#blocking culture

[black-quadrant]

I think a good way to approach being blocked if you have RSD or struggle with self esteem is to sincerely ask yourself, "do i really want to interact with them? would having them in my life improve it? did we really have that much in common to feel a legitimate loss? will i still care about this in a year?”

[a-wild-torterra]

Love blocking culture on here because it’s always like one of 4 things

1. They’re racist, homophobic, a pedo, etc.

2. Based purely off of vibes

3. As a joke between gimmicks (like the moon blocking the sun during an eclipse)

4. Porn bot

[thingsisaidweredumb]

If your only conflict resolution tactic is to block people, you are destroying your ability to resolve conflicts. i’m literally not sorry but that shouldn’t be controversial. 

it’s not healthier or “self care” to block every opinion you disagree with. what’s healthy and self care is learning how to see opinions you disagree with and not engage, just scroll past. if you can’t do that... you need to work on yourself. and like.........end of story like i’m not sorry. it is okay that someone has a differing opinion that doesn’t make them a bad person or somehow a “toxic” invasion to your “safe online space.” 

[wildlyunlikelybabe]

A lot of yall

Are so used to giving away your emotional labor yall wanna gaslight others over 'cutting people off' and blocking everybody but like.....thats why those features of life are there. So you don't have to see people you don't wanna see anymore. You don't HAVE to talk to somebody you don't wanna talk to anymore. You don't owe anybody who was bad for your mental a f-cking explanation. You don't owe anyone who was abusive a chance to 'explain'. It doesnt make you immature; it makes you smart! And in the business of taking care of y o u which should ALWAYS be your first priority. Tldr; im tired of the 'youre immature for not sticking around with people who make your life miserable' You arent.

[thingsisaidweredumb]

I really love your addition on that post about internet soft skills!!! What a great point about avoidance. The soft skills to develop are tolerance for discomfort and imo also learning how to recognize/distinguish danger from discomfort. And, how to apply your values to how you show up online. Like different situations are different but for someone who hasn’t learned these soft skills, someone being short and someone using threats/slurs (for example) result in the same avoidance behavior. And everyone’s safety looks different too. If you’re someone with specific triggers, it could be a safety thing to block anyone who engages in a certain topic, but the soft skill in that case would be about knowing your personal boundaries and accepting that other people are Allowed to have different boundaries.

I also think the block on sight Norm is indicative of our culture’s obsession with Dissapearing people and it ties into the way we treat unhoused folks and anyone with a criminal record. If we can’t practice our values of Abolition in online spaces, how can we hope to practice them in the real world? And of course, not everyone shares that value, so the soft skills mentioned in this post come in- how do we accept that there’s people out there who view the world differently and how do we adjust our online behavior accordingly?

Thank you so much! I have talked a lot about this over the years and sometimes I feel like I'm just yelling out into the void cause no one's listening... but it's one of those things where I really wish people could step back and see the bigger picture. I really think people think they're doing something with this misuse of block that they're really not. Like I actually think people want a mute feature so fucking badly. And because we don't have a mute feature, people make posts all over the place encouraging others to let go of any anxiety they have about using the block feature as if it is a mute feature. And they applaud themselves for their dedication to themselves and their health and security so they feel righteous in it. But all it does is actually ignore that there's a need of this userbase that is not being met by the functionality of the website.

