# Can we discuss who's on whose Ignore lists now? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 25, 2013, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-discuss-whos-on-whose-ignore-lists-now/672201 "2013-10-25T12:52:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-discuss-whos-on-whose-ignore-lists-now/672201/21 "2013-10-26T00:38:16Z")
> [@armedmonkey](#): > > I’m not really interested, and I’ll tell you why. No matter how useless you think somebody is in a particular conversation, they can change that conversation. If you can’t roll with the punches and have to resort to using a script like that, well, you’re using a machine to purposely give you a disability- deafness. > > I’m with **Claverhouse** , here. Using an ignore list is a sign of weakness. Meh. I’m under no obligation to continue to listen to someone who has proven him- or herself unworthy of being listened to, and if there’s a script to assist with that process, so much the better. “You have to listen to every crazy, stupid, and pointless thing that every moron in the world has to say, or you’re not open-minded!” is… not a philosophy I subscribe to, let’s say. That said, I reserve my ignore list for people who IMO are flat-out crazy – like, potentially diagnosable – and incapable of being reasoned with. Three or four total over the years. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-discuss-whos-on-whose-ignore-lists-now/672201/22 "2013-10-26T01:01:49Z")
“People are more than just the way they look.” ― Madeleine L’Engle, A Wrinkle in Time ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-discuss-whos-on-whose-ignore-lists-now/672201/23 "2013-10-26T01:25:04Z")
> [@armedmonkey](#): > > “People are more than just the way they look.” > ― Madeleine L’Engle, A Wrinkle in Time Yeah, they’re the way they think and behave towards others, which is what I’m talking about, since obviously on a message board we can’t even see each other, so that quote is of entirely limited relevance. Super big props to you for referencing my user name, though! ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-discuss-whos-on-whose-ignore-lists-now/672201/24 "2013-10-26T13:27:29Z")
Having an ignore list on an _unmoderated_ forum makes a lot more sense. Back on [del]The Old Country[/del] [Usenet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet), where a lot of groups were completely unmoderated, ignore lists saved you from having to deal with posters who Just Would Not Shut Up. I don’t mean the usual unhealthy fascination some people have for certain topics, I mean a level of monomania which causes them to intrude their idiocy into threads about something else entirely. The apex of this assholery was called [Serdar Argic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serdar_Argic) (aka the [Zumabot](http://www.jaedworks.com/shoebox/zumabot.html)), a bot which would post rambling anti-Armenian diatribes denying the [Armenian Genocide](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide) whenever certain keywords came up in a post in some forums. ‘Turkey’ was one of the keywords, leading to a lot of fun around Thanksgiving. Ignore lists were the only way to avoid the Zumabot’s idiocy. Then, of course, there was the more generic [hipcrime](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipcrime_(Usenet)) crapflood shit and the less prolific but, in some forums, no less tiresome [classic Usenet kooks](http://www.crank.net/usenet.html) famed in story, song, and [net.legends FAQ](http://www.faqs.org/faqs/net-legends-faq/). Both such phenomena argue rather strongly in favor of killfiles. The utility on a moderated message board is less obvious, but some users are still tiresome enough to not be worth scrolling past yet can still remain within the rules. A killfile can still be a great convenience around here. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-discuss-whos-on-whose-ignore-lists-now/672201/25 "2013-10-26T17:56:19Z")
> [@armedmonkey](#): > > The ignore function is a set of blinders. Its main utility, as far as I can tell, is to enable a poster (in the Pit, anyway) to boast about ignoring someone. It’s a kind of nostalgic hearkening back to third grade. I was going to ignore this thread and not say anything, but I couldn’t help myself. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-discuss-whos-on-whose-ignore-lists-now/672201/26 "2013-10-29T20:48:29Z")
I’ll just pretend I didn’t read this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-discuss-whos-on-whose-ignore-lists-now/672201/27 "2013-10-31T15:35:59Z")
> [@armedmonkey](#): > > Heh, I just tried to put myself on the list and I got a message saying “We can’t help you ignore yourself.” I was tempted to try it but concerned doing so could collapse the space-time continuum. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-discuss-whos-on-whose-ignore-lists-now/672201/28 "2013-10-31T16:07:31Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > I was tempted to try it but concerned doing so could collapse the space-time continuum. It could be the cause behind Unread threads being marked Read. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-discuss-whos-on-whose-ignore-lists-now/672201/29 "2013-10-31T16:29:13Z")
I like reading the crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-discuss-whos-on-whose-ignore-lists-now/672201/30 "2013-11-01T01:23:09Z")
> [@Deaddfan](#): > > I like reading the crazy. Just don’t put your… well, you know. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-discuss-whos-on-whose-ignore-lists-now/672201.md?page=1)