I've noticed that, while some users are helpful and courteous, others are self-righteous, pompous, arrogant and, frankly, ignorant of any social graces.
How do I get rid of them?
4 Answers
How do you block a user? / How do I get rid of them?
Well, it would seem that there is no technical solution implemented to that end, see i.e. here, unless you want to resort to client side userscripts. If you need a feature to block users you will need to take this feature request to meta.stackexchange.com as this is an issue for the network not this particular site.
I think, however, that this is by design and that a personal block list would not benefit the site and the community as it circumvents the intended moderation of such problems. If you encounter content (questions, answers, comments) that violates the Code of Conduct you should flag that content for moderator action. The help-page outlines the process of reporting and actions of enforcement taken on the moderators discretion.
Note that Stackexchange is community moderated, that is all users contribute to the moderation of the site using votes, flags, review queues. Please do not forget that the elected community moderators do not curate all content, do not read every question, and do not review each and every comment posted on site. Therefore we rely on all of you flagging any issues to bring them to our attention.
Assuming you mean here rather than your own server then:
- Expect folk to vote this to be closed without explaining why.
- Get a pointer to the tour (this forum is for Pi questions)
But trying to be helpful, I'll point you to this old link that basically says - you cannot do it. There is a script linked in the text here but I've not tried it.
Like you, it was one thing I miss.
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Even without checking previous arguments, there are some serious logical problems with such blocking here. This isn't facebook, etc. It's a technical forum. No one wants to deal with Fred producing duplicate answers and comments, misconstruing comment streams, etc. all because he blocked Wilma and so part of the picture is gone. The only way this could work would be if, in order to post, the block is disabled for you on that Q&A so you can see everything relevant and not just the stuff from people you like.– goldilocks ModOct 11, 2020 at 20:27
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WRT Closing without comment, I agree (I think you imply your opinion of it in #1). There have been attempts to change this on Meta, and make it mandatory to leave a comment when you so vote; the majority of users participating in those discussions did not agree. I can see how having five different users forced to leave a comment on a question they thought should be closed would make the place less user friendly, not more.– goldilocks ModOct 11, 2020 at 20:34
It seems there is something going wrong on the site that reduces our reputation. This compliant is not the only one. Also another user apologize and suggest better to use the Raspberry Pi Forum:
I apologize for the lack of answers to your post. The Raspberry Pi forums are a bit more friendly than this site.
I suggest that our elected moderators should get together to analize what's wrong with the reputation, whether it is a problem at all, or if it is a general issue, or based on only some of the active members, with the objective to improve the reputation.
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As a relative 'newbie' here I find the site unfriendly in that it is very strict on shopping advice, Linux issues running on a Pi and closing without saying why. The Pi forum will chip in on all of these and give ideas on 'how to' more than here.– user115418Oct 11, 2020 at 16:03
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Hello Ingo, thank you for this insight. If it is your impression that the moderators are turning a blind eye to certain behaviour here I would kindly like to ask you to be more specific so that that can be changed. Furthermore I would invite you to contribute to that analysis you recommend and to develop measures to improve this community. If there are particular issues that you do not wish to share in public we can set up a moderation only chat room. Your feedback (same to y'all) is much welcomed.– Ghanima ModOct 11, 2020 at 20:14
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@Andyroo, please note that the current policy concerning "shopping advice" and "Linux issues" are based on discussions between community members on this very meta site. If the community feels a need to change it, it needs to be discussed again and a new policy be set. I am not entirely sure about "closing without saying why" though. Close votes come with a specific reason that is shown on the closed question too.– Ghanima ModOct 11, 2020 at 20:21
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Hi @Ghanima, it took a little while for my answer because I am not sure I am on the right track. But this question can be seen as a contribution to either removing my doubts or the problem. I like to participate. There are many comments that I find violate our code of conduct. I have tried to understand this, that I found under this answer but the technical part is not the right place to discuss it. I like to be open and transparent and do not prefer to talk behind closed doors. <Continued ...>– IngoOct 14, 2020 at 20:45
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<... continued> - But of course @Milliways has to be there with everything and I don't know how to address him.– IngoOct 14, 2020 at 20:47
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You got me here. I don't get the "waffle" comment either and thus I am not sure if it should be considered unfriendly language. I need to leave that to the native speakers (which luckily all the other mods are). However, if anybody considers comments or other content unacceptable they should flag it for moderator attention. Again, per CoC: All actions will be taken on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of our moderators. If you have concerns about how a moderator has handled a situation, contact us directly., though I hope that this is a rare situation.– Ghanima ModOct 14, 2020 at 21:32
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<cont'd> If you think that your flags are repeatedly not handled to your satisfaction, please drop us a line (e.g. via meta) to let us - the community as a whole - figure out where a line should be drawn.– Ghanima ModOct 14, 2020 at 21:39
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"I need to leave that to the native speakers..." -> It's true that I would see that as an innocuous comment (it reads pretty much the same as "that is so silly"), although the fact that it could be ambiguous to a non-native speaker is not a non-issue (it perhaps applies to some of my more curt moments too). This is a valid concern that can be put rationally to the perpetrator -- and he is the elephant in this room, I think. If we are going to do anything we (mods) should probably tackle that early in the process...– goldilocks ModOct 15, 2020 at 14:54
