Got a user you simply cannot stand? Trash talking on your posts and generally causing unnecessary unpleasantness all round? Well, forget the flags because the "mute" feature is the ultimate execution-style tool on Steemit. They are literally a button's click away to obliteration from not only your blog, but anywhere else you might have encountered them on Steemit. Useful if you've got a nuisance troll on your case. The thing is, others could still read their content on your blog and therefore still base some form of judgement upon it. Is that a bad or good thing? With that being said, Steemit Inc. conducted a poll to see what we thought of possibly introducing a feature which would mask anything that "muted" users posted on your account, away from even anybody else.
Well, as with so many things on Steemit, it has it's pros and cons. A "blanket mute" would mean our blogs can be curated according to specific requirements. So if an unscrupulous individual wanted to pepper our posts with insulting or harassing comments, direct control would be placed in our own hands to stop it from ever being seen by anyone. Pretty handy, right? But then again, what if the post itself was of a dubious nature and the good Samaritans of the platform were trying to call it out. Well, that would be quite useful to mask it from more prying eyes. Again, it comes down to the quandary of who actually "owns" comments written on a person's post. The author of the post or the commenter themselves?
Personally, I like things the way things are right now concerning the "mute" button. Because really speaking, limitation is to "us" who have a problem with a said user. Should that mean this must automatically extend to all others who visit the post? I don't think it should. As long as that user is eliminated from your experience whilst interacting with the STEEM blockchain, I reckon the intention of the act of "muting" has been fulfilled. But this is just my opinion. I do also see there may well be two sides to this matter.
I've muted a few people in the past who I felt were, let's say, not on my wavelength. Now, I have no idea if they are still curating on my posts. Surely that is enough to warrant a satisfactory result for myself, right? But some authors may feel they also claim ownership (of part ownership) of comments, based on the fact that they are made in relation to their original post. Would that make sense? Are you entitled to a say of what gets seen on your blog, regardless of who wrote it? Some may agree with this stance, which I also understand and acknowledge.
So it would be interesting to see what you guys think? Where does the line get drawn in regards to our ability to manipulate any content published on our own posts, whomever it may be? And are you happy with the "mute" feature the way it is or would you prefer a more overall aggressive approach?
@ezzy