# Annoyance about the ignore feature and the OP of a thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Site Feedback\ **Created:** [October 25, 2024, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoyance-about-the-ignore-feature-and-the-op-of-a-thread/1009214 "2024-10-25T18:47:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoyance-about-the-ignore-feature-and-the-op-of-a-thread/1009214/1 "2024-10-25T18:47:11Z")
So, I have a (thankfully) short list of ignored posters. I do like the fact that I have the option to see ignored content, which I don’t take advantage of often (I’m ignoring people for a reason after all). But, sometimes it’s necessary if there is a useful discussion I want to engage in, and when I’m replying to someone’s post who is responding to someone on my ignore list, I need to see that ignored content to get the context of their post. It works well. But if there is a thread, and the OP of the thread is on my ignored list, I can’t see the content of the OP. There is no way to view it. We do not get the option to view ignored content. The only way I can see to view that content is to take that person off my ignore list, then put them back on after reading the post. I don’t understand why this is the case, and it would be great if the OP was treated like every other post in a thread by someone on my ignore list. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoyance-about-the-ignore-feature-and-the-op-of-a-thread/1009214/2 "2024-10-25T18:52:27Z")
Log out of the sdmb to read the ignored pos. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoyance-about-the-ignore-feature-and-the-op-of-a-thread/1009214/3 "2024-10-25T19:04:02Z")
That is a very helpful suggestion, truly. Thank you, that might be less disruptive than the temporary un-ignoring I’ve done. But I still don’t understand why the ignore feature behaves this way in Discourse. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoyance-about-the-ignore-feature-and-the-op-of-a-thread/1009214/4 "2024-10-25T19:21:02Z")
Faster is to hit the reply arrow to the OP, then click on the speech bubble to pull the text of the OP into the reply box. Read and then cancel. It’s a nuisance, but faster than logging out/in. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoyance-about-the-ignore-feature-and-the-op-of-a-thread/1009214/5 "2024-10-25T19:23:49Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Faster is to hit the reply arrow to the OP, then click on the speech bubble to pull the text of the OP into the reply box. Wow, I did not realize that works. That is a cool trick. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoyance-about-the-ignore-feature-and-the-op-of-a-thread/1009214/6 "2024-10-25T20:06:13Z")
That’s what I do too when I’m logged in, use the quote bubble to read the op. Then delete. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoyance-about-the-ignore-feature-and-the-op-of-a-thread/1009214/7 "2024-10-25T20:41:23Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > But I still don’t understand why the ignore feature behaves this way in Discourse. You would have to ask the authors of rhe software, who aren’t here. > **[Discourse Meta](https://meta.discourse.org/)** > > Learn about and discuss Discourse, the next-generation open-source forum software. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoyance-about-the-ignore-feature-and-the-op-of-a-thread/1009214/8 "2024-10-25T20:43:22Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > You would have to ask the authors of rhe software, who aren’t here. This is specifically the forum to ask questions for the authors of the software, or at least @codinghorror. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoyance-about-the-ignore-feature-and-the-op-of-a-thread/1009214/9 "2024-10-25T20:44:05Z")
I just open another browser on my PC and read the SDMB post there. I am not logged in using another browser and this is easy to do. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoyance-about-the-ignore-feature-and-the-op-of-a-thread/1009214/10 "2024-10-25T20:44:30Z")
They don’t seem to come around here any more. But you’ve invoked them. Maybe they’ll answer the summons. > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I just open another browser on my PC and read the SDMB post there. In your place, I would probably open an incognito tab in the same browser. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoyance-about-the-ignore-feature-and-the-op-of-a-thread/1009214/11 "2024-10-25T20:45:25Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Maybe they’ll answer the summons. Maybe! 🥹 ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoyance-about-the-ignore-feature-and-the-op-of-a-thread/1009214/12 "2024-10-25T20:48:19Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > In your place, I would probably open an incognito tab in the same browser. That’d work too. I often forget about incognito mode. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoyance-about-the-ignore-feature-and-the-op-of-a-thread/1009214/13 "2025-12-13T21:19:26Z")
I hope I am not off-topic here to ask how the ignore function works on the new system? What is the proper incantation? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoyance-about-the-ignore-feature-and-the-op-of-a-thread/1009214/14 "2025-12-13T21:34:17Z")
Go to your profile page. Choose the [Preferences] item from the upper primary menu line. Then [users] off the lower secondary menu line. There’s both mute and ignore which are different but the labeling explains it well enough. There’s an option to have your choices expire after various time intervals. Leave that blank to mean “forever until I come back to change it”. That’s not explained real well onscreen.