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BTW I deleted the waffle answer as it was not an answer to the actual question.– goldilocks ModOct 15, 2020 at 15:06
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@goldilocks He is not only "the elephant in this room", he also smashes the porcelain. if you read borderline comments, you can discuss, if it is acceptable or not and are lost in details of each comment. But if you read many of such comments you get a general impression of the prevailing tone on this site and may be discouraged to quest again or to answer to details.– IngoOct 15, 2020 at 17:15
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@Andyroo Having just run across one, a very direct analogy can be drawn between various content rules and the rule that SE, other than the explicitly non-English sites, is English only. Is that unfriendly? Of course it is, and the fact that the justification is straightforward and rational is not going to make it friendlier for someone who doesn't speak English being told they cannot ask a question except in English. "But there could easily be Polish speakers here, why can't I just ask, what harm does that do..." and so on.– goldilocks ModOct 18, 2020 at 18:29
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The same logic can be applied in myriad ways and if being permissive and friendly to new users is our first priority, then there should not be any content rules. You should feel free to ask about anything you want, using any language you want, here at raspberrypi.stackexchange.com!– goldilocks ModOct 18, 2020 at 18:31
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@goldilocks I think you should be able to ask about anything related to the Pi - not quite the carte blanche your You should feel free to ask about anything you want, using any language you want infers.– user115418Oct 18, 2020 at 20:57
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1Sure. Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. I don't know how long you've been programming, but there's a reason S.O. became what it is, and it has much to do with how discussion-style forums are/were. It's a reaction to that. People flocked to it because it provided a superior structure. It systematised things like you can't ask the same question over and over, that you should make some research effort yourself, that fishing and beating around a bush is a waste of time, basically that No, you can't just ask anything any old way. There's a bar.– goldilocks ModOct 18, 2020 at 21:42
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Rather than always requiring a moderator to manually intervene, or members to bicker endlessly, the content is kept relatively tight in a streamlined, efficient way -- or at least that's the ideal. The rules about content define a site and are hashed out by the members early on (to the extent that individual sites can). I think SO or U&L was the first place I heard of broken windows theory, this was touted a lot.– goldilocks ModOct 18, 2020 at 21:43
@JörgWMittag. I'm very sorry if I ruffled your feathers. Perhaps I touched a nerve. However, I suspect that the reason the post didn't get closed is because other users agree with me, as evidenced by the upvotes. I would point out that, a case in point would be your own comment. In normal conversation, when someone asks a question, it is considered polite to address the person who asked the question in your answer. Conversely, it is considered rude to ignore the person who asked the quesition and address the rest of the "room" to critisise the question. But maybe that's just in my neighbourhood. ;-) As proof of concept, if I irritate you, wouldn't it be nice if you could press a button and remove me from your world? It works very well for Facebook.
@tlfong01. Please don't misunderstand. I'm not worried about "funny comments". I try to nurture a strong, self-deprecating sense of humour. What I'm disappointed in is users coming to the forum asking for help and being treated with hostility.
@Ghanima. I feel it would be presumptious of me to expect my input would be valuable as I am a complete newcomer here. On teh other hand, if you feel it would be, I'd be happy to contribute, and would welcome your suggestions as to how to proceed. However, the fact that my question received upvotes seems to suggest a will amongst the people.
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Sorry for comming back to you that late. I don't think it is presumptions as the issue is not about the duration one is a member on this site. I will discuss the issue on how to proceed with the other moderators. Feel free to share your experience as a "newcomer" though.– Ghanima ModOct 14, 2020 at 20:18
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OK. I find I stumble upon old comments & "answers", perhaps 3 years+ old which are ..... discouraging. Clearly, there is little point in highlighting them to moderators after they have been posted so long ago. However, I find they discourage me from using the site as much as I might &, more, discourage me from asking for help from the community, for fear of condemnation for my stupidity. Ironically, those users who treat others in this way seem to not to be knowledgeable and so, to my mind, it seems preferable just to remove them from my experience. Hence my original question. Oct 22, 2020 at 15:46
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We can't do anything about sweeping generalizations except make more of them. We can do things WRT specific incidents, but those need to be indicated. However, you do need 15 rep points in order to raise such flags. Until that point, you will need to get our attention by asking a question here, but it needs to be specific, by which I mean, refer explicitly to some event.– goldilocks ModOct 25, 2020 at 19:14
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Do you have any such specific examples? I am not trying to put you on the spot, if you prefer not to do this in public I have set up a private chat room.– goldilocks ModOct 25, 2020 at 19:16
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@goldilocks. Thanks for the invite but, for just a moment, put yourself in my shoes. It feels like a low yield investment for me to spend my time pointing out ancient posts on your website to you, the managers of that website, who seem reluctant to act otherwise. I had no intent to complain, simply to ask how to block a user. It seems that that post as catalysed others to complain &, for that, I apoloise, as there seems to be little apetite for dealing with those complaints. As for my input, I feel it would be valuable to add a facility to block users. Just a suggestion. Oct 26, 2020 at 20:13