ATTENTION ALL MEMBERS - New Feature... Hidden Member List

Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

Help Support AutomaticWasher.org:

Status
Not open for further replies.

Unimatic1140

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 26, 2001
Messages
10,027
Location
Minneapolis
Hi Everyone, I have been asked by many members of both automaticwasher.org and Vacuumland about creating a feature where if they do not care for a particular member's posting style, the reader could somehow automatically hide all of their postings. While I suspect only a minority of users feel a need to hide or block another member on aw or Vacuumland, there will definitely be some members who will take advantage of this new feature. This new feature is available to both upgraded and non-upgraded members who are logged in.

Now this new feature is not meant to be controversial in any way, it simply is there as a convenience for logged-in members if they so choose to use it. Remember you have to be logged-in for this to work because if you log-out of your account all postings will return, there is simply no way around that. Once you log-back in those particular posting will vanish again.

So I just finished working on and installing the new "Hidden Member List" feature and here is how it works: If you go into the profile of any other member there is a new button-link labeled " Hide This Member's Posts". Once you click on that button you will add that particular member to you personal Hidden Member List and this will do the following:
#1 You wont see any threads that this particular member creates or had created in the past, they will not show up on the Thread Index pages.
#2 You wont see any posts from this member inside other members threads.
#3 If you are an upgraded member, this member wont be able to send you a message you and you won't be able to message them.


The only members you cannot hide are us administrators and of course you cannot hide your own posts.

Using this feature is very simple, if you want to hide another member posts simply go into their profile by clicking on their username:
_Hide_click_on_profile.jpg


Then near the upper right hand corner of the screen you will see an underlined link labeled "Hide This Member's Posts". Click on this link and that is it. That member is added to your Hidden Member List and now you won't see any more of their postings.
_Hide_Member.jpg


If you change your mind and want to see any member's posts who you've added to your Hidden Member List, simply click on "Update Your Profile", look for the red shaded box called Hidden Member List, and click on unhide next to the member's name who you would like to remove from your list so you can see their postings again.
_Unhide_a_Member.jpg


So this was a major code change and now I need help testing the website as there probably is going to be some bugs. If you wish to help test, click into other members profiles and hide a few people. When you return to the index lists you will see their posts have disappeared from the Index and from inside threads as well. Later on then go and edit your profile via the "Update Your Profile" link and unhide them and their posts will come back.

Everyone please let me know if you notice anything strange that could be a possible bug related to this. If this turns out to be very buggy I will pull out that code and go back to the drawing board. Hopefully the bugs will be minor.

Thanks everyone for your help. Questions/Comments? [this post was last edited: 3/21/2014-10:12]
 
In your bullet point #1 you say "you won't be able to see any new posts the person creates"

However you won't see any old ones they created either , correct?

Question: Let's say you remember a thread from some time back and want to search it out and it was created by a person now on your blocked list. It won't show up will it?
 
Thank you Pete! You are right and I changed #1 to be a little more precise, thank you for pointing that out.

#1. You wont see any threads that this particular member creates or had created in the past, they will not show up on the Thread Index pages.

And yes all posts from Hidden Members will NOT be searchable as well in the Super-Search-a-lator.
 
Hi Robert, great new feature!

I noticed it about 10 minutes before you posted this thread, but didn't try it until I read this post.

I just had 12 profiles "hidden" and then sucessfully un-hid (is that a word?) them.  No glitches here so far! 

I'll try it on the Apple products once I'm back home!

I love this site and really appreciate all of the time and hard work you put into it!!!
smiley-laughing.gif
 

Kevin
 
Gave it some tests, seems to work well so far! 

 

That would have been pretty funny if it did let you hide your own posts. haha! 
 
Robert, very nice feature imo. It might generate more inquiries about supposedly missing posts (from people who forget about their ignore lists), also users will need to be careful that they're responding to the correct (and not missing) posts in discussions. But otherwise it's great to have this ability imo and it helps minimize the administrative impact from a site's complaint bunnies.

BTW are any AW forums currently archived by Google or other search engines?
 
BTW are any AW forums currently archived by Google or other search engines
Hi Jeff, yes all of the public forums (Imperial, Deluxe, Super and Shoppers Square) are indexed by Google and other search engines.

BUT, all of the Member-Only Forums (As The Tub Turns and Dirty Laundry) search engines do not have access to scan.
 
Robert, interesting feature, I've seen it on other sites too. Not sure if I agree with it, I won't use it. I feel it takes away for the community that has been built over the years. No one has to agree with everyone, or anyone for that matter, but simply blocking them ends all conversation at that point. In all the years I've been here I can't recall any major issues that would warrant blocking a person.

If someone has an issue I would suggest discussing it, or at most not respond to a member, but that is just me.
 
Oh I sure can!

"My goodness ...

… I can't imagine why anyone would want to block another member here! "

I have no doubt quite a few would love to block me.
 
Both Ways?

If you block a member so that you cannot see their posts, are you blocked from them as well?

Malcolm
 
Bug Alert?

Robert,

 

I've noticed that when viewing "Latest Posts," there are some issues with a few ealier posts popping up in between later ones.  The out of sequence posts all appear to be in Shoppers Square.

 

XP Media Edition with Firefox here.

