this post was submitted on 18 Nov 2021
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Privacy
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Personally I don't think blocking is that important, because most of the time problems can be resolved in another way, like ignoring the messages. However, it can be necessary in extreme cases, and in fact it is already implemented in XMPP at the server level, as I understand. So there are probably many clients that support blocking whichever JID's you desire. I myself have used the blocking feature in the past.
Blocking is extremely important to personal safety. "Ignoring" isn't appropriate advice to anyone who's even been deluged with crap from a harasser.
Well it just depends on your mental fortitude. Harassers always stop when they don't get a response, because your response is necessary for them to continue. Getting the messages at all can be upsetting, but the power is in your hands to delete them and not let it get to you.
No, harassers don't always stop - this is a very simplistic view of things. Just 'buck up' and all will be well, eh? Have I misinterpreted your comments, or do you also believe that people who are on employment insurance are just lazy?
Case in point.
For me, blocking is one of the most important features any social app (chats, social media, etc) should have. I tried using Jabber to block my friend and had them message me from Xabber (from which I was entirely unable to block anyone), and their messages came through just fine. Months before that test, I had tried to test blocking someone else, but was unable to unblock them, even though all my clients said they weren't blocked. I simply remained unable to message them, and the client kept telling me I had blocked their JID.
Could this have been an issue with the server I was using?
It's possible that the implementation leaves something to be desired. Because I have used this feature so little myself, I will have to investigate to see what is truly going on and know how the server handles it vs. how the client handles it. I am currently using Converations on my phone with a Disroot account, and I have someone blocked. When I go into "Account details" I can open "Show block list" in the drop-down menu and they are still there. (As they should be, lol.) I can hold down on it and elect to unblock them. My understanding is that the server keeps this list and doesn't allow messages directly from that JID to even be delivered to my client. I can also imagine some clients not being aware of this at all.
Even though I blocked their JID, it's possible we both can be in the same MUC and I get messages from them through the MUC itself. I'm not sure if it's possible to block that without help from the MUC's admin.
Edit: One caveat here is that if you block individual JID's, someone could create more JID's with which to message you. Some XMPP servers have this behavior whereby they silently delete all incoming messages from people you haven't added to your roster, so this "add-first" policy helps them keep out spam. Ideally you would be able to contact your server admin in cases of abuse if it would become necessary to block problematic servers or warn the admins of said servers of abuse.
Yes that is not possible as only MUC admins actually know the real user JID (privacy feature), so a client can not know that the person in the MUC with the pseudonymous nick "marmulak" is the same user as the "marmulak@example.com" on your block-list.
What client were you testing? It's worth a bugreport if the block feature didn't work as expected