Topic

Major failure in using the block player system to manage street access

I am a yellow farmer, I farm yellow herbs most of my time on glitch. Everytime I plant a herb, I clean up, replant and water behind me. Once in a while, a street will ban me. I usually assume that they saw me on their list and banned me for another user not cleaning up properly.

I'd love to explain this to the person who blocked me, but I am never given the chance because I can not communicate with that user ever again. Why is the player block system combined with the street block system? There needs to be completely separate managed block lists for these. Blocking someone from your street doesn't necessarily mean you never want to hear them chat again

Not really happy with this seemingly lazy design decision. At the very least, please make it more clear when a player blocks you. New players are constantly asking in live help why they can not click a sign, or TP through a third party link. Some kind of clear popup should announce you are blocked anytime you enter a blocked street.

Just some thoughts...

Posted 4 months ago by Ramus Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

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  • Hey Papa, you are another street I have been to. I really appreciate how you operate things. I usually don't go out of my way to fix/replant spots I don't harvest, unless i'm there often, but i'll make sure to take the time on your road after reading that. :)

    WindBorn, I still don't think you get it. I'm just going to requote myself, because you keep seeming to ignore this part of the debate.

    "I also have to wonder if this is just a failure on the part of the API developers to look at the widespread affects of their changes. Allowing third party sites like glitchremote is changing the entire face of the game. Good or bad? I can't say. But this is changing what player streets are and people in denial are just going to continue to see these types of threads and questions pop up."

    The developers of the game released tools that are becoming widespread, the use of those tools means that more and more people will be running into these same exact issues that I have. Everyday I see dozens of new people using glitchremote for the first time to find new routes and towers. If you don't think this a growing problem, then there is really nothing else I can say to convince you.

    Apparently you can ignore the many replies here that are agreeing that there is a problem with the current system (It doesn't mean they have to agree with my method of fixing it), and pass it off as a few spoiled minority players getting butt-hurt about being blocked. If you have read the explanations in this thread, then you would see that is not the case at all and it has very little to do with feelings or slights. But its apparent you have already made your decision on this issue and since you haven't had a single positive thing to say about a single idea made by a single person in this thread, I give up on debating it with you. :)
    Posted 4 months ago by Ramus Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I guess that, selfishly, I would rather have devs spend their time working on stuff that will make the game even more fun (as they so often do) or at least on stuff that I think is broken -- not on stuff that I think is working well enough.

    The number of people who are blocked is small. The number of people who are blocked and wish to make a protest directly to the blocker is much smaller. The number of people who would like to block somebody while encouraging that person to contact them and argue about it is small indeed.
    Posted 4 months ago by Vocable Subscriber! | Permalink
  • ::shrugs:: I've blocked a few people, not many, and I'm not going to detail my reasons why, because, to be absolutely frank, it's no one's business. Seriously. I don't have to justify it to anyone, much less the person I blocked. I'm on several routes, and it's policy to be very sparing with the blocks because it can disrupt the route for the blocked player, but honestly? Since with the routes websites it's easy enough to just teleport to the next person's street, I don't feel that's such a big deal anymore.

    I feel, much like most other people, that my street resources are public, and let the public do as they will with them. I pretty much ignore them, and someone will come along to clean or fix them as necessary. If I see something needs restoring on my street, I'll do it, but other than that? Meh. I'm not the one who messed it up, so who cares? Also, I don't know if I've been blocked by anyone, I've certainly never run across any streets I couldn't go to, but if I did, I also wouldn't care.

    I have the feeling that the people who get most up in arms about having been blocked are the ones that have a sort of vindictive feeling of "Hehehehe, I'll get you, Glitch, and your little piggy too" regarding the glitchen they block. And, you know, fine, whatever floats your boat, I'm not above a little delicious schadenfreude pie myself. But personally, I block people who annoy me so I don't have to deal with their existence. It doesn't have to be that I'm sincerely upset or egregiously harmed by their behavior, though that has been the case. But this is a game. Games are meant to be pleasant and fun. Annoyance is not fun. Ergo, shoo fly stop buzzing me. In Glitch, as in real life, there are people who are just not going to like you, for whatever reason that you will probably never know or understand, and your little Glitchy life will continue. I will admit, with every thread re: street wars and herb wars and blocking wars and whatever this week's war is, the urge to drop off all my routes and out of all my groups and block every-freakin'-body grows ever stronger.

    All that's a teal deer way to say: if you discover you've been blocked, don't get your knickers in a twist waiting for a redesign of the block system and just go to the next street.
    Posted 4 months ago by blitheandbonny Subscriber! | Permalink
  • once i have blocked you, i have already come to the conclusion that i no longer wish to have you appear in my universe. i do not care if you even know i've blocked you, and i care less if you care if you should happen to find out on account of for some misguided reason you thought you'd like to shop on my street or send me a message.

    there's already a mechanism by which people can inform others they're getting blocked: they go right ahead and announce the blockings in chat and sometimes by note which seems to me just so much tacky i could start a new tape factory if only i could gather it.

    i'm not buying the argument that because some people have created routes and therefore we all need to jump hoops in order to do what we're already doing very simply and effectively. just because you happen to use sites that allow you to see what's on my street does not grant you the right to force me into any kind of discussion as to why i do not wish you to visit.

    i have a telephone. my phone number is not listed. i do not have to explain to anyone why this is so. moreover, while it may be slightly more inconvenient for people i do not wish to have my number to ring me up, i need not fret over them and if i don't feel like it, i never have to pick up the phone when it rings.

    your desire to make contact with me and find out WHY i am not taking calls or to override my decision not to take calls because you, after all, are special does not make the present system broken.

    it simply makes you pushy.

    the more options we have for blocking will only increase the platform for discussion and drama. we do not need to know when we are blocked, and we do not need to know why.

