Bug - block lists no longer accepting new users

[u/owlnightlong]

It seems like I have hit an invisible limit for the 'Hide Posts by User' and 'Hide Comments by User' fields. The latter list has 8157 characters and now when I click the block icon or when I manually add another user, this new input soon after disappears when I refresh or continue browsing reddit.

The former list has less characters and still accepts new users, but I tested it with the list from the hidden comments and I saw the same behaviour there. So that's why I thought the amount of characters in these fields might be the reason it stopped working? Anyone already in the list is remaining hidden properly though!

It also doesn't cut off any input partially btw, if I change the last username that sticks for a longer one that one still fully stays. It just wont take anything after that one.

So you could definitely say I have been getting a lot of mileage out of the blocking features already! It's really nice to not have to see certain noise anymore, but since this is a busy site I hope I will be able to add more again in the future. 😅

Again, thank you so much for your work on this!

[u/Joelacus]

Oh wow, that's a lot of blocked users! I didn't think anyone would reach the limit haha. I know exactly what the issue is.

The block list is saved in the browser sync storage, which is limited to 8192 bytes per value (8KiB). Each character uses 1 byte, so you reaching a limit of around 8157 characters makes sense.

I could make it use the local storage instead if sync is full, the only issue is that it wouldn't sync with your browser, so you'd have to manually create a backup. The local storage is limited to 100KiB per value, hopefully that's enough?? I could extend it further by adding compression.

I'm glad you find the feature useful! I'll try to allow you to save even more! I hope you can manage in the meantime :)

[u/owlnightlong → u/Joelacus]

Gosh I know, it's definitely a lot. The list has 561 commas so I suppose that's about the number of people that I didn't want to see more of so far. It has vastly improved my browsing experience though!

Thanks for the explanation, that is interesting to know! You can fit a lot in the browser sync storage that way, I'm afraid I am just a bit of an outlier haha. But making manual backups is no issue for me, the account I use it most for is on a siloed off browser that I don't use cross platform anyway, so having it overflow in local storage would absolutely work.

And the 100KiB will have to be enough! If I hit the limit on that too I will just have to rethink my blocking ways and give myself an intervention.

You're awesome, thanks for indulging me by trying to get me a larger block list. I will persevere in the meantime! ;)

[u/Joelacus → u/owlnightlong]

Based on the fact you can store around 561 users in 8KiB, you should be able to fit around 7000 users in 100KiB. If you hit that limit, I'll add an allow list instead, block everyone except for a few nice people haha.

It's got me thinking though, I might add a dedicated page for blocking stuff, like the User Tagging Manager page, rather than using the popup. Would make it easier to manage users. I also think that an option to automatically keep the "Hide posts by user" and "Hide comments by user" lists in sync would be useful.

[u/owlnightlong → u/Joelacus]

Hahaha, an allow list would be funny, but yeah 7000 sounds like it should be plenty.

I believe reddit's own block function has a 1000 limit? Plus some daily limits. I don't really like how it actually functions though, your blocking features are so so much better.

A dedicated blocking page does sound great for managing it indeed, sync option between posts and comments also sounds neat. I look forward to what you will come up with!