Blocked by user for no reason at all

General
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Hello everyone,

I was just blocked today by a local Inatter over what I suspect is a single misidentification. I received no email or message that I was being blocked, just saw I was blocked. Another (new) user was also blocked by this same user even though they made zero misidentifications on any of their observations.

Two other observers had asked me to not identify their observations, so I have been reviewing them instead of adding an ID. Unlike those circumstances, this is a user who I have had a friendly relationship with going back years. I suspect this user could be blocking me and the other new user because they are unaware of opting out of the Community Taxon or politely asking to have me review their observations.

Has this happened to any of you before, and is this even allowed?

Thanks,

Robby

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Yes, people are permitted to block other users for any reason. https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/some-updates-to-blocking-and-muting/39866

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Why wouldn’t this be allowed?

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Yikes! That’s never happened to me, but it sounds really frustrating.

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Is this similar to your reply in?

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Congrats to you! Profoundly offending the occasional person can be an indication you’re doing something right. My blocks are badges to me.

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It is allowed. May be disagreement, or misunderstanding, or just because. I was blocked, for years, then suddenly and mysteriously UNblocked and now we iNat together.

Getting blocked is part of being an active iNatter. Better if we can agree to disagree and work around each other - but sometimes that is not possible. The neurodivergent thread and years of social media remind me that we never know what is happening in someone else’s life, why they react the way they do. I was startled by the vehement response to iNat will be AI slop!

That toxic social media would NEVER happen on iNat … till it did :sob:

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It’s happened to me too - sometimes there’s a ‘reason’ (usually, I corrected their IDs and they got offended, or I moderated them and they wanted to stop me from being able to flag their stuff). But there are a few I’ve run across that I have no idea why - my only IDs for them were agreeing or improving, and I never had any other interactions.

It’s a mystery! but I’m just as happy to not waste my time helping ID their observations, if they fail to properly appreciate my delightful self.

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How can one tell if one has been blocked?

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When you go to the offending / offensive obs there is a banner up top … you have been blocked.

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:waving_hand:

Got blocked, with no interaction other than submitting an ID. No conversation, no explanation, just banhammered.

You have my sympathies. As @DianaStuder said, it would be lovely if everyone would agree to try and work things out first. I really wish that they would. (And, if I’m going to start making wishes like that, I might as well add in a pony for everyone who wants one. :laughing:)

I’m not going to try and tell you how you should react; it’s confusing, and frustrating, and—most importantly—your feelings about the occurrance are yours. All I will say is, try not to let it take up too much of your mental energy. Process it to your satisfaction, then put the incident aside. If they reopen communication, fine; you can review. Otherwise, please don’t let it ruin your fun and participation here. You’re needed.

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don’t remember that at all, perhaps they unblocked me.

My IDs were not key-based back then as well

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This is pure speculation and might not apply in this case, but I suspect some users are either not aware of or annoyed by the social/community aspects of iNat. They might prefer to use the app as a more anonymous and automated identification tool and any sort of human feedback looks like spam or makes them uncomfortable. They probably really should be using Seek instead, or make their observations private, but here they are trying to find ways to limit interactions.

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I don’t think there’s any site with any social media aspects that puts restrictions on what someone can block another person over. It’d be kinda pointless and almost entirely un-enforceable, since someone can just lie about why they blocked another person if asked.

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I am almost 100% sure that I had a user block me by mistake—perhaps a misclick. One day, I was able to view and ID their observations, the next day I was blocked, and a few days later I was unblocked. Hopefully that’s what happened in your case. I think that’s an inevitable part of any platform that has an option to block someone. And if that does happen, it will probably never be corrected until the user tries to figure out how to block someone else and sees the accounts they have already blocked.

I have learned to realize—oh well, their loss. I can go about my day and help other people.

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It be that way sometimes. Nothing you can do about it, just move on, keep doing what you’re doing, and don’t take it personally.

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It hurts, and I’m sorry you experienced it. It can be confusing to be blocked on iNaturalist, when you’re just trying to help.

It’s the online equivalent of being ghosted. One minute you’re sharing your knowledge, and the next minute, you’re looking at a brick wall with no explanation. It’s natural to ask, “What did I do?”

As others have said above, it often has little to do with you. Many people are not skilled communicators. They’d rather hit a button than have an awkward conversation, even something like, “Hey, I prefer to ID my own observations first.”

And many people don’t understand their own psychology. They couldn’t explain it to you because they can’t explain it to themselves. Additionally, as mentioned, there could be accidental blocks from people who don’t understand how the platform works.

Blocking (and its real-life equivalents — ghosting and estrangements) are an unfortunate part of life. It hurts, because we are social creatures.

But blocking can also represent something positive: we have the agency to curate our digital spaces. While it hurts to be blocked, the ability to limit interactions is a tool for well-being. Someone might feel overwhelmed for reasons that have nothing to do with you, and this is how they manage it.

In real life, estrangement from close family members is surprisingly common. Usually the person “blocking” (initiating the estrangement) does it for reasons of self-preservation, as a last resort.

Don’t let it dim your passion! For every person who blocks you, there are thousands of others who are grateful for your time and your knowledge. Your contributions are valuable. Focus on the good!

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is there any other way of seeing it? like a list or something? Because I don’t think anyone has blocked me, but would still like to know :sweat_smile:

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I can block you if you want to see what it looks like, haha. :sweat_smile:

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Also consider that many people appear not very keen on filling a profile to help with communication, possibly because the iNat site offers zero functionality or encouragement in this direction.

It’s annoying having to wild guess whether “Jord0052” is a vacationing teenager from another continent unable to read comments, or a botany professor from the university next door.

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