soft-block meaning: definition, quotations

soft-block

verb

Internet To block (a user) on social media and then immediately unblock them, so that the user will (perhaps unknowingly) no longer follow or engage with the blocking user's posts.

Softblocking is not a built-in function, but a strategy. There are a few ways of doing it, but the idea is to create a sort of inverted mute.2019 November 11, Brian Feldman, “How to Block, Mute, and Avoid Your Enemies Online”, in New York—Intelligencer:

soft-block

noun

Internet The act of soft-blocking.

Where a mute hides someone else’s posts from you, a softblock hides your posts from someone else, without completely blocking them. It’s less like building a wall and more like cutting a string.2019 November 11, Brian Feldman, “How to Block, Mute, and Avoid Your Enemies Online”, in New York—Intelligencer:
And just last week, I gave my partner the silent treatment for not answering me after five minutes. On social media, all I seem to do is hard-block people left and right, foregoing the soft-block altogether. If I’m not doing that, I leave rude comments with super sassy emojis or direct message my friends with passive-aggressive cat GIFs.2022 October 27, Paloma Torres, quoting Potentially Petty/Hot Person, “Advice Column: Am I becoming hotter or just pettier? Paloma Torres answers the age-old question constantly on everyone's minds”, in The Eyeopener, volume 56, number 7, page 3: