28 votes

Daily Tildes discussion - more filtering options?

I added topic tag filters a few weeks ago, which should make it so that people can more easily filter out certain types of topics that they're not interested in.

How much further should we consider going with filters? Should we allow filtering out posts from certain domains by default? Posts with certain words or phrases in their titles? Other possibilities?

Is there a point where it's possible to filter out too much, too easily and that starts having negative effects on the site? What do you think?

21 comments

  1. [4]
    dredmorbius
    Link
    Yes to domain blacklisting. It's a measure that imposes cost on low-quality, weaponised viral clickbait crap. I have a long candidate list already.

    Yes to domain blacklisting. It's a measure that imposes cost on low-quality, weaponised viral clickbait crap.

    I have a long candidate list already.

    17 votes
  2. [2]
    Comment deleted by author
    Link
    1. [2]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. Deimos
        Link Parent
        It's possible, but my inclination is that I think it's a good thing for adding a filter to be a little inconvenient. I want it to feel like more of a conscious decision. If it's too easy (like...

        It's possible, but my inclination is that I think it's a good thing for adding a filter to be a little inconvenient. I want it to feel like more of a conscious decision. If it's too easy (like being able to do it with 2 clicks), I'm a bit concerned that people will do it as a knee-jerk reaction whenever a post slightly annoys them, and we'll end up with a very fragmented site as everyone quickly sets up a ton of filters.

        9 votes
  3. [2]
    0-0
    Link
    I'd like wildcard support for topic tag filters, e.g.: lgbt* would catch lgbt, lgbtq, lgbtqia; *porn would catch cityporn, designporn, earthporn.

    I'd like wildcard support for topic tag filters, e.g.: lgbt* would catch lgbt, lgbtq, lgbtqia; *porn would catch cityporn, designporn, earthporn.

    8 votes
    1. Crespyl
      Link Parent
      That could be really handy, though it's worth noting that tags are intended to have a hierarchy similar to groups. So you could theoretically browse/filter ~pics for the tag nature which would...

      That could be really handy, though it's worth noting that tags are intended to have a hierarchy similar to groups.

      So you could theoretically browse/filter ~pics for the tag nature which would then include nature.landscape or nature.flowers.

      If we do get glob-matched filters, it might be nice to have some way to see what tags are actually picked up by the glob, in case I filter out spam* and don't realize I'm missing out on interesting content from spam-detection-algorithms.

      3 votes
  4. nathan
    Link
    I think broad filters are fine, but specific filters (especially domain filters IMO) put the onus on the user to make sure that the posts they see are high enough quality. e.g “if you don’t like...

    I think broad filters are fine, but specific filters (especially domain filters IMO) put the onus on the user to make sure that the posts they see are high enough quality. e.g “if you don’t like this post why don’t you filter it”. Instead of that, I feel the onus should be on the community and the moderators to ensure that content is quality.

    For example, I have “ask” filtered as a tag because I don’t enjoy that style of post, which is different than filtering “imgur.com” because I think that imgur posts are typically low quality.

    Some customization is fine, but ending up in a similar state as reddit, where the site is practically useless without an up front investment in filtering isn’t desireable either.

    7 votes
  5. [3]
    Diet_Coke
    Link
    Re:tags - I made a post earlier today with the tag 'uk politics' and it got past at least one person's filter for 'politics'. I may have goofed on the tag (should it be politics.uk?) but it may be...

    Re:tags - I made a post earlier today with the tag 'uk politics' and it got past at least one person's filter for 'politics'. I may have goofed on the tag (should it be politics.uk?) but it may be helpful for some if filters include partial tags too.

    6 votes
    1. [2]
      Deimos
      Link Parent
      I think just separate "uk" and "politics" tags would have been best for that.

      I think just separate "uk" and "politics" tags would have been best for that.

      9 votes
      1. DrStone
        Link Parent
        With the current simple filtering, i.e. any single tag gets filtered out, this isn't a great solution. Maybe I don't want to specifically see uk politics for whatever reason (taking a break, get...

        With the current simple filtering, i.e. any single tag gets filtered out, this isn't a great solution.

        Maybe I don't want to specifically see uk politics for whatever reason (taking a break, get news elsewhere, whatever), but I'm interested in keeping up with global politics. If something is tagged "uk" and "politics" instead of "uk politics" or "politics.uk", the filter options are "uk" (which blocks all uk content, not just politics) or "politics" (which blocks all politics, not just uk).

        More complex tag filtering rules, like boolean operators (e.g. "uk" AND "politics"), instead of a simple comma separated list of individual tags would help handle this problem and others. In addition to that, allowing filters per-group would be very useful (e.g. assuming a ~politics, filter "uk" only in that group while allowing it on the broader site)

        8 votes
  6. [4]
    acr
    Link
    We can filter tags out of the main page. Would be cool to have a filter that is basically like show all posts sitewide with this words in it on main page.

    We can filter tags out of the main page. Would be cool to have a filter that is basically like show all posts sitewide with this words in it on main page.

    5 votes
    1. [3]
      Deimos
      Link Parent
      Is that just... search, or do you mean something different?

      Is that just... search, or do you mean something different?

      4 votes
      1. Algernon_Asimov
        Link Parent
        It's subscribing to a tag. So, I might subscribe to the tag "australia", and all posts which are tagged "australia" will appear on my front page, even if those posts are in groups I'm not...

        It's subscribing to a tag. So, I might subscribe to the tag "australia", and all posts which are tagged "australia" will appear on my front page, even if those posts are in groups I'm not subscribed to.

        7 votes
      2. Zeerph
        Link Parent
        I think the other person is talking about a way to filter-in topics onto the front page, whether or not you are subscribed to the group those topics would still be seen.

        I think the other person is talking about a way to filter-in topics onto the front page, whether or not you are subscribed to the group those topics would still be seen.

        2 votes
  7. OriginalBinChicken
    Link
    +1 for domain filtering. It would be a greatly useful feature when at scale.

    +1 for domain filtering. It would be a greatly useful feature when at scale.

    5 votes
  8. rodya
    Link
    How about a way to hide individual topics that may be mistagged or just otherwise slipped through your filters?

    How about a way to hide individual topics that may be mistagged or just otherwise slipped through your filters?

    3 votes
  9. [4]
    zoec
    Link
    Off-topic, but is there a way to set a global preference for comment ordering? The default is "most votes", which doesn't appear modifiable.

    Off-topic, but is there a way to set a global preference for comment ordering? The default is "most votes", which doesn't appear modifiable.

    1 vote
    1. [3]
      Deimos
      Link Parent
      Not currently, no. It wouldn't be difficult to add a preference for that though, I'll add an issue to the tracker for it.

      Not currently, no. It wouldn't be difficult to add a preference for that though, I'll add an issue to the tracker for it.

      4 votes
      1. MetArtScroll
        Link Parent
        Thanks, I hope you assign high priority to this issue. The fewer pet peeves the better.

        Thanks, I hope you assign high priority to this issue. The fewer pet peeves the better.