 

Ralph

[this post was last edited: 3/21/2014-17:43]
 
If you block a member so that you cannot see their posts, are you blocked from them as well?

No this only effects what you are seeing Malcolm, with the exception of being removed from the available list of members to email.

I've noticed that when viewing "Latest Posts," there are some issues with older posts popping up in between later ones. Mainly they're Shoppers Square posts, but not exclusively.
Hi Ralph, thank you. I do know about that and it is because a hidden member(s) on your list have replied and right now it is just keeping the list in the same time order as everyone else sees it. I would like to get that even more clean so it doesn't do that. That is something I need to work on for phase 2, hopefully next week I will get that figured out. So it will be completely invisible. Good catch, I wasn't sure if anyone would notice that.
 
Thanks Robert for implementing this feature for those who desire it. I've no doubt it will be useful during those time's where World-War 3 starts while you are away and cannot monitor the site... 

 

I almost went ahead and decided to "test" the feature - but stopped short realising everyone has an opinion, and deserve to be heard, and I had no reason to "Hide" them based upon their opinions (Those people in question did nothing to hurt me either). 

 

And Washman, count me as one of the people who don't want to block you. Both of us have opinions, and I guess they clash. Still, its nice when there is some variety in the garden, and I cannot detract from that :)
 
no worries washer111

We all have opinions. Part of what makes the world go around.

I have my powders and liquids, Frigilux has his pods.

Malcolm has a front loader, I have a TL.

Some drive a stick, others opt for automatic.

Some like FL others like TL.

Gotta run, the SQ is done and time for the SQ dryer to do diligence and give me dry clothes.
 
I didn't realize that a person you blocked could still read your postings. When you block someone on Facebook they're gone, you can't read their stuff and they can't read yours.. I think that's better personally.

Say there is someone you really want no more to do with at all and you block them.. Then you create a post and they can still respond to it and you can't see what they're saying and won't even know they are unless someone who you haven't blocked refers to them in the post.. I'd rather they not even see the post nor contribute if the feelings are that harsh. But that's just my thoughts.
 
I agree completely with the last several comments. The simple truth is, nobody would know what they believed unless others disagreed with them. These comments are made in general, and don't necessarily relate at all to AW, but having run discussion boards since the Fidonet days, typically complainers on a site are very small in number but very big on volume. A usually small but always certain percentage of users simply do not wish to have, or can't handle having their opinions challenged, and for this group the best (maybe only) option really is to squelch the offending content. If a better solution exists I'm sure site admins everywhere are all ears, but imo especially here on AW where turnover is small, the new feature will be extremely useful for an extreme minority of AW members, and the major beneficiaries of the change should be the admins.
 
Thanks, Robert, for continuing to add features to this wonderful website. Although I don't collect or restore vintage appliances, AW is my favorite internet destination. A day rarely passes without a visit or two...or ten.

But this is one feature I probably won't need to use. Having described our motley crew as family on many occasions, I can't imagine 'hiding' anyone--no matter how great our differences might be.

Case in point: I've replied in a pointed fashion to some of Matt's (NYCwriter) posts, but I've enjoyed and been influenced by his posts on organic foods. I shop the organic section of the produce aisle more often and purchase unbleached organic flour at the food co-op.

Ben (washman) and I differ philosophically, but his passion for Speed Queen washers led to one finding a home in my laundry room. While it isn't my daily driver by any stretch of the imagination, it's fun to own a truly vintage-style top-loading washer with a spin-drain.

All of us have something to offer this community, despite core differences that sometimes lead us to call each other out when necessary. Sounds like family to me.

[this post was last edited: 3/21/2014-22:04]
 
"Sounds like family to me."

And not a bad one imo. As a kid I would have killed to have this family.

I do everything possible to avoid personal attacks, and even when it looks and feels like one it's really not. I think the last time was to call out a user for untargeted negative comments, which ime is usually the major cause of erroneous hard feelings in discussion forums. Always ALWAYS address your comments specifically, and if you don't direct a public comment to anyone, you're addressing it to everyone. The world has never had a shortage of people who mistakenly take things personally and this is where problems often start.
 
Please don't feel offended Paul, this isn't blocking. Blocking means that you force another member to not see your posts. This doesn't go anywhere near as far. The way it was explained to me by a few members who were asking for this feature is they generally don't read and respond to a small minority of members. When they see a user who they don't read they scroll right on by never reading what that member wrote. Since they aren't reading it in the first place they wish we had a way of hiding those posts as a time saver. Many other major forums have this "hiding" feature in place and I figured it might be a good idea to implement something similar. Personally if I wasn't an admin this is a feature that I wouldn't use, I would feel like I'm missing something. But to each his own, after thinking about it for a while I came to the conclusion of who am I to force someone to read something they don't want to and that is when I decided to implement this feature.

Again this isn't blocking and blocking wouldn't work here anyways because as soon as you log out you see all the postings anyway.
 
Well, I haven't had any problem not reading the one or two member's comments that I wish to ignore, but then that's me. In the event I'm ever attacked again, it will come in very handy. The two people who did the most damage to me are gone, one is guaranteed to never be back, and the other is never likely, from my having seen their past entries and exits. 
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top