How to Improve the Block Feature

[SariKK]

Thank you Valve for the great feature: blocking. Finally a tool to make the community friendlier.

I have some ideas how to improve the feature:

1. Advertise it! I noticed many people in game don't know about the feature at all. And yet the same people constantly complain about how many griefers there are in the games...

2. Change the title! "Block all communication" is misleading, as it refers to blocking from chat etc. Better would be: "Block from all my games and lobbies" - which would also advertise the feature in itself.

3. In user profile, don't hide the feature! Bring it to equal place with adding friends:
+ Add as friend
+ Block from my games

Other comments regarding the feature:
- people have been worried about how everyone will just block good players - or bad players. I think for most people that's not a criterion at all. I, for example only block systematic and obvious griefers (umadbro-types, teamkillers, voice spammers etc.), whose fun clearly derives from griefing, not playing.

- people complain all the time about kick votes, griefers, this and that. Now you finally have a feature to "punish the griefer". So what are you waiting for - use it

- and yes, you also block yourself from the griefers' games.. but hello!?! wasn't that the whole idea? Never having to play with them again!

[POLICEMATRIX]

yes I agree with 1 and 2 and maybe 3 =)

[larrybrains]

Good suggestions, but no worries cuz this is just a beta version of the blocking system. Chet mentioned in another thread that they plan to improve the functionality of the system.

Originally Posted by Chet

That said this is just the early start to the rollout. We are going to make some of the functionality easier and more apparent thanks to feedback here and other places. Thanks!

You can find his full post here. The part I quoted is the last paragraph.

[ajs410]

My only suggestion would be to keep the block link farther away from the add a friend link. You don't want to try adding someone and accidentally block them when your dog bumps your arm while you're trying to click...

[jasminethecat]

Originally Posted by ajs410

My only suggestion would be to keep the block link farther away from the add a friend link. You don't want to try adding someone and accidentally block them when your dog bumps your arm while you're trying to click...

It is pretty easy to undo...blocking is hardly permanent.

[Tyrant vs Tank]

1. Improve its buggy functionality in regards to 3rd party servers

2. Instead of requiring a restart for functions to take effect. Just make it so the blocker who blocks said person can't unblock them say for a minimum of a week or so that way they can't play the block/unblock game for chain joining, etc.

Make it so if you really mean to block someone, you better mean it otherwise you have to a wait an x amount of time before being able to unblock them again.

[Muraz]

No. The more people who know about the feature, the more people who will abuse it.

People who care enough to block people know about it. That's all we need.

[agwellin]

Originally Posted by Muraz

No. The more people who know about the feature, the more people who will abuse it.

Do you really want to be playing with those people? If they'd abuse blocking, they're probably already the kind of person that abuses votekicking and any other freedom that Valve provides for them. The end result is always the same: players being able to play with people compatible with them.

Originally Posted by Muraz

People who care enough to block people know about it. That's all we need.

WRONG. I continue to run into people on my friends list who have not heard that you can block people from L4D2 games via Steam. They are ALWAYS ecstatic to hear the news, though. So, no, everyone who cares does NOT already know about it.

[Muraz]

Originally Posted by agwellin

Do you really want to be playing with those people? If they'd abuse blocking, they're probably already the kind of person that abuses votekicking and any other freedom that Valve provides for them. The end result is always the same: players being able to play with people compatible with them.

If you encourage everyone in a community as bad as this one that blocking is an option, you're soon going to find yourself in a community with too many people blocking too many other people. "You missed a charge, BLOCK!" "You didn't punch me fast enough, BLOCK!!" "Yur name iz stupid BLOCK!!1one".

Blocking should be a last resort for dealing with harassment. Encouraging it will just lead to nobody being able to find games, even with people they like (seeing as how blocking presumably stops someone from even being on the same server as you, regardless of who else might be on there).

WRONG. I continue to run into people on my friends list who have not heard that you can block people from L4D2 games via Steam. They are ALWAYS ecstatic to hear the news, though. So, no, everyone who cares does NOT already know about it.

Then they should educate themselves. Not expect someone to come in with big neon flashing signs for the benefit of the ignorant. Why didn't you tell them?

[agwellin]

Originally Posted by Muraz

If you encourage everyone in a community as bad as this one that blocking is an option, you're soon going to find yourself in a community with too many people blocking too many other people. "You missed a charge, BLOCK!" "You didn't punch me fast enough, BLOCK!!" "Yur name iz stupid BLOCK!!1one".

