This User's Profile Is Hidden

[beowulf]

Sorry to make a new thread off of this, but I could not find where it was that members had last talked to @Moderator_1 about this topic so I could follow up with a question. Has there been any further discussion about whether this feature would be disabled? I understand it was an unintended “buy in” from when we had the software converted to Discourse.

Recently there have been more members opting to utilize this feature. In theory I understand it since there are occasionally unwell people who are beyond the pale and use access to public profiles to harass members. However, I’m noticing that there are a few members with profiles hidden who routinely post contentious things or are trolling; it’d be easier to identify these trolls if their posting history wasn’t hidden.

Is there any sort of middle ground here? Something that protects users from people combing their profiles to dox them, but also protects regular members from wasting their time with thoughtful replies only to see the OP is a troll and/or bad actor?

[Moderator_1]

You can still perform a search of a user’s past posts via the search engine, or is that not what you’re looking for in this situation?

[Simkie]

While I also really dislike the feature, it was something we’ve had for long before this platform. Pretty much everything you can get on the profile is available via other means (which is why I find it only an annoyance, rather than anything useful.)

I’d like to see it gone, too, but you can certainly lookup post history or PM those users via other methods.

[beowulf]

@Simkie

While I also really dislike the feature, it was something we’ve had for long before this platform.

That is true, but there was a very easy way around the former software update that is no longer available since the swap to Discourse: you just plugged the member’s user ID into a regular user’s profile url string and you could pull up a synopsis of all posts, replies, and topics.

@Moderator_1 That is a good point and a work-around for now. It is clunky, but at least we can better vet the trolls that way.

If it is at all on table, this is just one member’s perspective it is a PITA to vet the trolls and I have treated threads from new posters I don’t recognize differently because of it.

[trubandloki]

@Moderator_1

You can still perform a search of a user’s past posts via the search engine, or is that not what you’re looking for in this situation?

I personally have struggled with search here. I know lots of people like it, but clearly this search likes me as much as Google likes me (not at all).
I have used it to try to find posts by a certain poster and it gives me just a couple options and I know that poster has a lot more posts that what it is showing.

[avjudge]

@trubandloki

I personally have struggled with search here. . .
I have used it to try to find posts by a certain poster and it gives me just a couple options and I know that poster has a lot more posts that what it is showing.

I also find that the search function here returns a small fraction of the results that I know it should be finding. With the previous platform I got around that by using a Google search limited to the site chronofhorse.com; that doesn’t seem to work anymore.

I do actually really like the new software in general. This is just one of its annoying glitches.

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

There are also certain posters who utilize this feature so that others CANNOT put them on ignore, then troll and harass to their heart’s content.

This feature really needs to be disabled.

[trubandloki]

@Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom

There are also certain posters who utilize this feature so that others CANNOT put them on ignore, then troll and harass to their heart’s content.

There is a way a person can set things up so others can not put them on ignore? That seems weird.

[Simkie]

Any user, even those with hidden profiles, can be placed on ignore.

Click on your settings (upper right, yours is an “A” in the circle), then your username, then preferences. Select “users” from the drop-down on the right. You can mute or ignore anyone from here, regardless of profile status.

Similarly, you can PM posters who have their profile hidden by going to your private messages, starting a new message, and putting their name in the “to” field.

[hut-ho78]

You can type @username in the general search. Then you can explore that list for threads, pick the thread you are are looking for, click the box for search this thread, and work through posts that way. It’s helpful when finding an old post you think you remember but aren’t sure.

The ignore function works pretty well. Refresh apparently helps.

I’m still working on my own ignore and keep scrolling.