After speaking about it for greater than a 12 months, X is now shifting to dilute the account blocking performance within the app, by eradicating the block button from a number of locations.
BREAKING: X is about to take away the present block button, that means that if an account is public, their posts shall be seen to the blocked customers as properly!
— Nima Owji (@nima_owji) September 23, 2024
As outlined by app researcher Nima Owji, X is eradicating the present block choice from posts. You’ll nonetheless seemingly be capable of block somebody from their profile, however even when an account is blocked, the blocked person will nonetheless be capable of see your public posts.
Which signifies that the one strategy to keep away from having somebody see your updates is to publish privately, or to your followers solely, which might hold it from their view.
The logic right here is that anybody, blocked or not, can nonetheless view public posts anyway, in the event that they log in by way of one other account, or by way of an incognito window, so there’s no actual worth to blocking on this sense.
However there’s. Having the ability to block any individual signifies that they don’t routinely see your updates of their feed, which is usually a worthwhile deterrent for problematic customers. Customers who’ve been subjected to harassment and abuse discover nice worth on this choice, as a result of regardless that blocked customers can nonetheless change view somebody’s public updates, the truth that they’re not available is a limiting think about many circumstances.
Which is why each the App Retailer and Google Play Retailer require a blocking choice, and it does appear to be X’s makes an attempt to water down and cut back blocking may very well be in violation of those parameters.
However X proprietor Elon Musk is satisfied that blocking is a adverse component, principally due to block lists, which he believes prohibit the attain of his posts, and different profiles, within the app.
The large block lists are problematic. They mess up the advice system & create a DDoS vector.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 12, 2023
I’m unsure how block lists would “create a DDoS vector”, however basically, Elon’s been attempting to do away with blocking as a operate as a result of it limits the attain of individuals’s posts whom he thinks ought to get extra visibility.
That appears to be the primary motivation behind this transfer, and the way it’ll really work in apply just isn’t fully clear. However Elon has confirmed that blocking will nonetheless exist, it’ll simply be tougher to search out.
It appears problematic, and probably a trigger of larger points than it’s intending to repair. However once more, Elon thinks that his attain is being restricted by block lists, and that is the one manner that he can negate them. So he’s pushing ahead, seemingly in a cautious method, with the intention to meet app retailer necessities.
