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Forum Thread

blocking system/safety update

Forum-Index Suggestions blocking system/safety update
Iridescent_Paradox
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Forum Posts: 584
Posted: Tue, 01/08/2023 00:17 (1 Year ago)
Maybe not you, but that doesn't stop people from making vague posts about other users they've blocked with the intent of them seeing it and not being able to interact. I wasn't even talking about you specifically but again the blocking system shouldn't be a punishment to other users and instead a way to cut contact with them.

I don't see why people not being able to see your page would be such a big issue if you blocked them. If you're just going to unblock them whenever you wish to interact with them then I don't know what my stance is on that, I'd have to think about it.

Edit: I didn't fully articulate my thoughts on the "help" you'd be giving people. Honestly I don't see that as necessary anyone else can do the same and if they can't interact with your posts how helpful is it really it's not like they can ask for help from you if they need it.


Anyway, what need would people you've blocked have to view your profile and your feeds if they can't even interact with them? Sure maybe your PD count like said before but they don't need full access to your profile.
Leo72Cents
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Posted: Tue, 01/08/2023 00:47 (1 Year ago)
I agree, there should also be a setting for it like Drakonia said in the first page, I don't mind blocked people to see my profile, just not my feeds or contact links.
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SakuraWolf23
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Posted: Fri, 18/08/2023 01:51 (1 Year ago)
I definitely support this suggestion!

As a player who's still being stalked, harassed, and slandered by people for three years, it would be greatly beneficial to my mental/emotional health (especially with my current RL situation) to know that they can't see my things. Like. They saw a story I posted that my brother had written about a garden gnome that mentioned cannibalism and came to the conclusion that I supported that behavior. If they weren't able to see my posts (both on my wall and forums) they wouldn't be able to find new fuel for the fire.

Generally speaking, there's nothing wrong with visiting someone's profile. But when done repeatedly, it is considered stalking and harassment. But misclicks do happen. I know of many people who have said "I accidentally blocked or unfriended this person when trying to do x". So getting locked for accidentally going to the person's profile kinda sucks.

Accidental clicks and true stalking wouldn't ever be able to happen if there was no communication/interaction of any sort after blocking/being blocked. Both sides should be able to move on and live in peace and stress-free after one of them presses that button.
Sobble45
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Posted: Fri, 18/08/2023 01:58 (1 Year ago)
This works well, how does this get into the game? If it gets 100% people saying it's good? Idk
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Skippy
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Posted: Fri, 18/08/2023 01:59 (1 Year ago)
idk if its a hot take or not but i feel like the votes for "wouldnt use it/doesnt affect me" shouldnt count as much in this case cuz the whole point is that its there as an option if you need to use it, weither it be now or in the future

@hashirasobble im not sure what the requirements are exactly for it to get implimented im hoping if it gets enough support it will be
MimiPallas
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Posted: Fri, 18/08/2023 03:34 (1 Year ago)
Personally, I think blocking is not used the way you think. Too many people block for the craziest reasons and I don't think viewing something is in anyway harmful. I have someone who blocked me when I have never spoken to them. Maybe they didn't like something I said on a forum post but I definitely didn't have a long enough conversation to remember. I've seen so many people block for attention and they make other people mediate and still talk but argue through posts. It might make people take it more seriously. Idk but I don't think this is usefull.
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Shmrimbly
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Forum Posts: 121
Posted: Fri, 18/08/2023 04:02 (1 Year ago)
I definitely support this!

I personally thing a good way to implement something like this would be to add a tab under settings as Blocked User Settings and having a checklist of the different things users you've blocked can and cannot see, similar to how we have a checklist for which notifications we get. It would allow users to make choices from blocking people from viewing their profile all together to preventing Palpads and PMs.
When it comes to forums, an option to prevent blocked users from seeing forums that you have made could be viable, but with how widespread many people are throughout multiple forums, I don't think it would be very plausible to completely prevent blocked users from seeing every forum post you make.



