42% of daily X users have a negative view of it – losing the block feature won't help

X CEO Elon Musk announced earlier this week that he’s pulling the teeth out of X‘s (formerly Twitter) blocking feature. Soon, users you’ve blocked will be able to view your posts again. 

Nina Owji, a web developer, posted, “X is about to remove the current block button, meaning that if an account is public, their posts will be visible to the blocked users as well!” 

Also: X’s first transparency report since Musk reveals a surprising contradiction

Musk’s reply: “High time this happened. The block function will block that account from engaging with, but not block seeing, public posts.”

Some people use blocks to make X bearable. I use blocks to keep creeps from yelling at me and to avoid seeing the garbage spewed out by some X users. 

I’ve been using social networks since the days of Usenet and pre-Internet online services such as CompuServe, GEnie, and Prodigy. None of them, at their worst, have reached X’s lows. 

Musk, however, believes this move will enhance the platform’s transparency. Really? Empowering users to select what content they do and don’t want to see equates to transparency?

Musk, however, needs to see all the posts and for you to see his posts. 

As Kate Conger and Ryan Mac observe in their new book, Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter, when Musk went to the 2023 Super Bowl as Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch’s guest, he was upset because President Biden’s tweet about the game got many more views than his tweet did. Musk left the game early to fly back to his office, where dozens of employees were summoned to meet him on a Sunday night to explain why Biden had gotten more views than he had. The result? They changed X’s algorithm, so you’ll often see Musk’s tweets even if you don’t follow him.

Also: FTC report exposes massive data collection by social media brands – how to protect yourself

Ever wondered why you’ve started to see posts from Musk and people you’ve never heard of on the top of your feed? Now you know. 

By the way, you can’t block Musk or these other “super-users.” I’ve tried. 

Why blocking is necessary

What really troubles me is the other consequence of blocking being defanged. There are people who send me hate tweets for my technology stances. Ironically, some of the most venom comes from people who think I’m in Microsoft’s pocket because I’m not pro-Linux enough. I’ll have to ask my buddy Linus Torvalds what he thinks about that when we get together next. 

After I blocked these folks, I stopped hearing from them so much. Funny that. When I’m out of sight, I’m out of their minds. Without blocks, I expect they’ll be back. 

Also: In a surprise twist, Meta is suddenly crushing Apple in the innovation battle

In the greater scheme of things, though, that’s not a big deal. Many other people have far more serious worries. As the rapper ZUBY put it, “There are some REALLY bad actors on social media, sadly.” That’s for sure. 

All too many of the women I know find themselves constantly fending off cyberstalkers. They used to be able to block them, and that was that. Not anymore. 

It’s simple. As Fed-Up Cat Mum put it, “We need the ability to block abusive people from seeing our profiles.” 

What X needs is stronger blocking, not this. 

Also: 5 obscure web browsers that will finally break your Chrome addiction

If Musk insists on going through with the weakened block, even more users will flee X. In the US, daily active X users fell to 27 million in February 2024, down 18% from a year earlier and 23% since Musk took over in November 2022. 

The people who are staying, by the way, don’t like X much. I’m one of those. An August YouGov survey found that 42% of those who use X daily have a negative view of it. 

X alternatives worth checking out 

Of course, you don’t need to stay with X. There are many other good options. 

My favorite, Bluesky, has now opened its doors to everyone. It looks and acts in many ways like Twitter. It has a maximum post length of 300 characters and features to like, reply, and repost messages. It also includes a “What’s Hot” feed for trending posts and a “Following” feed for accounts you follow.

Also: Over 2 million new users flocked to Bluesky last week – here’s why

On Bluesky, you can block users. Once you block someone, they can’t like, reply, mention, or follow you, and their posts, replies, and profiles are hidden from you. Blocks are public, so anyone can see your block list. You can also mute a person. 

Mastodon is another popular Twitter-alternative social media network. Mastodon is an open-source-based social network of small communities linked together in the Fediverse. This has advantages and disadvantages. You can see your friends and their posts on other sites, but liking or commenting on them can be difficult. 

Getting started with Mastodon is simple. Find a community that interests you and create a profile. You can make posts up to 500 characters, respond to threads, and share blogs from your selected communities. It’s simple to block someone from the same Mastodon community. Once done, they can’t see or interact with you and vice-versa.  

Also: I tried replacing Twitter with Bluesky, Threads, and Mastodon: What I found

I didn’t like Meta’s Threads at first, and I’m still not a huge fan. Still, if you’re already an Instagram or Facebook user, you might as well give Threads a try. Its interface isn’t Twitter-like, but it’s not hard to master either. If you find you can’t stand someone on Threads, you can block them, and, just like all the others, they won’t be able to see you or your posts. The reverse is also true. 

One oddity is that if you block someone’s profile on Threads, it will also block their Instagram account. The same is true on Instagram. If you block them on Instagram, they’ll also be blocked on Threads.  The same is not true of Facebook. If someone’s bugging you there, you must block them separately.