There's also going to have to be a FAQ entry on it, and I just think it's going to be hurty-feelingy enough without a smartass name.

Allyson, this is a screenshot from the test, taken as a joke about how peaceful bureau could end up being.

HEY! I'm all about the peace.

And prefer that the formal name is "user filter." People can then feel free to call it whatever they want.

There's also going to have to be a FAQ entry on it, and I just think it's going to be hurty-feelingy enough without a smartass name.

Why? Half the boards on this planet have a user filter. It's a feature of the software; stick it in the how-to.

Hmmm...I see your point, Dana. I hadn't thought about whether or not the FAQ entry would hurt people's feelings.

Sounds harsher to me, personally.

I kind of just like "User Filter", and then "blinvisible" gives it that touch of whimsy. (Not, alas, a touch of Wimsey.)

I agree with Dana.

It's a feature of the software; stick it in the how-to.

How-to, FAQ, whatever. And I guess I don't mean hurt feelings, but it's a sensitive subject for some, even before we get into having to tell people "No, 'I'm so gonna BOZO you!' is not really the way we like to communicate."

I have to admit, I'm not a fan of blinvisible. if I'm filtering someone, I'm way past the point that whimsy is going to be amusing and soothing

But obviously YFilteringMV.

I like blinvisible, but I'd also be fine with a ... "this post blocked." It's calling the filter MARCIE or Bozo that doesn't appeal to me. Much prefer plain, generic "User Filter."

You've got to figure that the "blinvisible" will disappear like people's tag lines -- it's not like you read everyone's tag on every post.

And I guess I don't mean hurt feelings, but it's a sensitive subject for some, even before we get into having to tell people "No, 'I'm so gonna BOZO you!' is not really the way we like to communicate."

I do see your point about the communication issue -- the hurt feelings bit always pings me a little strangely, though, because from my perspective, having some kind of kill file, filter, or whatever is so old-hat that when I first joined this group (on WX) I hesitated to get too involved because I really felt like any board was badly broken without one. I know that other people's experience with them is different, however.

YFilteringMV.

True that. For instance, in other places, I tend to filter as a means of traffic control, rather than because I think someone's a raging fuckface that I never want to see again -- say, if I were tired of Batman, I might filter myself, shrift, and Plei, and then come back in a week to see if we'd calmed down or more-or-less confined the discussion to the comics thread, without thinking any of us were intolerable asses, only that our main topic of conversation was one I didn't have the headspace for at this moment. You know, if I weren't filtering myself and thereby sending myself into some kind of horrible existential crisis.

Mostly, it's what Jesse (?) said earlier about keeping the FAQ for actual questions that are actually frequently asked. We have no idea how people will use this thing, or what their concerns will be. Both keeping the wording fairly neutral and not assuming in advance that it's going to be a big emotional issue seem like the best way to keep it from becoming one.