Hyderabad: Elon Musk announced that his Twitter, now christened as X, will do away with its 'Block' feature, an option which has been offering peace to many social media users who are using it to block the social media trolls and bullies from their timeline.
According to Musk, the users will still be able to block people from directly messaging them. He also did not clarify what will happen to the individuals accounts blocked by the users earlier from their timeline.
Many users in his platform pointed out that he would be violating the mandatory requirement of block feature for any social media application hosted in the Major Applications' stores - Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
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No it isn’t. The point of block is so they can’t see your posts, bio, anything. It’s extra that you don’t have to see them. Don’t assume what the issue is. Read your platform.
— Shay (@ShaylanaWalker) August 19, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">No it isn’t. The point of block is so they can’t see your posts, bio, anything. It’s extra that you don’t have to see them. Don’t assume what the issue is. Read your platform.
— Shay (@ShaylanaWalker) August 19, 2023No it isn’t. The point of block is so they can’t see your posts, bio, anything. It’s extra that you don’t have to see them. Don’t assume what the issue is. Read your platform.
— Shay (@ShaylanaWalker) August 19, 2023
Many argued that the latest decision of Musk would make it hard for users to remove abusive posts from their timeline.
How does block feature work? Currently, when an X user "blocks" an account, the App stops that individual account's posts from appearing in the user's timeline. Also the user of the blocked account will not be able to send messages to the user who blocked it and also won't be able to see the blocker's posts.
The block button is an established tool for those who feel attacked, bullied or simply want to shut out an account with whom they have a strong disagreement, BBC reported.
Who subscribed to Musk's view? Founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, was found to be full agreement with Musk's decision. In X, Dorsey posted: "100%. Mute only". Many joined the chorus with Dorsey and Musk. Most of them see it as a measure to improve Musk's X becoming an ideal "digital Town Square".
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It makes no sense
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 18, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">It makes no sense
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 18, 2023It makes no sense
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 18, 2023
Why users say mute won't work? Users expressed concerns that muting an account would not help them address the issues of harassment, abuse or stalking in the cyberspace but blocking would. The toxicity would see an upward swing, according to those who back the continuation of block feature.
At present, the mute function stops notifications about an account's posts. Also a person whose account has been muted will still be able to view the posts by the muter and will be able to reply to them as well.
An X user termed the decision as a "huge mistake" "There are "toxic people" on the platform whom users simply did not want to interact with in any way."
Why removing blocking feature is a violation of App Stores? Many users cited the mandatory requirements for any social media application to be hosted in the App Stores. It will violate the terms and conditions of Apple's App Store and Google Play Store, according to some users. These major App Stores have issued conditions stating that social media apps should provide users with facilities to filter harassment or bullying.
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Mayhem over nothing 🤣
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 18, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">Mayhem over nothing 🤣
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 18, 2023Mayhem over nothing 🤣
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 18, 2023
If these App stores takes a serious view of the decision to drop "block" feature, they could take X off their platforms and make it unavailable for downloads.
What other features can help? Even now, users have the option to make their account private. Doing so would hide their tweets from the public and would only allow accepted followers to view their posts.
One can 'Report' an account. When you report an account, X will advice you to get the particular account either blocked or muted while it investigates the alleged complaint.