And really, I think the fact there's a need for posts to encourage others to use block so liberally proves my point here. And it's really sad because the people who participate in this often think that pointing this out is proof that they're right and anyone who disagrees with them is really Fundamentally Unsafe, but I think we should all take a second to unlearn this idea that there is a possibility for anyone to be Fundamentally Unsafe on the basis of one thing about them. And this idea forces people to lean into that feeling... all those posts that encourage people acknowledge that it doesn't feel good to block someone who has never hurt you. These posts acknowledge that it feels mean to do that until you get used to it and then it doesn't feel like a big deal anymore. And they use that to say "so see, it's not a big deal!" And that's just not a sound argument to me. But also, they never acknowledge that what they're saying is not what the block function is for or even what it does. The block function doesn't keep you from never seeing annoying people's posts. it doesn't make it so annoying people can't see your posts. it doesn't make it so that they can't see your blog if you have off dash on. Block was created for violence and harassment. I just checked, that's not mentioned on tumblr's page for it anymore. What blocking does isn't stop you from seeing them or stop them from seeing you. You stop you from seeing them by filtering their url. You do not have a way to stop them from seeing you. What blocking does is limit their ability to contact you. And that's very very very different. The implications are different. And i think that's importab because I think these posts specifically encourage people to stop trying to differentiate between "uncomfortable" and "unsafe" and they tell people that functionally the block is how we deal with both of these things, so it doesn't matter which one it is, but if we did differentiate, we'd be able to address "uncomfortable" a lot better!

Like I just think it's so fucking silly that in 2026, I know there are posts that I can't reblog because I didn't like when Taylor Swift dated a man her fandom won't even mention by name anymore over 10 years ago. These people functionally decided that I was irredeemably not knowable in 2015. and I'm sure if they scrolled through their blocklist they'd have no idea what I did. And if they learned of what I did they'd be like "oh lol unblock hahaha" And yet... They have no idea the full implications of that decision when they made it, they hadn't thought it through. And anyone who said "before you block someone for fandom drama, keep a list so you can unblock them when that fandom drama becomes irrelevant" would be seen as "toxic" by "refusing you your right to your own curated space" as they were directly encouraged not to think about the implications of that. And how are we not seeing the social harm in encouraging each other to not think of the implications of punitive action against one another???? That's the part I don't get. How is it that it's such an unpopular thing to say? I feel crazy sometimes.

It also encourages people to overreact to things that are different. Once I was blocked by a birdwatching blog and I was so confused. I sent them a message from my backup account and asked them what I did because I was just trying to reblog their picture of a bird and I was so confused. They said I had liked a post of theirs because someone I followed had recently followed them and started reblogging their stuff and they clicked on my block and saw One Direction and assumed I was a bot or a troll and so they blocked me cause they thought that was weird cause my blog had nothing to do with birds. And I was like "my blog is a collection of things I like, which includes both One Direction and pretty pictures of birds" and they were like "oh sorry!" unblocked and then I followed them for years until they went inactive. You see someone who likes different music from you think "this has nothing to do with me, must be a bad actor" rather than "this person with a music taste that is different from me likes my thing!"

It's not sustainable. Everyone talks about how bad it is reblogs are dying, but the most engaged userbase has been here for 10+ years. We all know how frustrating it is to try to reblog something and you're blocked by the OP for a reason you can't figure out. Maybe this is a part of it? Maybe randomly telling each other for the past 12ish idk when blocking was introduced yeas that we all hate each other and will block anyone like it means nothing is a part of that?

I think a mute feature, a social emphasis on "just keep scrolling," and a social emphasis on accountability would be how we learn those soft skills. Not everyone is going to share the values of "just keep scrolling" and accountability, but if we make them social norms, it will become easier for people to access these skills. Like I said, the way things are currently working discourage the skills needed to tell the difference between "unsafe" and "uncomfortable." Thus, I think people want to live more harmoniously. My hot take on the whole "born good/bad/blank slate" thing is that people have a desire for harmonious and easy cooperation. If instead of shutting down that desire, we leaned into it, I think we'd find a lot more cooperation than we think we'll find. There's a post from many years ago about how the best financial advice someone could give someone who's struggling is to ask questions. If you call a billing line and ask them if there's anything they can do, even though you read on the website that there isn't, sometimes they can work with you. People want to help you. If there's not there's not, but sometimes, there is. And you never know if you don't ask! We need to take this approach with each other, socially. Did that person mean the implications you read from that post? You'll never know if you don't ask them. Did that person know the way they came off was rude? You'll never know if you don't allow them the opportunity to acknowledge and correct. Leaning into curiosity will go a long way, and I think it would be so easy if everyone stopped begging each other not to think about it.

