Za-Chary wrote:

I know blocking users is rejected, but this could be a potential solution. Please read the entire post before responding, I'm curious to see what people think of this.

Sometimes, a Scratcher might want to block another Scratcher so that they won't see any comments or projects from them. Such an account might be a spam account that sends chain messages, or a Scratcher that chooses to insult people for no real reason.

Blocking users is a way that Scratchers think could immediately solve the problem — no one will get offended if they can't see the comment. Rather than the report system, which could take some time, the block system would take effect immediately for a quicker result.

Of course, we all know that blocking users is a rejected suggestion for the following reason:

Rejected Suggestions wrote:

7.6 Blocking users
This feature existed in Scratch 1.4, but the Scratch Team found out that it buried the problem rather than solve it. Even if you block a user, that does not stop the user from harassing other Scratchers. If you are having a problem with a user, be sure to report that user with the Report button, or use Contact Us if the situation requires more explanation.

I understand why this was rejected. If you block a user, that doesn't stop them from harassing other users. The Scratch Team is usually pretty good with reports anyway, so if you report multiple disrespectful comments, the Scratch Team will surely look at it.

To enable blocking, I have thought of the following solution: Implement a “Block & Report” system.

Whenever you try to report or delete a comment, a pop-up appears that says “Are you sure you want to report/delete this comment?” It then gives you the option to cancel, report, or delete. I think it could also give an option to “block and report”. This would allow users to block another user, while simultaneously sending a report to the Scratch Team about the comment.

Reasons Why This is a Good Idea

1. It would allow users to block a user so that they no longer receive messages about a certain user's comments, and also will not let them see what the comments are. This way, no one will be offended or scared of another Scratcher, if deemed to be a “scary” Scratcher.
   
   
2. It would not really bury the problem, because it would also send a report to the Scratch Team. This way the Scratch Team will be notified of any disrespectful comments. The system would act similarly to the report system in that, if too many “block-reports” are sent without a good reason, the user who sent the block-report might get an alert.
   
   
3. This would not replace the current report system, or “Contact Us”. That is, Scratchers could still use “Contact Us” to explain further the situation, and they can still report comments without blocking the user. The block-report system would simply be an alternative option to reports, to allow for additional safety/security measures.
   

Reasons Why This Might NOT be a Good Idea

1. If this doesn't replace the report system, then why would the report system need to stay at all? That is, if a user wants to report another user, wouldn't they also want to block them instead for further security? Perhaps the report button would not be used as much as the block-report system.
   
   
2. It could easily be abused. Of course, so could the current report system, so that might not be a huge problem. Some users, however, might not realize that they are reporting the user when they block them — they just see the word “block” and think, “okay!” This could lead to false reports, and users might get alerted from a misunderstanding.
   
   
3. There might be other reasons why a user would want to block another user, without reporting them. Of course, the only way to block a user under this system would be to simultaneously send a report, so there would be no way to block a user without reporting them.
   

I feel like this is too easy of a solution, though — something tells me that there is more of a reason that this suggestion was rejected in the first place. Does anyone have any ideas? If the only problem was that it “buried the problem”, then I think sending a report would solve that problem, while still allowing users to block other users. Perhaps there was something else that led to the removal of the blocking system.

Anyone think this might be an idea worth implementing?

whystopmiyoucant wrote:

its worth it but you should be able to do one without doing the other. It should other option not an extra

cake__5 wrote:

i already hate blocking on most websites, and making it easily accesible and merged with the report feature, which miserable wastes of oxygen use to get my friends banned for funni stuff, will make false reporting even more common, hate-reporting will become a thing, and the ST will get flooded with reports, incentivising them to either remove the feature or use AI to moderate, and if they choose the latter, then the only people left will be the miserable oxygen-wasters and the occasional respected new scratcher, causing scratch to become a barren wasteland and the ST left wondering why they ever let an AI moderate.

the point im tryna make here is, block-reporting has no support from me. good day

epicdude512 wrote:

cake__5 wrote:

i already hate blocking on most websites, and making it easily accesible and merged with the report feature, which miserable wastes of oxygen use to get my friends banned for funni stuff, will make false reporting even more common, hate-reporting will become a thing, and the ST will get flooded with reports, incentivising them to either remove the feature or use AI to moderate, and if they choose the latter, then the only people left will be the miserable oxygen-wasters and the occasional respected new scratcher, causing scratch to become a barren wasteland and the ST left wondering why they ever let an AI moderate.

the point im tryna make here is, block-reporting has no support from me. good day

I dont know how many times we need to say it but, please just read the essay, its not long

https://en.scratch-wiki.info/wiki/User:Jvvg/Essays/Misconceptions_about_false_reporting

epicdude512 wrote:

whystopmiyoucant wrote:

its worth it but you should be able to do one without doing the other. It should other option not an extra

There is a reason why its not seperated. Blocking the user still allows them to do the same thing to other scratchers. doing both means you not only get the person on scratch teams radar so they can take action. but also dont have to see thier posts, its a win win for block and report.

cake__5 wrote:

i already hate blocking on most websites

cake__5 wrote:

and making it easily accesible and merged with the report feature, which miserable wastes of oxygen

cake__5 wrote:

use to get my friends banned for funni stuff

cake__5 wrote:

hate-reporting will become a thing

cake__5 wrote:

and the ST will get flooded with reports

cake__5 wrote:

use AI to moderate

Olimon7661 wrote:

No support. If someone bullies me on another site and I can't send ST evidence through reporting, what do I do?

Olimon7661 wrote:

No support. If someone bullies me on another site and I can't send ST evidence through reporting, what do I do?

-glass_ wrote:

3 if ST doesn't see a problem the user will be unblocked

Boss_1s wrote:

-glass_ wrote:

3 if ST doesn't see a problem the user will be unblocked

They dont have the time and resources to mod every block

I would exclude this

SockAlternative wrote:

(#658)

Boss_1s wrote:

-glass_ wrote:

3 if ST doesn't see a problem the user will be unblocked

They dont have the time and resources to mod every block

I would exclude this

If we exclude that, then people would just use this to block people by false reporting. It wouldn't need to be a mod, it could just automatically unblock if an st member doesn't see anything wrong with what was reported.

lapisi wrote:

the ST shouldn't automatically unblock someone if they don't think the reason is good enough, it could be a deep personal issue that's barely noticeable on Scratch but is extremely obvious elsewhere, like for example if someone harassed a user off site and then acted normal here as a subtle way to continue the harassment without getting in trouble