7 April, 2016, USA: In order to tighten up its screws and to enable its users to curb harassment, Reddit has unveiled its new blocking feature. As reported by New York Times, the tool is a new step in automating the regulation of the website’s more unruly sectors while keeping users safe.
Explaining about the new feature, Chris Slowe, Engineer, Reddit said, “Although blocking individual users from sending personal messages was available in a very basic form, the new tool functions similarly to Twitter’s block function: When you block a user, you will neither be notified of or see any content directed at you, including comments and replies. Blocks aren’t visible by the blocked, so there’s no risk of retaliation.”
“In general, we prefer to encourage the use of the downvote arrow for bad comments, and leave user-blocking for true harassment scenarios,” said company.
Compared to other social platforms like Facebook and Twitter, Reddit’s laid-back approach to conversation has developed into a precious attitude toward free speech. Of course, it’s hard to tell what a “true harassment scenario” would look like — especially considering the company itself has admitted to difficulty curbing toxic trolling on the site, reported thenextweb.
