People who are open to ideas will remain so. Someone who wants to remain ignorant of what other people have to say aren't going to change just because they don't have the option of ignoring or muting. Removing the other protective utilities of ignore/mute just for them is not a great choice, in my opinion.If a coworker says something really irritating – I can’t just mute him. Here, one can. This is a source of ongoing mild anxiety for me, as I take all sorts of positions that I know are liable to irritate people – not for the purpose of irritating them but because I believe the ideas are valid. If someone says “bad idea -- here’s why…” Bravo! A rational discourse is born! If they think “I don’t like this idea and don’t care to discuss it,” that’s ok too. At least they haven’t closed the door. If, on the other hand, they think “e.m.c. believes X so he’s an idiot I’m going to ignore,” yeah, that bothers me.