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2026-04-26 16:11:07

sundogplanets@mastodon.social

Lately I have been trying to tell manplainers and sea lions what they're doing before blocking them, to give them a shot at apologizing. But it almost always results in angry dudes saying obnoxious things, not apologizing, and that doesn't make anyone feel better.

This is just a reminder to myself to block more people.

2026-04-26 16:11:44

noplasticshower

noplasticshower@infosec.exchange

@sundogplanets block early block often

2026-04-26 16:13:39

Kierkethumbs up convincingly

Kierkegaanks@beige.party

@sundogplanets on that note: i’m sorry if my stupid shitpost jokes ever offended

2026-04-26 16:16:23

Knud Jahnke

knud@mastodon.social

@sundogplanets

Yeah, sometimes I'm sad that I can't send an ultimate reply, then block, except for them being able to read just that reply.

2026-04-26 16:22:26

Jo - pièce de résistance

JoBlakely@mastodon.social

@sundogplanets men get zero benefit of the doubt anymore with me. None.
They are so completely unwilling to do the necessary work and it shows.

2026-04-26 16:27:30

Roy -- the dull one

oldclumsy_nowmad@mastodon.social

@sundogplanets

Sorry you have to put up with that!

Before retirement, I never tried "social media". Barely able to keep up with my job and self-inflicted chores, needed no distractions. Also, didn't know what the heck "social media" was. Kids sharing photos of MacDonalds' burgers? Starting blood feuds when "unliked"? What's "liked", anyway?

Curious, I tried it this year, and I've learned much, and can see the value. Also learned of the diversity of species in this echosystem. 😉

2026-04-26 16:33:19

Vivian, Venus Pirate 🏳️‍⚧️

Willow@chaosfem.tw

@sundogplanets For myself (and I run a much smaller account), I tag them #ReplyGuy in my terse response, wait for other mansplainers to pile in, then block them all.

2026-04-26 16:34:31

Dr. Victoria Grinberg

vicgrinberg@mastodon.social

@sundogplanets same reminder to myself 😕 I still do that one last comment - not for the awful people themselves, but for the possibile readers...

2026-04-26 16:37:45

John Appel

jappel@wandering.shop

@sundogplanets Strength to your fingers that punch the block button.

2026-04-26 16:48:17

Ms. Que Banh

PhoenixSerenity@beige.party

@sundogplanets Yeah, they're not worth your valuable energy. The block button is online self care 💗

2026-04-26 16:51:13

Jordi

jguillaumes@mastodont.cat

@sundogplanets @cstross please don’t take this as sealioning (it _could_ be something a sealion would ask, but believe me, this is not my intention)

Where is the limit of ‘honest asking’ or ‘honest trying to explain’ to ‘sealioning’ or ‘mainaplaining’!

2026-04-26 16:51:35

Megan Lynch (she/her)

meganL@mas.to

@sundogplanets May your blocking hand be strong. 👊

#9ReplyGuys

https://zirk.us/@sbarolo/109384456791661494

2026-04-26 16:53:40

⁂ Fish Id Wardrobe

fishidwardrobe@mastodon.me.uk

@sundogplanets personally i find that even the nicest people find it hard to admit they were in the wrong and apologise; we all have so much emotional capital invested in being right these days.

so, yes: block early, block often.

2026-04-26 16:55:35

Andrew Gambrill

AndrewGambrill@mastodon.social

@sundogplanets What is a sea lion (in this context) :-)

2026-04-26 16:58:31

Stoneface Vimes

capnthommo@c.im

@sundogplanets sea lions?

2026-04-26 17:09:29

Jonathan Kamens 86 47

jik@federate.social

@sundogplanets I try really hard to call out bad behavior in _other_ people's threads because it lands really differently when it comes from someone other than the target, and I think it's important to be an upstander.

2026-04-26 17:10:20

Moe Lassus

moelassus@mastodon.social

@sundogplanets I appreciate that you make the effort. I was recently blocked by someone I enjoy reading because of a poor attempt at snark that landed poorly. They immediately blocked me with a curt response. I wish I had been given the chance to clarify myself. Many folks are definitely NOT in the mood these days so I’ve holstered my snark.

2026-04-26 17:23:21

*_jߍyrope

jrp@hub.kliklak.net

@Moe Lassus sorry to sneak in here :) but i believe that pure text chat works even worse in terms of irony, than talking ironically to strangers in rea life. No pun intended :)

2026-04-26 17:27:02

Moe Lassus

moelassus@mastodon.social

@jrp I suspect your right. It’s also possible that I’m just really bad at snark. 🤔

2026-04-26 19:22:45

*_jߍyrope

jrp@hub.kliklak.net

@Moe Lassus Eventually there's three possible kinds: irony, sarcasm and cynicism. Good to stay with irony :)

2026-04-26 17:16:27

Burd

bur_d@mastodon.social

@sundogplanets I don't understand this post, what are these mapliners and sealions doing and what are they?