@MimiPallas
Many people block for various reasons, and I don't believe the reason matters. What may be a "crazy reason" for you could mean a lot to someone else. When anyone is made uncomfortable in any way, they should not have to worry about the person who made them uncomfortable being able to stay on their profile or possibly contacting them in other ways (i.e. through contact links). Most people don't "block for attention", they block out of irritation or uncomfortability.
Skippy
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Posted: Fri, 18/08/2023 04:23 (1 Year ago)
this site is the only site ive ever seen that interprets blocks this way its not really how their supposed to be used anyway dsnbvdkjfb
i dont really care what reason a person has to block it doesnt discredit or make rooting for an actual block feature not useful
people using the current block system willy nilly is a moot point it kinda baffles me that some people would rather have the ability to do that then let people have the ability to keep people they do not want contact with away from them
especially on a site that has people who are as young as like 10 and people as old as like 50 and a plethora of bad actors, ive run into a ton of creepy/preditory people throughout my time on site especially when i was a kid and i had no way of keeping them from my profile. even if a predator or pedophile is banned they can still look at your feeds and profile (where a lot of people put their discord and other contacts as well) from the userlist all they have to do is look up your username and there is nothing you can do about it this is an actual problem there needs to be at least the ability to block people like actually block them.
Shmrimbly
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Forum Posts: 121
Posted: Fri, 18/08/2023 04:41 (1 Year ago)
/\
I would like to add that along with better blocking systems, I think for security reasons that guests/logged out users should not be able to see any users profile until they sign in, since it would prevent creeps from simply logging off to look at contact lists and it would put many users at ease knowing that people they have blocked can't just turn around and anonymously watch their profiles. Since PH has contact links it's safer for everyone (especially younger players) if anons can't just go snooping everywhere.
Agent_Sobble
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Posted: Fri, 18/08/2023 05:21 (1 Year ago)
Very support,please add this soon so we can avoid loosing more friends here...... 😢
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Forum Posts: 262
Posted: Fri, 18/08/2023 05:47 (1 Year ago)
Will still support this too, seems very useful and would be a nice addition for the system (especially for minors) :)
Rkainjel
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Forum Posts: 11
Posted: Fri, 18/08/2023 06:49 (1 Year ago)
I support this.

Maybe make it toggleable in Profile Settings or Misc. Settings, or as its own Settings tab.


Example:
[Profile/Misc. Settings]
[Blocked/Offline Settings]

- Block Access to Certain Contact Links........(Y) (N) - Choose which ones can be accessed or not.
{ } { } { }

- Block Access to Profile:
- When Offline.......................(Y) (N)
- When You are Offline............(Y) (N)

- Mark your account as Offline....................(Y) (N)*

* - Will be unable to leave comments, access profiles, trade (including bidding), nor feed berries.

Maybe add a reason required option on why someone is getting blocked - would need to be approved by a moderator/staff member.

This is just as an example, I am not going to pretend to know much about programming, might as well be in a foreign language for me. (Technically it is a type of language).
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Iridescent_Paradox
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Trainerlevel: 59

Forum Posts: 584
Posted: Fri, 18/08/2023 16:35 (1 Year ago)
I haven't read the new posts on this forum yet, but I'd like to call out these stats for a moment here-



I think some people are grossly misunderstanding what the blocking system should be about. (Also, one person thinks this is spam? Please.)

Just because someone personally may not have been harassed on this site before doesn't mean it's not a thing, for the people 'downvoting' a suggestion to improve the safety of this site either just can't be bothered to think critically about why this is important or are looking at this like it's not a big deal.

The reason I mention this is because sure there are plenty of 'fun' related suggestions that get highly rated but I think we really need to focus on updates such as these that protect the compromised users (namely children but anyone can fall victim to online harassment)

The block system is sort of a joke, and I think people may be taking it too lightly. If you're going to block someone, it should work like other sites where you stop interacting with them and cannot see anything even remotely personal about them.

I could go on about this, but I'm going to read what's above and then edit my post/add on to what I've said past this point.
Lavender_Luxray
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Forum Posts: 276
Posted: Fri, 18/08/2023 17:06 (1 Year ago)
I'm gonna repost my thoughts on this here (previously put in a place that wasn't meant for it):

I definitely agree that the ban system could use a "new coat of paint", so to speak. As someone who has blocked before now, I don't need to see their feeds anymore, and they shouldn't be able to see mine either. Also, we should be blocked from visiting each others' pages in general, but aren't. Blocking a user should be a menu option and you shouldn't have to go visit their profile to block them as well. Also, you can still spam users who blocked you with trade offers in the GTS, as has happened to me. This should not be made possible, but is.

I think a ban appeal system would also be an improvement (if it doesnt exist already yet). Let perma banned users explain what happened the first time they get hit with a permaban and if mods find these reasons reasonable enough, they can give them a second chance.
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Iridescent_Paradox
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Trainerlevel: 59

Forum Posts: 584
Posted: Fri, 18/08/2023 17:07 (1 Year ago)
Okay so here's my updated response:

I don't know the coding logistics on this but I think it's worth the time and painstaking effort to make this a feature that works for everyone, so if it becomes a customizable blocking system I wouldn't be against that but I'd like the default to be the most restricted setting.

Problem is that Riako may not want to code it/be able to/some other issue. I made a suggestion regarding safety and potentially adding more coders to the site for suggestions like this but it seems like it's just going to be rejected it's been sitting in limbo for a thousand years (a couple months)

He noted that this site runs on some ancient broken code so that's where it might be hard to do something more complex with it, but again if anything can be done it should be.

