It’s no secret that Elon Musk dislikes the block button. X is now altering the way blocks function on its platform, albeit it is (for the time being) refraining from completely eliminating Musk’s request to do so.
Rather, X is adjusting the answers’ visibility inside a block. On X, it used to be possible to block someone and still respond to their postings. Furthermore, the blocked individual would not be able to see that response or be aware that the person who blocked them was responding to their postings. This is now being undone so that people may still view direct answers even if the poster has blocked them. The company noted that the modification is “part of our ongoing commitment to aligning the block feature with our principles as a public town square” in a post from the engineering team at X.
We are making changes to how block works.
If a user who has blocked you replies to one of your posts, you will now be able to see their reply. This change enables you to identify and report any potential bad content that you previously could not view, safeguarding both your…
— Engineering (@XEng) May 2, 2024
The post also hinted that there may be more changes coming to blocks, which is one of the most widely used safety features on the service. “Our goal is to allow users to control their experience while maintaining the public visibility of posts,” the company said. That would seem to align with previous comments from Musk, who has said on multiple occasions that a public-facing “block” feature “makes no sense” and that “block is going to be deleted as a ‘feature,’ except for DMs.”
For now, the changes to blocking aren’t that drastic. In fact, they may even be welcomed by some users who want more visibility into what people are saying about them on the platform. But the fact that X is starting to change the visibility of previously blocked content could also be a sign of more significant changes to come.