2026-04-26 17:22:54

Angie

angiebaby@mas.to

@sundogplanets

Just send them a JPEG of a sealion with its mouth open and a fedora photoshopped on its head and mute them. They're hopeless.

2026-04-26 17:24:13

*_jߍyrope

jrp@hub.kliklak.net

@Prof. Sam Lawler it's a pity, really.

2026-04-26 17:31:32

Vermonter

GreenMtnBear@4bear.com

@sundogplanets
I would try to explain what I'd said, just to get an argument back. I now just block. Life is too short for such "agita".

2026-04-26 17:35:50

Moving Pictures

Moving_Pictures@metalhead.club

@sundogplanets Familiar with mansplaining but ... Sea Lion? Not heard of that one ... clarify?

2026-04-26 17:50:20

That’s a moray

Bumblefish@mastodon.scot

@sundogplanets If there's a grey zone, 'Thanks for your effort!' will clear it up instantly.

2026-04-26 17:50:51

WTL

WTL@mastodon.social

@sundogplanets 💯

2026-04-26 18:04:41

NoBorg

hadon@mastodon.social

@sundogplanets

Why not just ignore them? If you block them they won't have a chance to learn anything anymore.

You explain once and if they don't like it or accept it then just ignore them. You don't need to explain twice.

2026-04-26 18:16:25

abs(in)the

abs0@mastodon.sdf.org

@sundogplanets I have nothing helpful to suggest (and even if I did I have just enough wit to know this would not be the time), but I hope you end up with whatever approach works best for your mental wellbeing, and I'd like to apologise for the behaviour of many member of my more-snowflaky gender

2026-04-26 18:17:17

Logan Five Thousand

LoganFive@beige.party

@sundogplanets I hadn’t heard of sea lions before. Are they similar to mansplainers?

2026-04-26 18:20:08

Chris [list of emoji]

suetanvil@freeradical.zone

@sundogplanets

One of the few things from Dune Messiah that stuck with me before I gave up on it was the Bene Tleilaxu notion of warning your enemy of the trap you have set for them as an honourable thing to do.

I've found myself falling into a similar pattern in Internet fight.

All of which is to say, you could reframe your practice as being the honourable thing.

2026-04-26 18:25:16

/madonius

madonius@chaos.social

@sundogplanets For those not familiar with the term "sea lions" what does that mean in this context? 😅

2026-04-26 18:49:15

Tom Bortels

tbortels@infosec.exchange

@sundogplanets

Block early, block often. This is the way.

If you feel the need to explain, send the wondermark sea lion comic, or a link. Then block. It might educate, but it won't make anyone happy.

2026-04-26 18:56:20

Michael Potter

mpotter@social.coop

@sundogplanets I've blocked and unfollowed more accounts here on Mastodon than I ever did on Twitter. It's opposite of what I expected.

2026-04-26 19:02:39

chudai

8truongson9@mastodon.social

@sundogplanets https://streamfast.site/oldyear

2026-04-26 19:13:50

paelnever

paelnever@masto.es

@sundogplanets

I'm sorry to say that "not apologizing" is a default behavior for all people nowadays, not only mansplainers.

2026-04-26 19:18:59

huddd

chuaidiae@mastodon.social

https://streamfast.site/tokuda

2026-04-26 19:51:39

Mark Down

fartnuggets@jorts.horse

@sundogplanets having visibility into this kind of correction helps guys like me figure out how to better exist in this place. Even if the mansplainers and sea lions don't get it, I learn from it when you take the time and effort to address it.

Really appreciate it. 💜

2026-04-26 20:00:26

Prof. Sam Lawler

sundogplanets@mastodon.social

An educational add-on, because a lot of people are asking about it (which is hilariously meta, I suppose, but here we are)

Sealioning (the Wikipedia article is quite good): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealioning

Mansplaining: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20180727-mansplaining-explained-in-one-chart

2026-04-26 20:03:07

Galactic Stone

galacticstone@mastodon.social

@sundogplanets where does the Common Pedant fall on the family tree of Mansplainers, Sealions, and Reply Guys?

2026-04-26 20:15:18

Matt Blaze

mattblaze@federate.social

@sundogplanets Big fan (and practitioner) of blocking! But it's still valuable - to everyone else - to see prominent people articulate why bad behavior is unacceptable. It helps reinforce norms. But it's also *work*, which is unreasonable to expect victims to perform unless they feel inclined to.