It might just be best to start off with a quick fix and then update it to include customization later. That means guests not being able to see your feeds and blocked users not being able to see most of the stuff on your profile. If we did it that way, the site could be safer sooner while also giving Riako more time to develop the feature.
HeartOfAWizard
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Trainerlevel: 41

Forum Posts: 189
Posted: Fri, 18/08/2023 17:26 (1 Year ago)
I've been trying to keep silent, but I suppose I'll put in my two cents.

I support:

Blocked users not being able to see:
Profile, feeds, online status, anything,

Logged out users not being able to see:
Feeds, Online status

Currently, both parties can see EVERYTHING on that list
Edit: I agree with above post (s). You should not have to visit their profile to block them

Why:

Every single person who I have blocked/blocked me, I do not want to see their feeds or profile. I do not like reminders of them. When I block someone, it block them because I want them to leave me alone.
And what happens? I'm stalked, sent private trades, and gotten rude things said.


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On another note, I had a situation/time to where I felt unsafe and had someone stalking AND harassing me around multiple sites. This is a real person who knew all of my information because they were a real life friend. This situation went on for more than a year. They viewed my profile logged in and out. They used private trades to message me. I became afraid of posting anything for a while because you can see feeds either way
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holodog
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Trainerlevel: 49

Forum Posts: 143
Posted: Fri, 18/08/2023 18:02 (1 Year ago)
Blocking as-is is currently one of the most useless features of the site imo. It's pretty shocking and disappointing that Riako hasn't addressed the awful system in a whole TEN years of the site being around. Other similar websites have blocking systems that make the pokeheroes one look like it's stuck in the stone age.

I would personally love if blocking completely removes a user's profile and activity from your access. I dont wanna see their trades, their feeds, their comments, their posts, but of course that's apparently a luxury we're not (yet?) allowed. It's inane that we have a site with social features and significant avenues of communication where you can't choose to hide or restrict someone's online presence from your own view.
PandaBennington
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Trainerlevel: 86

Forum Posts: 433
Posted: Fri, 18/08/2023 18:43 (1 Year ago)
Okay here is my opinion: the current feature is most definitely lacking and needs an upgrade 100%. But there is also user error on current blocking system. If you know you are blocked, know that you make that person uncomfortable there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON YOU SHOULD BE VISITING THEM. This is why you get reported, and get warnings/temp bans etc. It's not ACCEPTABLE. Users SHOULD be able to respect a person's privacy and wishes. What I believe should be in place;

Once the user is blocked they should not be allowed to view your page AT ALL, PERIOD. Like Facebook, they don't even show up in user search. As far as offering on your things in GTS or bidding on Auctions, well, AH is free reign there's no stopping that but YOU could choose not to bid on THEIR Pokemon. GTS, YOU have the option to reject their trades, yes some will be very persistent and annoying so maybe some kind of system could be worked here but that part does seem like a lot more coding and a little less important as far as user safety and comfortablity. That would just be more of an annoyance. Now if inappropriate things were said along with trade offer etc, then a screenshot with a report each time will result in a ban.

As far as offline, contact links are not visible to "guest" users. (Also you have the option to make your contact links "friends only") I do agree that feeds shouldn't be visible but beyond that people are still going to visit.

I do agree that you are still able to interact with each other's Pokemon via Index and Clicklists. As I've done this with blocked users. If you want to get on index you have to interact. Removing this feature would be pointless and not useful at all.

Generally, the block system just needs to make it so that if a person is blocked, they stay blocked. They are not allowed to visit your page and make you uncomfortable because they can't take a hint even after SEVERAL warnings. They already cannot comment or message you so essentially we just need it so they are not allowed to visit your page. And again as far as guest, feed should be removed. Those are the two things I support.

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Lavender_Luxray
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Posted: Fri, 18/08/2023 19:17 (1 Year ago)
Problem with GTS specifically is that users you blocked might Nickname a pokemon something like "unblockme" and spam trades targeted at you. This has happened on a small scale to me recently, and there's probably others who have experienced worse. I agree AH can still be free reign as it's just bidding pokedollars on there so there cant be "secret messages" sent using Nicknames on Pokémon.
But I definitely think blocked users should not be able to offer Pokemon on your trade requests.
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PandaBennington
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Forum Posts: 433
Posted: Fri, 18/08/2023 19:25 (1 Year ago)
Oh, I'm not arguing with it. I just think it's probably more coding than he'd want to do? I don't know what all goes into it. I'm only fluent in BBCode. Used to know HTML but that was like 5th grade. 🤣

But no, I do agree it can be very frustrating. And it should be worked in but I think safety should be implemented right away and then work out kinks. There are a lot of safety loop holes in this game especially when it comes to younger users. All aspects need to be fixed.

Because it's not just GTS for the unblock me thing, I'm not sure about these days but I know when I started playing years ago people would just message a mutual friend and get them involved. This is an issue that's needed fixing for a long time.