# Why put another poster on one’s “ignore” list? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 8, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086 "2005-11-08T19:16:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![drmark2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@drmark2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drmark2000)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086/161 "2005-11-12T20:17:19Z")
> [@Giant\_Spongess](#): > > I’m afraid I can’t–I wouldn’t want you to project your own opinions on my words. Oh, I see. But how come? ---
**Author:** ![drmark2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@drmark2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drmark2000)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086/162 "2005-11-12T20:37:56Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Well, I knew he was an odious smarmy bastard, but I didn’t know just how odious. Again with the “smarmy.” Well, overuse it all you want, presumably for lack of much other vocabulary. “Odious” is an interesting addition, though, a wrod associated with hatred in all of its many forms. I realize that you are applying the word to me and my utterances. Do you ever wonder why you would choose to use such word, in any context, in the first place? > [@FinnAgain](#): > > My spideysense must need a tuneup. Too easy. Loft me a nice, easy pitch and I’m likely to take a swing. But this one’s just too easy. > [@FinnAgain](#): > > On your point about psych 101 students; I’ve had the urge to ask the OP how often he gets punched in the mouth on a weekly basis. Ah well, the world will never know. I’d say you’re treading on thin ice, here, as to appropriate content for any of these boards. And not to compare myself with Benjamin Franklin, or anything, but how long do you think it would take him to get punched in the mouth, in the presence of yourself and other people you know? Those many aphorisms from Poor Richard’s Almanack generally make great sense, but few really want to hear them. Especially if they make sense. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086/163 "2005-11-12T20:45:08Z")
> [@The Flying Dutchman](#): > > I want everyone to know that you are not on my ignore list. Mind you considering that my time is quite valuable to me, I might ignore your thread because the topic does not interest me. > > I just cannot fathom why some posters upset people so, when there is nothing personal between the upset poster and the object of his/her impatience. Idiots are all around us and in real life we learn to deal with them without killing them. Fortunately this board seems quite successful in weeding them out. He’s far from being on my ignore list either. Given how little I use that feature, what I’ve figured would be more useful is something like a ‘User Profile’, but one _you_ fill out on other people. Then I would be able to jot down a short note of my impressions of posters, for context later. [ul] [li]‘Knows electronics’[/li][li]‘Smarmy Bastard’[/li][li]‘Has sex with sheep’[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![drmark2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@drmark2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drmark2000)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086/164 "2005-11-12T21:21:48Z")
> [@Nanoda](#): > > …what I’ve figured would be more useful is something like a ‘User Profile’, but one _you_ fill out on other people. Then I would be able to jot down a short note of my impressions of posters, for context later. You know, I like the idea. Closely examine your thoughts and consider if you really like the idea, too. Careful. [QUOTE=Nanoda] [li]‘Knows electronics’[/li][/QUOTE] If this in any way in reference to me, I stated that I had “learned some carpentry.” Different in about every respect from “knows electronics.” Do you read? [QUOTE=Nanoda] [li]‘Smarmy Bastard’[/li][/QUOTE] Oy, de shmarmy it is again! And, my parents were married when I was born. Still, I think it is cruel in this day and age to to use such a term as “bastard” when plenty of ably-contributing members of society were born of parents out of wedlock. It’s just mean. [QUOTE=Nanoda] [li]‘Has sex with sheep’[/li][/QUOTE] This is a curious leap of reasoning. What does it say about you, and what you like? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086/165 "2005-11-12T21:31:44Z")
> [@drmark2000](#): > > This is a curious leap of reasoning. What does it say about you, and what you like? What it says about you is that you don’t know the board as well as your alleged omnivorous intake of opinion would otherwise indicate. Not all those notes were about you. Delusions of grandeur? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086/166 "2005-11-13T02:02:31Z")
165 posts and it’s dawned on me that **drmark2000** ’s arguments have missed one key part of the ignore list. If I were to put, say, **drmark2000** on that list, I’d wouldn’t see his words when he posts them but I would when they are quoted. It’s not like ignoring someone is on the level of wishing that someone’s words into the cornfield. ---
**Author:** ![drmark2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@drmark2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drmark2000)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086/167 "2005-11-13T02:24:07Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > What it says about you is that you don’t know the board as well as your alleged omnivorous intake of opinion would otherwise indicate. Not all those notes were about you. Delusions of grandeur? Oh, hardly. At least one of those allusions was aimed at me, and I acknowledged that another might not be. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086/168 "2005-11-13T14:45:17Z")
> [@drmark2000](#): > > Oh, hardly. At least one of those allusions was aimed at me, and I acknowledged that another might not be. [So what about this?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6791779&postcount=10) ---
