After seeing @princessffa post and now sharing my own from May, this is just one of sooooooooooooooo many reasons I’ve spent so much time discussing hyper-individualism, community responsibility, and this increasingly common attitude of “I don’t owe anyone anything,” “I can say whatever I want,” or “my actions are nobody else’s problem.”
These screenshots are of real anonymous messages we received. No matter the disagreements, drama, gossip, cliques, hurt feelings, or interpersonal bullshit in a community, this is not normal conflict. These are threats of rape and violence.
And this is exactly where hyper-individualism becomes dangerous: when “I can do whatever I want” is completely disconnected from “I am still responsible for how my behavior affects other human beings.”
Community does not mean everyone has to like each other. It doesn’t mean everyone has to agree. It means there are certain basic standards of humanity we collectively refuse to normalize.
Also, we tested something on Tumblr that people should know about.
We had one person anonymously send an ask to a friend, and the friend selected the 3 dots “Block @Anonymous.”
Afterward, neither person was blocked from seeing the other’s blog. However, when the original sender tried sending another anonymous ask, Tumblr appeared to let them submit it normally, but the recipient never received it. The original sender also could no longer successfully send that person anonymous asks.
That matches Tumblr’s own documentation: blocking an anonymous ask blocks the IP address associated with that anonymous sender from sending you additional anonymous asks. It does not necessarily block their Tumblr account from viewing or otherwise interacting with yours.
So if you receive a threatening, sexually violent, harassing, or abusive anon:
* Screenshot it first so you preserve what was sent.
* Report it to Tumblr when appropriate.
* Use the ••• → Block @Anonymous option rather than simply deleting it.
* Do not assume it failed just because the sender can still see your blog.
* If anonymous harassment continues, consider turning anonymous asks off entirely.
One important caveat: an anonymous block is IP-based, so it should not be treated as a foolproof way to identify or permanently exclude a particular person. Tumblr itself describes it as blocking the IP associated with the anonymous ask. (Tumblr Help Center)
And frankly, this is why conversations about everyone's responsibility to one another matter.
“Anonymous” should never mean “unaccountable.”
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