I just had my first experience blocking an instance, and it made my realize now nice the lemmy content curation experience is vs the centralized model.
Recently I started noticing a lot of posts from that I just found annoying. There was nothing inherently wrong with them, they just came from a culture I don’t understand and so I found them cringey. Since they all came from one community, realized most of them come from the same instance. I just added that instance to my blocklist and the problem is solved!
Now think about in the centralized model. I would be forced to either just accept that these posts are in my timeline, or block each community and user individually. The instance gave me an easy way to manage my content.
I also appreciate that instances can manage the blocking for their users. So the most horrible stuff I don’t even see. But it also preserves free speech, as those users who want to say horrible things can do so in their own instance, and most people will just block it.
Anyway, just impressed again by the fediverse!
I’m a big fan of that option. Did you think I’d be against it? 🤔
Well, you seem to be upset that people are able to block entire instances. That’s just a weird stance for an anarchist to have.
Yeah because it shuts out everyone on that instance.
I’m happy this post isn’t from an instance admin, deciding that their users aren’t allowed to see ANYTHING that originated on an instance that they deem unsavory. I’m just disappointed in OP thinking that shutting all people out from a particular instance regardless of their actions is an act worthy of a victory lap, talking about how great the fediverse is for ignoring people.
Also: Just because I am an anarchist doesn’t mean I have to march in lockstep with what you expect an anarchist to do and say. This is the very crux of my point: that opinions vary wildly and shutting out your ability to even see those opinions is a negative thing for society as a whole.
On the Fediverse, no admin decides anything a user does. If you don’t like your server, you can just walk over to another one. Most software even makes account migration between servers super easy.
Or if you don’t trust admins at all—and I don’t—you can run your own server and federate with who you please.
This is not Reddit. Admins don’t hold ultimate power of what does or does not get seen. However, you do—and you can mute, block, or defederate as you see fit.
I know all of that, my friend. Not sure how it seemed like I didn’t. namaste
But it doesn’t. Unless they’ve changed the functionality in the last 3 major revisions or so, a user blocking an instance blocks all posts from that instance. Not the users or their comments on other posts.
It’s an easier way than blocking each community from that instance individually.