It's a proven fact that posting in a thread devoted to discussing the "Ignore" feature tempts some people to click the "ignore" button under your name in either a joking manner or just to get a rise out of you and to see how you respond. So if you're one of the people who gets all upset and loses sleep over what you may have said to some unknown person or who you may have inadvertently offended whenever you see that someone is ignoring you, then posting in or starting a thread like this is extremely counterproductive.
I don't know what gives rise to such vitriol for any member who chooses to use the ignore feature, but it's (obviously) not getting through to the specific members who are ignoring you, and will most likely offend any other members who are using this feature to ignore a completely different person for their own personal reasons that very well may have nothing to do with the malice, spite and "attempted intimidation" that you have all-knowingly labeled their actions with.
If something as truly insignificant as somebody using the "ignore" feature bothers you so much that you start slinging names and accusations of hateful actions toward an unnamed group of members on a forum full of people whom you claim to enjoy spending your time with, then maybe it's time to take a long look in the mirror to find out what's truly causing these emotions.
I don't ordinarily make a habit of explaining or defending my actions to someone who seems so unwilling to see that there could possibly be an innocuous reason behind them, but since I respect you, Bill, I'll make an exception.
I use the "ignore" feature for two distinct reasons:
The first is when some new member comes on and immediately shows a bad attitude and serious lack of respect for the community we have built here. Those kinds of people don't usually stay around long, but adding them to the ignore list will remind me, should they come back in the future, that I should be weary of wasting my time trying to help them.
The second reason is reserved for one particular, long-term member. I have no ill feelings toward this person, and I have no doubt that we would probably get along just fine if we were to meet face-to-face, but his presence, actions, and attitude on this forum diminish my enjoyment of it, and even though I still read most of his posts, the fact that I have to purposely click a button to read what he typed gives me a reminder to pause and not let what he's said get to me or tempt me to respond, which as time has proven will only result in a pointless #$%*-fest that I'd rather stay out of.
As you can see, neither of my reasons involve anything having to do with bad intentions or attempted intimidation, and I make zero apologies for my use of a feature that I originally didn't like but have since found to be helpful in preserving my enjoyment of this forum.
