What Bird Is That Forum

First in the crosshairs? ... Hmmm., 'Hands up Charlie!'

Does anybody think that feature ("Friends and Foes") is a good idea? I can disable it.

I don't even know how it works, just made me laugh that it was even a thing. The world would be a better place if none of us had or were foes and adversarial though.

SirVive wrote: Mon Jan 19, 2026 5:56 am I don't even know how it works, just made me laugh that it was even a thing. The world would be a better place if none of us had or were foes and adversarial though.

It's fancy term for 'Ignore'. But you won't see this since you're ignoring me.

<sobs gently under the covers>

Greyhawk wrote: Mon Jan 19, 2026 5:46 am Does anybody think that feature ("Friends and Foes") is a good idea? I can disable it.

I am not a fan of ignoring anyone in a chat forum. If you ignore one person, the conversation that you read can come across totally different than what is actually being said. Responses by other people who are replying to the person you're ignoring won't make sense. I have used the ignore feature in the past and found myself clicking on the ignored person's text so that I could better understand the other comments. I wouldn't be offended if you disable that feature since I am not likely to ever use it.

I would say any moderately-sized forum with good moderation shouldn't really need the ability to ignore users.

However, on really big forums with many boards, it can be useful when it's set up properly to not only ignore trolls who derail conversations but also ignore posts that have directly replied to them. Some forums deal with it by using votes to automatically fold problematic posts closed to new readers.

Another niche use is the ability to hide from stalkers on private boards, where you can hide all your posts from them, and they can't just view the forum signed out.

I checked, and as far as I understand setting someone as a foe doesn't mean they can't see your posts, but only that theirs are hidden from your view. That's the way it works on other forums with similar features that I know of (ignore). I don't mind having the option available, but I don't see myself using it (especially not as a moderator). But I do think it can be useful for some people in cases where they are just bugged by another user for whatever reason and have trouble staying out of conflicts. I do agree that ignoring someone (making them a foe) would interfere with the flow of some threads, but again that wouldn't affect me if someone else chooses to do it.

We're still small here but I imagine we'll grow in time and start to experience some of the problems other forums face!

aveschapinas wrote: Tue Jan 20, 2026 4:04 am We're still small here but I imagine we'll grow in time and start to experience some of the problems other forums face!

That reminds me,

I can offer loans to pay off all your ALABAMA COLLEGE or UNIVERSITY DEBT!!!
I can offer loans to pay off all your ARKANSAS COLLEGE or UNIVERSITY DEBT!!!
I can offer loans to pay off all your AUBURN COLLEGE or UNIVERSITY DEBT!!!
I can offer loans to pay off all your CALIFORNIA COLLEGE or UNIVERSITY DEBT!!!

Ah yes, the joys of being able to use awful language such as the word 'college' even in front of your mother

Charlie Spencer wrote: Tue Jan 20, 2026 11:12 am

aveschapinas wrote: Tue Jan 20, 2026 4:04 am We're still small here but I imagine we'll grow in time and start to experience some of the problems other forums face!

That reminds me,

I can offer loans to pay off all your ALABAMA COLLEGE or UNIVERSITY DEBT!!!
I can offer loans to pay off all your ARKANSAS COLLEGE or UNIVERSITY DEBT!!!
I can offer loans to pay off all your AUBURN COLLEGE or UNIVERSITY DEBT!!!
I can offer loans to pay off all your CALIFORNIA COLLEGE or UNIVERSITY DEBT!!!

And it reminds ME of long sessions of deleting posts and banning posters! Yes, folks, enjoy saying those dirty words while we still can!

SirVive wrote: Tue Jan 20, 2026 3:15 pm Ah yes, the joys of being able to use awful language such as the word 'college' even if front of your mother

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhGlJ_yx1ws