**Author:** ![drmark2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@drmark2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drmark2000)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086/169 "2005-11-13T16:23:38Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > [So what about this?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6791779&postcount=10) So what about it? State your point! What is it? Assuming that your account is accurate, or that it even ever happened, the psychologist was saying something along the lines of, “I can’t speculate on the unlikeliness of such a thing.“ If again, your account is true, then it came out in a way that could be read as comical, if any comedy can be derived from a sex abuse case. My guess is you’ve never been required to appear on the stand, as an expert in anything, at any rate. ---
**Author:** ![drmark2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@drmark2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drmark2000)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086/170 "2005-11-13T16:40:26Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > 165 posts and it’s dawned on me that **drmark2000** ’s arguments have missed one key part of the ignore list. If I were to put, say, **drmark2000** on that list, I’d wouldn’t see his words when he posts them but I would when they are quoted. It’s not like ignoring someone is on the level of wishing that someone’s words into the cornfield. You wouldn’t see the words unless you chose the “view it anyway” option, which has already been pointed out. But you would see that I, or anyone on your ignore list, had posted. I’ve already acknowledged that this is a significant feature of which I was previously unaware. And, of course, you would see an ignored poster quoted in others’ posts. No option to eliminate that, as yet. But I appreciate the allusion to “It’s a _Good_ Life,” by Jerome Bixby, 1953, later dramatized in a memorable episode of The Twilight Zone. No, we can’t wish each others’ posts “into the cornfield.” I still question the desire to wish anyone’s thoughts even partially away. ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086/171 "2005-11-15T01:06:11Z")
Good gods! I automatically subscribe to threads because I like to check back when I post and I come back to find that the OP has smeared feces all over his own thread. I had no idea this would turn into such a trainwreck. For the record, while I still haven’t found much use for the “Ignore List” feature, I will almost certainly be skipping any further posts by **drmark2000**. I’ve seen enough in this thread alone to convince me that he has very little to say that I would find worthwhile reading. I doubt it would be worth my time to ferret out any useful information from the trash. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086/172 "2005-11-15T01:28:04Z")
> [@drmark2000](#): > > And, of course, you would see an ignored poster quoted in others’ posts. If the ignored poster said something important enough for someone else to quote, don’t you think that takes away from your missing out on information argument? > [@](#): > > _No, we can’t wish each others’ posts “into the cornfield.” I still question the desire to wish anyone’s thoughts even partially away._ Given that the words are still there to read at one’s desire, what’s the problem? ---
**Author:** ![drmark2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@drmark2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drmark2000)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086/173 "2005-11-15T06:02:37Z")
> [@Sleel](#): > > Good gods! I automatically subscribe to threads because I like to check back when I post and I come back to find that the OP has smeared feces all over his own thread. Feces? Ah, again, examine your own vocabulary. > [@Sleel](#): > > I had no idea this would turn into such a trainwreck. Careful not to mix your metaphors in the same paragraph. Bad form! Well, people in a trainwreck, or who believe that they have been in one, might just shit their pants; I’ll give you that much. > [@Sleel](#): > > For the record, while I still haven’t found much use for the “Ignore List” feature, I will almost certainly be skipping any further posts by **drmark2000**. I’ve seen enough in this thread alone to convince me that he has very little to say that I would find worthwhile reading. I doubt it would be worth my time to ferret out any useful information from the trash. If you are saying that there is, in your estimation, any “useful information“ included in what you otherwise deem as “trash,” then you are proving my point. I find my own perusals through these boards like grinding through thousands of tons of ore to derive a button-sized amount of gold. This is what we must each devote ourselves to, boy. It’s all pretty subjective, but we must devote ourselves to the effort. ---
**Author:** ![drmark2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@drmark2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drmark2000)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086/174 "2005-11-15T06:06:08Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > If the ignored poster said something important enough for someone else to quote, don’t you think that takes away from your missing out on information argument?Given that the words are still there to read at one’s desire, what’s the problem? The point is to cull all the information available as it becomes available, not just that which some other poster may deem quotable. The ignore feature delays this process, to the detriment of one’s own understanding. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086/175 "2005-11-16T02:48:41Z")
> [@drmark2000](#): > > The point is to cull all the information available as it becomes available, not just that which some other poster may deem quotable. The ignore feature delays this process, to the detriment of one’s own understanding. So? Of all the thousands of subscribed members, and who knows how many guests, what are the chances of _nobody_ making the same point as someone on an ignore list? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086/176 "2005-11-16T03:07:05Z")
