I know that blocking has its values and uses. I know that it can be a tool. I know that it is sometimes necessary. I didn’t mean to castigate it or those who do it. But it does seem to me to exemplify the faux intimacy and fake reality that permeates all on-line communities. You can block someone in TRW (getting good at this acronymic jargon), but it takes more effort and might require a physical confrontation with actual consequences. On-line it is just a matter of “Poof, you’re gone.” No effort, no risk, no consequences. This is what makes the on-line world such a haven for cowards. Not always, not all, but often.