Another one I was asked a bunch in the old forum and that might come up as election season continues.
How do I ignore/mute another user?
As in the previous forum iteration, this is not a recommendation to ignore/mute someone. Decide that for yourself. However, if you want to do so, here’s how, and what happens.
1.To Ignore a User. In the new forum, you can access info and settings about Users in your preferences (click on your own avatar in the upper right, then on the little person at the bottom, then on the gear icon next to preferences).
On your preferences screen, click on the Users section. In the Users screen, you’ll see a section for Ignored and for Muted. They are slightly different.
To Ignore a user, click on the “Add+” button in the “Ignored” field, then type in the username of the person you want to ignore. Once you start typing, potential usernames will pop up and you can pick the one you want.
Then select a time frame for how long you want to place the person on Ignored. You can choose various time frames from part of a day up to forever.
Click “Ignore.” You don’t seem to need to click on Save Changes at the bottom for the Ignored status to take effect.
After whatever time frame you select is up, the user automatically comes off of Ignored status without you having to make any changes. If you want to remove someone from Ignored status earlier, you can simply click the “x” next to their name in your list of ignored users.
2.To Mute a User. The Mute function is slightly different. In the same Users section, in the Muted field, click where it says “Select…” and start typing the name of the user you want to mute. When their username populates, click on that and it’s added. You don’t get to select a time frame for Muted status. To remove someone from Muted status, click into the field with the list of names under Muted, and click on the “x” next to the username you want to remove.
3.What does Ignored mean? If you put someone on your Ignored list, they are well and truly ignored, to a much greater degree than in the previous forum structure. The Ignored function covers any messages, posts, personal messages, chat direct messages, or basically any interaction with that User.
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If they start a new thread, then you can see the thread in the main forum page, and if you open that thread, you can see a space for the opening post with the User’s info and a message that says “Ignored content”. You do not have the option to unhide that content.
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For normal posts in other threads, unlike the previous forum, you won’t see the Ignored User’s content at all. You’ll see an indication that there are hidden posts that you can open if you like, but not who posted. If you choose to unhide those hidden posts, then you can see and reply to them.
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If another user replies to or quotes your Ignored User, you won’t see any of the Ignored User’s content in that reply. All you’ll see is that someone replied to that Ignored username.
4.What does Muted mean? Muted turns off notifications, chat direct messages, and personal messages from the Muted User, but doesn’t block their content in threads, so you can still see and reply to their posts.
5.If you want the default to be that everyone can send you chat and personal messages except for a few Users, then check the block under “Messages” on the Users screen that allows that. Then you can ignore or mute specific Users as you see fit. If you want to prevent everyone from sending you chat direct messages and personal messages as a default setting, you can just make sure the box for that option is unchecked. If you want only specific users to be able to send you those messages, you can have the first block unchecked, and then check the second block that says “Only allow specific users…” and then add Users just like you did for the Muted function.
