I block, you block, we all block Twitter shock schlock

Microbloggers can now trade lists of obnoxious users

Twitter has introduced a feature that allows users to share their block lists with others to help single out abusive users.

Beginning on Wednesday, the 140-character gab service has enabled Twitter users to share data on who they have blocked from following their own feeds, with the idea that others will use the information to block unwanted interactions from the same accounts before they occur.

In particular, Twitter hopes the feature will allow members of sub-communities on the service to block out trolls who may be targeting their group.

The new option places an "Export your list" selection under the advanced options at the top of users' "Blocked accounts" pages that allows them to choose which of their friends will receive their blocked accounts list.

Recipients can then, through their own blocked accounts pages, choose to import the shared block list and add those accounts to the ranks of their own banned users.

"You can now export and share your block lists with people in your community facing similar issues or import another user’s list into your own account and block multiple accounts all at once, instead of blocking them individually," wrote Twitter user safety engineer Xiaoyun Zhang.

"We also hope these advanced blocking tools will prove useful to the developer community to further improve users’ experience."

Cracking down on trolls and those who harass other users has been a priority for Twitter of late. In April, Twitter laid forward a new set of disciplinary policies aimed at those who behave badly on the site, and in December it updated its system for flagging abusive tweets. ®