See, and here you are, thinking I'm hostile. I'm not. I'm tired of the entitlement. We're all tired of the entitlement. There was a user on here that I didn't get along with. We were both strong personalities. Lots of people followed us both. We'd tried, on at least two occasions, to work through our differences and failed. We were better off not interacting with each other, despite the fact that we often posted similar content. And so it was, in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

But then 2015 came around and the newbies hounded her off. She deleted her account this time because we gained enough assholes that she couldn't hang. She didn't feel commenting in other people's posts because she got hounded. So she's gone now, and Hubski is lesser for it.

You talk about my "ideal" use of the mute function. Isn't "ideal" what we should all strive for? Shouldn't the design of the site encourage "ideal" use? 'cuz see, we didn't have "block" until _wage was gone because the rest of us were able to use the tools available to maintain a civil discourse. It wasn't until the propagation of bad actors required stricter personal moderation tools.

You're right. It's not about you. But you posted the thread, so you will be used as an example. If you don't care that much, why all the soul-searching? If not everyone is that thoughtful or discerning, why do you care who they mute or don't?

Li'l secret: If Alfred has Bob muted but not Charlie, and Charlie really wants Bob's opinion on Alfred's post, Charlie can shout-out Bob and Bob will be able to reply to Charlie. This has two effects: the first of which, if Alfred really hates Bob, he might start muting Charlie. But if Alfred respects Charlie, he'll either let it slide or maybe even reconsider muting. Hey - he might even PM Charlie and Bob together so they can work their shit out. You can google "hubski muting" and see all this. It's not like zero thought has been put into the functionality, and it's not like your objections are new. The fact of the matter is, the system as it stands has evolved to reflect the interests and intent of the people who use it the most.

Hubski is not based around subjects. At one point, mk actually got rid of tags, making it entirely about people. It was an experiment, and it was a failure, but it definitely demonstrated where the focus lies. Hubski is about people, and regardless of how knowledgeable two people are, if they can't get along they're not going to add anything to the discussion. Case in point: I gave you a differing opinion, and you took it as a personal attack. the majority of your response is buried under hurt feelings.

That's why mute exists.