[thingsisaidweredumb]

blocking on this website is so funny and i'm thinking about it again

how many people do you think still have me blocked because i didn't like calvin harris? or because of the tstz garbage (and with this one, how many still go around saying that once i told them they couldn't have friends lol)? it's so funny cause every fandom fight you ever had follows you years after the public opinion sways in your favor

[firespirited]

Tumblr's culture on blocking is a little weird to me still. Blocking is a forever ban on interaction so I don't use it for just anyone.

There are a few posters on this website that are kinda aggro and tend to annoy me, they just get the content mute warning so I can see it if it's a post a mutual agreed with. Because yeah some people have good original idea posts but also reply to everyone like a once beaten cornered dog. Trauma makes us all defensive.

There are a bunch of kinks like forcefem or aesthetics like nymphette or thinspo that are a little squicky: that's content mute not block. You never know, they might also like dolls and film reviews.

So the actual blocklist is half rednames, half people who use the doll tag for ddlg cnc/hypno because that crosses beyond personal squick and into what's currently known as consensual non consent but isn't being practiced with the careful scripting and boundaries of BDSM (let alone any concern about tagging it so us non consenters to cnc can mute it).

A final 1% of right wingers who hate anyone not like them - you really wonder what they're doing on tumblr aside from getting angry at everything they see!

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I used to have a fairly strict policy about blocking antisemitism but had to drop that last November in favour of content muting all Palestinian genocide content. (aswell as moving any actions offline and getting news from objective news sites - sadly the guardian is still fencesitting).

After getting into an argument about antisemitism a few years ago, I kept a grudge... With myself. And have spent the time since educating myself on the subtler forms and regional variations. As you can guess, it's been a trip since October, really tough seeing nasty habits form in people I respected. Some of them don't know how to be normal about muslims either so that's going to be interesting if they ever do venture into a real life protest.

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Anti-pro-ship stuff gets content muted because it seems like a lot of intense drama. My belief for art is Lolita can't be banned for tweens, i'd only read a small amount (while bored at someone's house visiting with my parents), and while it was horrifying, it helped me identify that I was in danger from an adult later. My parents had given me the full biology lessons and never broached consent beyond 'people can't touch or see your privates unless you say yes' and not adults you trust getting a little too affectionate.

I don't mind pros, antis or anti-antis engaging with my blog so no reason to block. Unless they do callouts based on really tenuous guilt by association that's just gossip mongering and bullying tbh.

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So I think I'm blocked by at least 3 dollblr folks and part of me wonders if I've accidentally said something racist or otherwise bigoted or maybe thoughtless. Maybe they just don't like my dollblr posts, they aren't exactly polished and used to mix doll stuff with tv and personal stuff. Wish blocks came with a reason.

You folks would let me know if I've messed up right?

[train-pirate]

Not trying to get dragged into this fandom drama, but I do just wanna throw it out there that people use tumblr's features differently and that's okay!

Other users won't necessarily use tags or the block button in the exact same way that you do.

If someone doesn't tag their content in a way that you like... Well, it's their blog. They can post and tag as they like, and you can unfollow them if you don't like what you're seeing.

Some people use the block button very liberally, and others barely touch it. You can block someone from your blog for any reason you like, and that's okay. This also means that, if someone blocks you, they may not have blocked you for the same reasons that you would block someone.

You do not owe someone an explanation for why you're blocking them. We're here to have fun! No one is under any obligation to spend their free time negotiating with strangers on the internet. It is perfectly okay to block someone for any reason. It is also perfectly okay to politely discuss any issues with them if you both want to.

On the flip side, this also means that you are not owed an explanation for why you were blocked. It can be very frustrating to not know "why" you were blocked! But if someone doesn't want to discuss why they blocked you, that's okay. Just carry on enjoying the blogs that are happy to have you around.