Filters.

Apr 17 12:51 UTC 2002

Twit filters.  They annoy me.  Why do people use them?  If this is a
free-speech system and you choose to post something that someone disagrees
with, why do you block what they say?  It seems pointless and in many ways,
pretty limiting.  Is it that you can't have what you say called into question?
Does vulgarity annoy you?  How do you justify filtering people out?

response 2 of 84:

Apr 17 13:20 UTC 2002

I guess in theory it's for when you've learned you can't expect a 
particular user to enter anthing interesting or amusing so you just 
eliminate them from your screen, or maybe you know someone is entering 
stuff only to annoy people, so you avoid the annoyance and deprive them 
of the satisfaction.  

In theory not a bad idea, but I personally don't know any users like 
that.  Someone like Rane, for example, has interesting stuff to say 
once in a while, even when he gets on my nerves.  The genuine assholes 
that come through periodically and enter "Fuck you" responses in every 
single item always disappear in a day or two.  The ones that stick 
around, like your friend Jamie (sorry, Brooke) are so much fun to make 
fun of that I can't imagine ever filtering them out.  

This does not mean that I won't forget an entire item I know I won't be 
interested in, like the "I'm bummed because" items.  I'd rather read 
slynne's parodies of them.  ;-)

response 4 of 84:

Apr 17 13:22 UTC 2002

Mr. Delizia slipped in.

response 6 of 84:

Apr 17 13:34 UTC 2002

And I never miss a singe letter of your obnoxious remarks.

response 8 of 84:

Apr 17 13:35 UTC 2002

Although I did miss an "L" in mine.

response 10 of 84:

Apr 17 14:09 UTC 2002

I use a twit filter because I find that certain people rarely say anything
I am interested in reading.  It's highly probable that reading what they say
will be a waste of my time.  And life is too short.

response 12 of 84:

Apr 17 16:03 UTC 2002

I dont use a twit filter but I dont necessarily read everyone's 
responses. I often space bar my way past certain people's comments. I 
dont want to use a filter because sometimes it turns out that they 
*did* say something interesting and someone responds to what they said 
and it is useful to go back. Mostly, if I dont read someone's response 
it is just to save time and not because I dislike what they have to say 
necessarily. On the rare occasion that someone online actually pisses 
me off to the point where it is affecting my life, I just temporarily 
forget the item or I stop logging on for a few days which isnt hard to 
do. 

response 14 of 84:

Apr 17 17:03 UTC 2002

Really? I think if that were possible, you would log on line here and 
the only posts you would be able to read would be edina's. 

response 16 of 84:

Apr 17 17:27 UTC 2002

I don't use a twit filter.  OTOH, I don't read anywhere near all of the
responses here.  
  There is so much interesting stuff on the internet these days, buried in
such a huge pile of stupid, time-wasting drivel that anyone who intends to
"step inside", as it were, needs to develop a rather sophisticated ability
to skim past drivel and find the interesting stuff.  Compared to a lot of the
web pages I'm interested in, doing so on Grex is almost trivially easy.  

response 18 of 84:

Apr 17 23:10 UTC 2002

        I dont use a filter for BBS, but I often do for party.  It has to do
with the different crowds that frequent the two media.  There are many party
users who absolutely necessitate the use of a filter, if you're attempting
to have a coherent conversation with someone else in a public place.

response 20 of 84:

Apr 18 04:18 UTC 2002

Re #0:  If they annoy you, don't use them.

I find twit filters are, like spam filters, a useful way to get rid
of people trying to command my attention for purposes I consider
unwarranted.  My time is my own, and I'll spend it how I please.
A twit filter or :ignore list is a time-tested way of getting rid
of people who are nothing but a waste of time, screen and bandwidth.

Another use of twit filters is for behavior modification.  If a person
becomes aware that certain behaviors will only result in being denied
the attention they want, they'll have to find another way to achieve
their ends.  On the other hand, if they're stuck in some state of
arrested development the twit filter lets them rant and rave in the
false belief that they are an actual participant in the world while
the world goes along blissfully unaware.  Either way, it's a win.

Re #5:  That's one reason I take extreme positions on things.  That,
and I like to see challenges to those positions.  I've seen responses
which require re-thinking, and the result is always worthwhile.

response 22 of 84:

Apr 18 11:11 UTC 2002

I 'ignore' one twit for the reasons stated in 2 and 10, and skip over postingss
about sports and tautology by grexers who are not trying to be annoying.
I generally ignore postings by a few other users but don't filter them as
sometimes they say things I find interesting.  The twit does not, and when
I find missing numbers (filtered postings) I skip down a few responses until
the twit has gone away.

response 24 of 84:

Apr 18 18:13 UTC 2002

Dammit, Jamie, it's me-v-Grex, not you-v-Grex. Quit painting yourslef the
victim, I want that cross.