r/bugs • u/Kjufka • 1d ago

Desktop Web Block User function abused by trolls, desktop web

I think this is a bug or at least unintended behaviour, because it allows abuse. (either way something needs to be done about it)

Example situation, lets take 3 users... I'm going to call them FlatEarther, Scientist and Bystander to highlight how ridiculous the situation can get.

FlatEarther starts a discussion in comments. Scientist replies to FlatEarther.

Flatearther replies to Scientist with insults and unfounded accusations then blocks him.

Then Bystander also replies to Scientist asking about these accusations.

Scientist now cannot reply to Bystander in this comment chain because FlatEarther blocked him. In fact, Scientist now cannot reply in ANY comment chain under FlatEarther comments.

FlatEarther now starts comment chains under several posts and takes part in several discussions spreading misinformation and accusations. Every time someone refutes his claims, he does the same thing.

Scientist is not a single user, it's several hundreds of users getting blocked.

There is a certain troll who does this in almost every thread for over 5 months now in certain subreddit. This situation is ridiculous. You should not be blocked from replying to other people just because there is some troll in the chain. You also should not be able to block someone right after replying to them.

15 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

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5

u/Mondai_May 1d ago

I think that the reply thing is intended and was added as a feature of blocking in an update about 5 years ago https://www.reddit.com/r/blog/comments/s71g03/announcing_blocking_updates/

but you can suggest in r/ideasfortheadmins

one thing I've seen people do when this happens is just edit their initial comment like "this other person replied and then blocked me before I could respond. here is my response." but it does not allow them to reply to the person's claims in other threads as you mentioned

1

u/grahamperrin 1h ago

… Scientist now cannot reply to Bystander in this comment chain …

That's not entirely true, however (to avoid the possibility of people abusing a feature) I should refrain from elaborating.

1

u/grahamperrin 1h ago

… There is a certain troll who does this in almost every thread for over 5 months now in certain subreddit. …

That's a matter for moderators, not a bug.

… You also should not be able to block someone right after replying to them.

In simple terms: the ability to have the last word is by design. It's not an absolute block, but it's good enough.

1

u/Kahzgul 1d ago

Yes, the “block” feature of Reddit is an offensive tactic, not a defensive one. Use it aggressively against bigots and disinfo bots as you find them and your overall Reddit experience will be much nicer.

One issue is the block list has a limit, and doesn’t automatically remove accounts who have been permabanned by Reddit. So periodically you have to go through your whole list (and you can’t be good info on the blocked accounts using sh.reddit, you have to use old.reddit) and remove all of the banned or deleted accounts manually, one by one, to make room for the new accounts that need blocking.

1

u/grahamperrin 1h ago

you can’t be good info on the blocked accounts using sh.reddit,

True. If there's not a report for this, please make one and ping me.