June 9, 2008
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Block Posts
This is a random little thing I’ve always wanted to be able to do in Xanga. I don’t know if anyone else would want it or even care but it bothers me to no end.
Every once in a while somebody will make a post on their xanga to which I am subscribed and it will just… annoy me. Or even sometimes disgust or repulse me. Sometimes a particular post I disagree with so strongly that I just don’t want to ever see it again. It’s not that I have anything against the poster or that I want to be unsubscribed to his or her blog. It’s just that this particular entry doesn’t sit well with me. I want it gone. Perhaps it has pictures or graphics or music or video that disgusts or disturbs me. Or perhaps it is discussing a topic that I don’t like or care about, or expressing an opinion that I so strongly disagree with that I cannot find the words to express my dissent. Or perhaps it is just something that I feel, in particular is directly offensive to me. An attack on me directly, either personally, or as a categorical representative of a stereotype. It may be against my faith or against my principles or against my traditions. I may just feel as if it is against me, as if the fates themselves were conspiring to just tick me off.
Whatever the reason, I just don’t like it. And sure, I guess I could mod it down and give it one star or no stars and maybe post a hate filled comment describing how violently opposed I feel to what is being said. But why would I want to do that? It might give me some momentary sense of satisfaction, but in the long run it only hurts me. It’s not like I want to make enemies. Not really. And usually, as I’ve said, it is a post on a person’s blog whom I otherwise respect and admire and enjoy reading the posts of. So it’s not like I want to unsubscribe or ban this person either.
No. The issue is just this *one* post. So what I want to do is block or collapse this one post. I want to get rid of it. I want it out of my sight. That way it won’t keep ruining my good cheer, depressing me or making me feel bad about my life or the universe in generally. I don’t want to see it as I page through my subscription list. I dont’ want to see it when, god forbid, others recommend this post to me. And if it makes the featured content, I’d happily not see it there either or when I browse that person’s blog directly I’d love it if it was invisible to me. In short, it is just my personal desire to see it gone. I don’t like it. I don’t believe in it. Even if everyone else loves it and thinks it’s the best thing since sliced bread. I don’t. I have no interest in ruining anyone else’s fun. But shouldn’t I have the ability to preserve my own happiness?
It always seems like this for, that several related posts like that get posted all at once. Like it’s a fad or something. Everyone posting the same BS that I reject and jumping on the bandwagon to annoy me. It’s probably not intentional and certainly has nothing to do with me personally, but it still manages to bother me. Experiences like this make me want to walk away from Xanga for a few days and not sign on again until the fad is over.
It might not even be that I want to get rid of it forever too. It might be circumstances that had happened to me lately that makes this particular post offensive to me. In a month or a year I might rethink my position and not be offended. I might want to read it again and I might be able to find the intended humor in it without feeling as if the entry was a direct slap in the face. I might even want to go back and make myself reread it if I think there is an object lesson there for me to learn. But in the here and now, I want none of that. I just want it GONE! Go Away! Leave me alone! Out of my sight! You evil xanga posts from the abyss!
That’s why I would love it if the subscription browser in xanga had a little button on the side where you could hide a post which will collapse it to a tiny little miniscule representation of itself, which I can then click on again to unhide it again. A hidden post would be invisible to me. I wouldn’t get recommendations for it, or emails regarding it, or see it as I browse the user’s blog (except for the placeholder). A hidden post would be as unobtrusive as possible. But still there. And it wouldn’t effect my perusal of any other xanga entry. Also collapsing entries in this way would make general perusal of xanga blogs in my subscription list go much faster. I could collapse anything that doesn’t immediately catch my interest.
So is it just me who thinks that way? Or would others benefit from this? Or do all of you never find an entry that irks you in this way?
Anyway, that’s just one random feature request I always wanted Xanga to have.
Implement it tomorrow please!
Thanks!
Comments (7)
now I’m paranoid … tsk!
I’ve rarely been in the situation where I’ve had such an attack of the Go Aways! When I am affected by something so much that it churns me up inside I will comment on it though, which has caused upset but has also made a couple of my Xanga relationships stronger. These comments are never hate-filled though – I always try to get my point across maturely and kindly; there’s no reason for rudeness, however much you disagree with something.
I now want to know which post caused this post to be written, because I’m a nosy old bat
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@Katiefinger - Yeah these are entries I wouldn’t trust myself not to be rude in response to. So I don’t comment or rate. I just do my best to ignore it.
Don’t worry, it was nothing you wrote that inspired this post. Just a couple of posts I read, well skimmed really, from last week and some more I remember from a long time ago. I can’t explain those since it’s sort of personal.
But I can give another good example. There was one post a while back that had a bunch of pictures of people throwing up. I wouldn’t have minded hiding that post that’s for sure. It didn’t really offend me per se, but you know I just didn’t want to keep seeing it every time I paged through my subscription list. Once was enough.
that would be an excellent feature idea. “begone, foul post!” poof.
Print it out and burn it.
That might help.
Thanks for subbin! I promise not to offend you in the future.
You’re not the only one who feels that way. I think a collapse option on the new hompage would be an excellent new feature.
I can see where such a feature might be handy, actually. Although I’ve never had such a reaction to a blog post. Way to write about something that is in no way personally relatable to me! How do you think that makes me feel? You fail me! FAIL!
kidding. only kidding. I suppose the people on my subs list are not actually here for the sole purpose of my personal amusement. A girl can dream though, right?
@elvesdoitbetter - LOL! ::sniff:: I was trying so hard to channel your psyche. Damn it! Are you *sure* you’ve never had a post you wanted to block? Really? Huh. I wonder how my signals got crossed then.
Well, I’ll try harder next time.