If A ignores B, should we allow B to respond to the comments of A?
Yes. If other people also do not like B’s comments then they are free to ignore B too. If the other readers do like B’s responses then chances are A really is speaking bullshit and B correcting them is a desirable outcome.
disallowing invisible responses encourages B to make off-topic responses somewhere else (as followed the wake of the troll tax).
I think people stopped doing that later. During the first days of troll tax it felt like a cool rebellion, but later it became merely a trivial inconvenience.
It’s also a feature that can be implemented as browser plugin if anyone with that skill cares—with or without endorsement from on high.
If A ignores B, should we allow B to respond to the comments of A?
On the one hand, allowing invisible responses gives B the last word in everything.
On the other hand, disallowing invisible responses encourages B to make off-topic responses somewhere else (as followed the wake of the troll tax).
Yes. If other people also do not like B’s comments then they are free to ignore B too. If the other readers do like B’s responses then chances are A really is speaking bullshit and B correcting them is a desirable outcome.
I think people stopped doing that later. During the first days of troll tax it felt like a cool rebellion, but later it became merely a trivial inconvenience.