    you don't need more information than you have.  allow people the courtesy of withdrawing and move on.
    Posted 4 months ago by flask Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I have only had to ban someone a handful of times, and each time they were being severely harassing. i would never ban for minor or "legal" game offenses, as in the game mechanics allow it and its not going against the TOS.  Mind you others have different opinions on this. All the same, at times it feels like i'm walking on eggshells, when visiting peoples streets for whatever reason. I don't like the feeling of someone getting mad and banning when 1 out of however many visited the street, may or may not of done whatever. I also don't like the feeling of thinking i'm obligated to clean up others messes,and finish restoring resources just so i don't risk the CHANCE of getting banned for something i didn't do. Do i pitch in with restoring projects, yes, do i always finish them, no, do i water / weed/ and replant if i use plots, yes i do, if i see untended plots, i tend to help, but i don't always do all the steps when someone else left them that way. I very rarely come to a yard for plots, my usual home street excursions are for building materials more than anything else, Occasionally i'll go to get other resources from the routes. I don't like the idea of walking on egg shells , in the least. I do think its a small % of players that are being overzealous on using the block feature for enforcing their own home street rules, and that is their choice/right. Still i think its causing some of us to feel like we have to double check every action we take when on home streets at times. And i don't think that, that, does anyone any good.
    Posted 4 months ago by Lyrical DejaVu Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I don't feel that I 'deserve' an explanation for being blocked, nor do I need one. I would however like the option to be considerate of others who may be more sensitive to getting blocked than I am, on the rare if ever occasion that I find a need to block. Believe it or not, some players might actually welcome the feedback. If not, they don't have to open the message at all. I fail to see how this option infringes on anyone's right to block those who dont fit into their playing style. It was presented as an option, not a mandatory action.
    Posted 4 months ago by N2ZOrtolanaBlue Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I have only ever blocked one person, and if was for abuse that I reported to TS when I initiated the block. The offense was egregious enough that the player was deleted within 15 minutes.

    If a player wishes to discuss a problem with another, the game offers many ways to do so. Except (as above) in the most heinous of cases, I personally would always attempt to resolve the matter via mail or IM before dropping my personal banhammer. I can see no benefit to REQUIRING such contact or explanation, however. I certainly had no desire to interact in any way with the one person whose behavior elicited a block from me.

    Having said that, I see no objection—in principle—to having a more nuanced blocking mechanism (chat/street). It's just that I see it diverting valuable developer time away from much more important stuff, and I'm not persuaded that the constituency that really wants it is large enough to make it worth devoting time and resources to it.

    I do think that there would be some value to a simple note on your home page that kept a running number of how many people have blocked you. (Not who, just the total number.) If you find yourself getting into multiple digits, it might be worth asking the people who ARE still talking to you what they think is going on. :)
    Posted 4 months ago by Pascale Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Just to throw out this out there because I don't think this feeling has been voiced yet: 
    If someone blocks me, I don't want to hear about why.  

    Although I haven't come up against it in a personal way yet, I generally don't like it when players try to dictate to others the right way to play.  I play in a way that I think is courteous and have had great experiences so far interacting with other Glitches.  But I'm not interested in someone else opening up a dialog with me with the aim of correcting my behaviour to their standards.  This seems to me like something that could incur more hurt feelings.
    Posted 4 months ago by Persephone Pear Subscriber! | Permalink
  • You know I'm really surprised one of the devs haven't jumped in here yet... But anyways.
    I dont care either way.
    It does bother me when I'm blocked and dont know why. For some dumb reason I take it rather personally. Especially on global when a player who has blocked me is there and I'm talking to them and have no idea they have blocked me until the discussion comes to why aren't you answering click and they're like who? Uh... Me? Oh I blocked them! And then I watch as they run their mouth about why they blocked me (which I still dont remember occurring so I think the story was fabricated to make them look better) and I can't even defend myself. Im stuck watching them and claiming this never happened while most of global is against be even being there.. no fun =/
    I could block them back yes. And then not see what they are saying. It's just a lot of confusion.
    I normally just leave global until I deem it safe to return instead of continuing the block train.
    Anyway as for home streets, I've never blocked a player that has visited my street. I put the things on my street for anybody and everybody. If someone abuses it or leaves it broken oh well. Im not blocking the entire list or even inquiring who did it. Its a public space and public spaces will sometimes be abused. It happens. I fix it and move on. Even add things. No biggy
    Posted 4 months ago by Clickadee Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Wow already 3 pages? Nifty. I still agree with WindBorn.

    I've blocked people before and I'm quite sure every time I did so it was because of what that player posted on the forums, not what they did in-game. I don't share some of your problems because I only put two trees in my front yard. (I was here for the community gardens arguments. Oh the horror).

    Ah, Clickadee, I haven't been in Global since a few months before launch. I much prefer my Group chat channels.
    Posted 4 months ago by Piratice Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I do have to say that I have approached some glitchen on behalf of others who have been blocked (on herb gardens since everyone became aware and started using Grelca's and the Glitchremote site) and on every occassion the block was revoked and explained that it was a mass blocking of everyone who had visited due to frustration at continously logging in to empty plots : (  So, unfortunately not all blocks are for individual events. 

    I do think it's wrong too that if a player blocks you they are still entitled to visit your home street, purchase from your tower, buy your auctions unless you notice and block them in return (aside from the auctions that is).  I do think it would benefit players to have blocks reciprocated automatically although I also recognise that could cause a whole heap of other problems : (
    Posted 4 months ago by ~Arabesque~ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thanks for the feedback folks. At this point, there are threads in the Ideas forum for various aspects you can add your voice to. That's probably the best course to take views on what your suggestions are.
    Posted 4 months ago by kevbob Subscriber! | Permalink
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