Reddit has a new user blocking tool that stops abusive trolls from engaging with others

Reddit has launched a new blocking tool that prohibits abusive trolls on the platform - renowned for its extreme forms of free speech and controversial communities - from engaging with other users.

In a Reddit post on Wednesday, Reddit cofounder Christopher Slowe described how the nature of Reddit's open platform has led to it being exploited by some users.

"...sometimes this very openness can lead to less awesome stuff like spam, trolling, and worse, harassment," wrote Slow.

"We work hard to deal with these when they occur publicly. Today, we're happy to announce that we've just released a feature to help you filter them from within your own inbox: user blocking."

The tool allows Reddit users to block and mute other users on the site. In order to block someone, a Reddit user simply has to click the "block user" button while viewing the reply from the user in question in their inbox. Once this is done, the Reddit user will no longer see any Reddit posts, comments, or messages from the person they have just blocked.

In his post, Slowe highlighted how Reddit already had a blocking tool but he admitted it had its shortcomings.

"Believe it or not, we've actually had a 'block user' feature in a basic form for quite a while, though over time its utility focused to apply to only private messages," wrote Slow. "We've recently updated its behavior to apply more broadly: you can now block users that reply to you in comment replies as well."

The Next Web wrote that the user blocking tool was "11 years too late."