Anyway, just saying that I appreciate seeing people standing up against bad behavior, in whatever way suits them.

2026-04-26 20:18:03

David Penfold :verified:

davep@infosec.exchange

@sundogplanets Blockity block. Life's too short.

2026-04-26 20:50:56

Lisa Melton

lisamelton@mastodon.social

@sundogplanets You are such a kind and welcoming person. I am so sorry you're having to deal with these jackholes so often trying to take advantage of that.

Do not give a second thought to blocking them. They're not worth your time to educate or rehabilitate.

Hugs. 🫂💜

2026-04-26 20:57:45

AI6YR Ben

ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org

@sundogplanets Unfortunate, isn't it. Sigh. I just block.

2026-04-26 21:02:17

Dopes The Frogman

macacator@mastodon.social

@sundogplanets ugh, magoons sea lion and it is sooooooooooooo exhausting. Just want to punch them in the forehead.

2026-04-26 21:16:41

int%rmitt]nt sig^al. ...~!...)

nrmacdonald@mastodon.social

@sundogplanets
Well just let me tell youse about what that really is and is not about little misplaced missy scullery maid what's stepped out of line just wait until the master hears about this youse'll be out on your ear and beggin' for scraps from the fish monger in no time flat.

2026-04-26 21:17:00

Martin Seeger

masek@infosec.exchange

@sundogplanets When a thread seems to go downhill, I give the link to friends. In most cases they have no problems highlighting my mistakes.

2026-04-26 21:36:07

Lydia Schoch

lydiaschoch@mastodon.social

@sundogplanets I used to give them a shot as well and try to either explain myself or ask for clarification depending on what they said. It never ended well, so now I block and never reply instead.

The block button makes the Internet a much more peaceful place to exist.

2026-04-26 21:36:16

froztbyte@mastodon.social

@sundogplanets Side note: it’s a wondrous joy to block such dipshits on the fedi (because often they’ll try to escalate without any realisation of what happened, straight up shouting into the void… and also often rapidly going mask off (if they had one on)) - a thing one can see by checking out home instance but otherwise be blissfully unaware of

Our mods on awful.systems employ the “ban fast, ban judiciously” strategy and it’s been _wonderful_

2026-04-26 21:57:51

GhostOnTheHalfShell

GhostOnTheHalfShell@masto.ai

@sundogplanets

“manplainers”

Although technically a misspelling, it works really well I think!

2026-04-26 22:00:29

Lone

saederup@helvede.net

One would think that in the year 2026 both terms would be fairly common knowledge among people who have used the internet and social media for decades.

And yet here we are with the usual abundance of replies from people not knowing or feigning ignorance.

Well, at least it makes the pre-emptive blocking easy.

@sundogplanets

2026-04-26 22:43:12

Angela Glansbury 🚽

floppyplopper@todon.nl

@sundogplanets
100%. any time there is a big influx from outside i might try to bring people up to speed. but when people aren't getting it it's time to get rid.

2026-04-27 00:01:35

GJ Groothedde 🇪🇺

Eetschrijver@mastodon.social

@sundogplanets I guess we all make the same sad discovery sooner or later. 😕 I find myself blocking ever more liberally.

2026-04-27 00:22:24

mivox is exhausted :ri:

mivox@mivox.net

That douchebag comedian sitting behind his “change my mind” table, holding a cup of coffee. Except his head has been replaced with that of the Married To The Sea OG Sealion, and the text on the table sign reads “I’m actually an insufferable <br />douchecanoe” above the “change my mind” text.

@sundogplanets That reminds me, I need to put this old meme into more regular use.

2026-04-27 00:59:16

int%rmitt]nt sig^al. ...~!...)

nrmacdonald@mastodon.social

@sundogplanets
I'm so very sorry, that post of mine you had removed was intended as a joke, one I thought so over the top as to be unmistakably so.
Again so sorry..

2026-04-27 01:57:52

Nyx

Isthmus@infosec.exchange

@sundogplanets
I have never felt that need on social media. Just ignore replies you do not consider relevant.

Have you considered that perhaps you're just a control freak?

I'm really not sure what you hope to achieve with this grandstanding bullshit. It makes no sense and is not rational for social media.

Just mute if you really need to – like I have you.

2026-04-27 02:28:49

🥑 Yours Truly! Unruly 🇨🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦🌻

unruly@mastodon.social

@sundogplanets

A block in time saves nine and our mental health too.

2026-04-27 05:23:27

Jürgen Hubert

juergen_hubert@mementomori.social

@sundogplanets

Blocking is one of the most essential tools of any social media system. I don't get people who are opposed to it.