> [@drmark2000](#): > > If you are saying that there is, in your estimation, any “useful information“ included in what you otherwise deem as “trash,” then you are proving my point. I find my own perusals through these boards like grinding through thousands of tons of ore to derive a button-sized amount of gold. This is what we must each devote ourselves to, boy. It’s all pretty subjective, but we must devote ourselves to the effort. Some of us find that there are a few out there whose signal to noise ratio is so low that it makes trying to find that signal an exercise in futility and decide not to bother, at least temporarily. These people likely don’t care that they’re missing out on information because there is so little identifiable information there to begin with. That’s where quotes come in–someone else found a nugget of information in the noise. Go, find your gold nuggets and don’t bother those who think certain veins have been played out. They’re not you. Deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![drmark2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@drmark2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drmark2000)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086/177 "2005-11-16T15:45:05Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > Some of us find that there are a few out there whose signal to noise ratio is so low that it makes trying to find that signal an exercise in futility and decide not to bother, at least temporarily. The entire concept of a “signal to noise ratio” is a judgement call in this context, an unnecessary and lame rationale for personal prejudice. To summarily decree any aspect of our interactions an “exercise in futility“ speaks only one’s own limitations, whether manifesting temporarily or permanently. I don’t read every post word-for-word. It’s not that I don’t want to; I do. But doing so is just impractical (I’m one of those people who needs to make a living), so I engage reluctantly in some skimming. I’ll venture a guess that everyone here engages in some degree of skimming posts. That’s different than deliberately ignoring another poster. I never have, and I can’t see that I ever will. Why would I? > [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > These people likely don’t care that they’re missing out on information because there is so little identifiable information there to begin with. That’s where quotes come in–someone else found a nugget of information in the noise. “…so little identifiable information there to begin with…” is again a judgement call, and again reflective of one’s own limitations. How can you possibly know how much information is present from a source you deliberately refuse to investigate? Relying on other posters to provide you with quotes you might find worthwhile is like treating the other posters as employees, and unpaid at that. > [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > Go, find your gold nuggets and don’t bother those who think certain veins have been played out. They’re not you. Deal with it. Now, let’s not take a metaphor further than it will comfortably go. Metaphors are metaphors, and not to be taken literally. Of course I know that other posters are “not [me].” I think that pretty much goes without saying. I’m not them, either. As for “[dealing] with it,” I am. We all are. Right here, right now. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086/178 "2005-11-16T16:37:19Z")
Thus far I’ve seen only a few limitations posted in this thread. **drmark2000** is unable to make a statement that does not make him sound like a condescending prick of the highest order. **drmark2000** is unable to comprehend that views that are not his own can be of equal weight, or that equally intelligent posters might parse information differently. Lastly, **drmark2000** is woefully unable to pull his head out of his ass; rather each attempt more firmly lodges his cranium in his rectum. Fortunately for the SDMB community, these limitations are mostly limited to this thread, and are not shared through multiple posts in multiple threads. Thank Og for small favors. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086/179 "2005-11-16T16:40:44Z")
> [@drmark2000](#): > > To summarily decree any aspect of our interactions an “exercise in futility“ speaks only one’s own limitations I’ll freely admit to my own limitations. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086/180 "2005-11-16T23:45:45Z")
> [@drmark2000](#): > > I don’t read every post word-for-word. It’s not that I don’t want to; I do. But doing so is just impractical (I’m one of those people who needs to make a living), so I engage reluctantly in some skimming. I’ll venture a guess that everyone here engages in some degree of skimming posts. That’s different than deliberately ignoring another poster. It’s not that much different. Putting someone on ignore results in their posts always being skimmed until they’re taken off ignore or if one decides to look at their posts anyway. > [@](#): > > _How can you possibly know how much information is present from a source you deliberately refuse to investigate?_ The source _was_ investigated to the point that they were deemed as providing so little useful information that they’re better off being ignored. I doubt anyone has ever been or ever will be put on an ignore list without several of their posts being read by the person that put them on ignore. I do agree with you to a point. As I said earlier, those who use the ignore list should check on the ones they ignore from time to time to see if they’ve improved or possibly should not have been put on the list in the first place. > [@](#): > > _Of course I know that other posters are “not [me].” I think that pretty much goes without saying. I’m not them, either. As for “[dealing] with it,” I am._ No, you’re not. If you were, you wouldn’t be telling us what we must each devote ourselves to, boy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-another-poster-on-one-s-ignore-list/330086.md?page=10)