BadlyDrawnTurtle

No, this isn't an introspective. I'm starting a collection of insults people throw at me over the Interwebs. I'll even categorize them.

Generalized Insults:

“asshole”
“idiot”
“dumb”
“a dumb liar”

From the Communists:

“centrist white male moron”
“dumbass, assin' ass white [person]”
“white European moron”
“the exploding big brain genius boi” (I think it's supposed to be an insult, at least. This person follows me around, so I'm starting to think this is their way of flirting.)
“white male neoreactionary”

From the Right-Wing:

“soyboy”
“regressive Marxist”
“tumblrfag”

So, an idiot said some stupid things, and I called him out on it (in a gentle manner, which is unusual for me). He responds by continuing to be edgy and pissy on my profile page. I respond again, he sends me another response… and what do I find at this point? He's blocked me from replying. He commented on my own profile page, and I'm not allowed to reply. That's just fucked up. Who built this system? Who thought it was a good idea?

If you wish to have a reasonable and productive discussion, you must first affirm that you understand the following:

A. Words:
    1. That words are a tool; merely a means of communicating ideas, and do not have any power or importance beyond what we give them ourselves for this purpose.
    2. That a single word or phrase can have different meanings in different contexts, but can only hold one meaning at a time, and this meaning cannot be arbitrarily switched mid-discussion.
    3. That different words and phrases can convey similar meanings, and the exchange of one word or phrase for another is inconsequential unless the meaning is lost.

B. Your Position:
    1. That what you claim or argue is your position, and that this position is an idea, not a set of words; it can be rephrased and approached from other angles by both parties.
    2. That, if you wish to change your position, you must clearly communicate that you are disbanding or laying aside your previous position, and you must convey what your new position is; you cannot change positions on the fly without notice to your discussion partner.

C. The Other Person's Position:
    1. That the other person's position is only what they claim or argue, and not what you think they may be thinking; you do not get to insert words into the other person's mouth.
    2. That you are to address the other person's position, and not just anything that comes to mind; you do not get to argue with another person, real or imaginary, who is not present in the discussion.
    3. That, if you are told you are misunderstanding the other person's position, there is necessarily an error of communication, and you should consider the possibility that said error lies with you.

D. Argumentation:
    1. That it is your responsibility to make sure your position is internally consistent.
    2. That, if you contradict one of your previous statements, you must acknowledge that said previous statement is abandoned.
    3. That logic, reason, and standards of evidence are universally applicable.

E. Hypotheticals:
    1. That a hypothetical is a tool of discussion meant to communicate thought experiments from one person to another.
    2. That a hypothetical, properly used, is unconnected to reality; no facts outside of the hypothetical effect the results of the hypothetical.

F. Other:
    1. That there may be further requirements not currently stated in this document.

It appears I only ever use this journal to complain about one particular thing. And it has happened again. Do you know what is absolutely maddening? When you find a picture that looks amazing, and you try to favorite it, only to get a message that you aren't allowed to, because the artist blocked you. So you look at the artist's name, and you don't recognize it. And you go to his page, and you don't see any reason why you would have had a conflict with him at any point. And you go through all of his deviations, and you don't find a single one that you remember commenting on. And you search your usernames together in Google, and don't get any relevant results.
As far as I can tell, I was given the maximum block setting by someone whom I've never interacted with. A setting that obtrudes into my personal favorite list that only I should be allowed to edit, and prevents me from contacting the person in any manner to ask what exactly I did. There are so many things wrong with this.

I've decided. Right here, right now. The block system on this website, and in fact, on all websites, just isn't worth it. If someone does something bad, report it, have a moderator take a look, and suspend the account. Being able to personally decide who does not get to speak about, or even look at, what you post publicly goes directly against the foundational principal of Freedom of Speech, gives far too much power to individuals who can abuse it, and doesn't even effectively deal with the bullies it's supposed to stop, because they just get around it by making new accounts and recruiting friends.

I am now an anti-blocker. This feature needs to die.

So, I was just blocked by someone. Their stated reason? “I agree with your position now that I understand it, but since you argued with me when I initially misunderstood it, I dislike you.” Paraphrased, of course, but that was the gist of it.

Blocking is too easy. It shouldn't be a simple click of the button to use for any petty reason. You do not own the space on a website, even your profile page. It is a public area, and booting someone out of a public area should not be taken so lightly.

Edit: I just realized something. Apparently, when the guy in question blocked me, he was removed from my watch list, as well as all of his deviations from my favorites gallery. Is that supposed to happen? Because if it is, that's just assholery. He's a good artist, but for some reason I'm not allowed to enjoy his art without his permission? What the actual bloody fuck?

Edit 2: I looked into it, and this is actually an intended feature. I can't believe it. I just… nobody else should have the ability to edit my list of favorites and watches. If someone doesn't want me to post comments on their stuff, fine. But this is just utter bullshit.