I just noticed that I've been muted by a user. Hubski sure does make it obvious! I was somewhat shocked, though, because I've made a point of being extra polite here. Taking a quick gander at their user page I see that we probably disagree about some things politically. Other than that, I can't think of another reason.
So in all likelihood this person read something I wrote and didn't like it, so they muted me. That doesn't bother me in the least, but it hadn't even occurred to me that people would use the function that way. Now that I have reason to suspect someone does it makes me wonder how common it is and what else people use it for.
What do you use the mute function for? Have you used the mute function? Do you think the mute function should be used sparingly? Liberally? Will excessive muting lead to a chilling or splintering effect on Hubski?
Should there be some loose, unenforced guidelines about when to mute other users? A sort of generally agreed upon reasoning in order to keep the community from fragmenting? What would that look like? Should it be considered reasonable to repost a thread to the same hashtag if the previous one is submitted by a mute-happy user?
Personally, I'd never used any of the mute, hush, or user-filtering functions on Hubski until I blocked the person who muted me. Should that, by the way, be considered reasonable or poor Hubski etiquette?
How do these kinds of scenarios affect Hubski and its functioning? What happens when we have a bunch of tribally splintered groups with their own mute lists? Is that something to be avoided? Is it something that can be avoided?
I mute people who are dicks. During periods of immigrant quiet I mute people who are dicks to me in at least two rounds of discussion. During periods of immigrant noise I mute people who are dicks to others. it has nothing to do with dissenting opinion or disagreement. b_b and I often disagree. mk and I often disagree. The trick is we disagree without ad hominem attacks on each other, disparaging comments or belittling dialogue.
I unmute people who I work things out with. Something everyone fails to consider when bitching about muting is it's completely reversible. Muted? I'll bet you can figure out why. Don't want to be muted? Work it out with the person who muted you. Can't contact them? find someone who mutually follows both of you and get them to intercede. Learn to recover from your misunderstandings and the world will be a better place.
If I post content, I am 100% within my rights to keep the discussion of that content dick-free. I am doing a service to those who follow my content by doing so. If I post something about microbiology, and the best microbiologist on Hubski is also a dick, his dickish comments have no place in the discussion. Maybe he hasn't been a dick to you. Maybe he never will be. But if I post it, and he's been a dick to me in the past, odds are he's going to be a dick in the future and the discussion should be about microbiology, not about me and the dick.
As eightbitsamurai mentions, the undertone of this discussion is always entitlement and it's always driven by people who are new here. This time it's unusual in that a good bulk of our new users actually signed up for an account the last two or three times they got pissed off at Reddit but then forgot about it until recently, but it doesn't change the fact that it's people with under a hundred comments complaining about the behavior of people with over a hundred comments. LOOK. The person who posted that thread you want to comment on? they don't owe you shit. the world will continue in its orbit without your pithy contribution and, amazingly enough, will likely be more civil through your absence.
Some of us have been here for years and have other users blocked who have also been here for years. Some of us have even had people blocked for years only to unblock them. That social pressure you're feeling from being blocked? It's a power for good. It shapes behavior. It encourages civility and demonstrates that there are consequences for vitriol.
If you don't like being muted, stop being the kind of person who gets muted. If you don't think you are, then chances are good you and the person who muted you have nothing to say to each other anyway.
This is not a site about how Jeff and Jeri can't get along. This is a site about thoughtful discussion. You're muted because someone judged you incapable of it. Work it out or move on because those of us who have been here a while have been through half a dozen of these shirt-rending, hair-tearing rap sessions about the evils of censorship and I'm here to tell ya -
Every new influx of Reddit uncouth causes an expansion not just of muting, but of the mute options available.