Once again, do you really want to be playing with these people? You know what I do when someone gets p!$$3d because I missed a charge? I block that person! And I don't care if he blocks me, because we're clearly incompatible with each other.

Originally Posted by Muraz

Blocking should be a last resort for dealing with harassment. Encouraging it will just lead to nobody being able to find games, even with people they like (seeing as how blocking presumably stops someone from even being on the same server as you, regardless of who else might be on there).

You underestimate the size of this community. I've never had trouble finding another game to play. If that ever actually becomes an issue for a substantial amount of players, then that's a bridge we'll cross later. Currently, I see no reason to believe this will be case, and anyone who jumps to that conclusion is overreacting.

Originally Posted by Muraz

Then they should educate themselves. Not expect someone to come in with big neon flashing signs for the benefit of the ignorant. Why didn't you tell them?

I'm sorry, maybe I don't have the time and patience to personally IM every one of my 120+ Left 4 Dead friends. And if you think every long-time player of this game has the time and patience to browse the forums often, then you're just wrong. All information pertinent to the game, especially information about major features like this, should come WITH the game, not need to be sought out on a users' forum.

[Muraz]

Originally Posted by agwellin

Once again, do you really want to be playing with these people? You know what I do when someone gets p!$$3d because I missed a charge? I block that person! And I don't care if he blocks me, because we're clearly incompatible with each other.

And then you end up not playing with people you actually might want to play with, even if those people who annoy you are on the other team. No thanks.

If everybody behaved as you do and blocked everyone at the drop of a hat, there would simply not be enough games for anyone. If you want to go through the math of it, we can. But you'd do better to trust me on it; the more people who abuse blocking, the worse it gets.

You underestimate the size of this community. I've never had trouble finding another game to play.

I can hardly find any games to play in these days unless I play during peak hours. The words "No games found" haunt L4D these days.

If that ever actually becomes an issue for a substantial amount of players, then that's a bridge we'll cross later. Currently, I see no reason to believe this will be case, and anyone who jumps to that conclusion is overreacting.

Anyone who doesn't come to that conclusion hasn't thought it through. Or worse, has thought about it and dismissed it as "a bridge we'll cross later". I prefer not to get into silly positions in the first place, thanks.

I'm sorry, maybe I don't have the time and patience to personally IM every one of my 120+ Left 4 Dead friends. And if you think every long-time player of this game has the time and patience to browse the forums often, then you're just wrong. All information pertinent to the game, especially information about major features like this, should come WITH the game, not need to be sought out on a users' forum.

It was detailed in a blog post when the feature was released, and anyone who visits this forum but once will most likely find the information about it. If people don't bother to read the blog posts or visit the forum a single time ... why should we bend over backwards to shove information they could easily find out for themselves on a plate in front of them?

[Jacqueline]

I agree with 1 and 3 but your title part needs works

open profile takes sometime too freaking long

btw my list is up too 36 team killers

[HeadshotHoncho]

This also brings up another thought. Why is the option to view profiles of players in the current and recent games gone? The only method to find recent players seems to be searching steam in its entirety, which is just insane considering how common some names can be.

[Me2nice]

I didn't even know this has existed until I read this thread. I shall keep this in mind the next time I run into a griefer.

[CosmicD]

1. I also think that, whethere people make their profile private or for friends only, average damage to team mates should always be visible, so others can justify a block on sight of the profile :P I'm not saying that Valve should add a judgement of value on these data, just make them visible always like an indicator or something.

FOr me , personally my experience is that

0-200 = legit player that sometimes kills in the saferoom for more respawn health of other players
200-400 = players that are careless with molotovs FF in expert
400-1000 = residivist teamkiller.

People that have the latter, will automaticly end up on my blocklist and get banned on the server I play on.

2. A copy SteamID feature in the players window, so that one can immediately obtain it there and ban them when they cowardly leave from a server after teamkilling or griefing.

This saves us (server admins) to have to go look up a certain site to get the steam id from there. Not all servers run sourcemod and have the connect announce plugin to copy/Paste from.

In general, valve should just make interface tools available for people who play on unmanned/unadministered servers so that these players can manage their block list better.

4. possibility to bulk block users of an entire group, such as troll teams.
5. possibility to ban users assigned to said server group to your server :P

6. possibility to have a drop down menu on each profile visible in the "player dialog" from which you can choose, add friend, block user, delete friend (if applicable) etc..

It will just help to weed out the unwanted players and it will be more easy for players to find what they want to do without too much extra steps.