow Sam Harris which is a ludicrous reason to block someone.

offby37years 6y ago

Why would big tech voluntarily surrender the unprecedented power to shape worldwide discourse? "Power intoxicates men. It is never voluntarily surrendered. It must be taken from them." — James F. Byrnes

ChainOfFools 6y ago
> "Power intoxicates men. It is never voluntarily surrendered. It must be taken from them." — James F. Byrnes A great quote that could be understood as a proof that decentralization is a mirage. For decentralization to work it requires its participanta to voluntarily surrender their prerogative to accumulate a relative advantage through exceptional personal agency. "Decentralization for thee and not for me."

fortran77 6y ago

Twitter does allow sharable blocklists. I maintain and distribute a very popular one.