22 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
I hate that whether or not to allow followers is an "opt-out" thing. That gifts stalkers, harrassers, abusers, creeps etc power *by default*, and it's not immediately obvious to everyone how to change the settings. (Especially if using old reddit, if people prefer that style.)
Users should receive a message or user guide on how to change ALL of their settings to their preferences. Even if people *do* tour apps they join, not everyone is super tech-savvy. Yes you have people on Reddit who know enough to write bots or whatever; but you also have some people who literally just surf the internet and *don't* have a lot of knowledge. There should be an easily-accessible, **highly visible** user guide/manual at the top of the page, that users don't have to search for (but have the *option* to hide, maybe?).
For some of us, followers are creepy. It's like being in a massive arena with thousands of people, having conversations with various people... and then being told, "hey, some other people, who *haven't* even spoken a word to you or interacted with you in any way, have been following you around all night and listening in to everything you say". These people often enjoy trampling over explicit boundaries. I literally state on my profile I don't want followers, and posted a topic on my profile expressing my feelings about it. Until I actually learned how to shut off the option of followers, some people *specifically* followed me *precisely because they found it hilarious to follow someone who doesn't want followers*.
Comment by ZeroAntagonist at 11/09/2021 at 22:05 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Honestly, the whole follower thing is useless and misleading anyway. Blocking people or followers only makes it so the person doing the blocking don't see the follower. Thats it. They can still see all of your content, posts, submissions. It's counterintuitive and will always benefit the other person. I block someone...I can't see aything they post. They can be blasting my name all over reddit and I won't see anything they post. Them on the other hand can still see everything i post.
Until that is fixed, this whole blocking followers is just giving people a false sense of security.