Google__ The Missing Manual - Kevin Purdy [32]
Click that arrow to display the Options menu, where you can choose from the following:
Link to this post. If the post has been published as Public, when you select this option, Google+ opens a new tab in your browser (or a new window, depending on your browser settings) showing just this post. Then you can select the web address in your browser’s address bar, copy it by pressing Ctrl+C (⌘-C on Mac), and then paste it wherever you’d like. It’s much the same as copying the post’s timestamp as explained in the Tip on Tip.
Report abuse. If a post is obscene, abusive, intentionally aggravating, or just pure spam, click this option to display a “Report this post” box where you can detail what’s wrong with the post.
Mute this post. If a post keeps appearing at the top of your stream either because it’s popular, it keeps getting updated, or it somehow triggers another of the signals Google+ uses to determine posts’ relevance (The Anatomy of a Stream) and you’re sick of seeing it, click this option. Doing so doesn’t harm the reputation of the person who posted it nor does it delete the post itself, it simply removes the post from your stream. In its place, you’ll see a thin bar noting that the post has been muted, with an “Undo mute” link you can click to bring it back.
Block this person. This option is meant mainly for people who show up in your stream because they keep mentioning you (Mentioning People in Posts), sharing specifically to you, or are somehow intruding on your Google+ experience. Blocking someone keeps you from seeing any more of their posts in your stream, no matter what they do to call your attention to them. They won’t know that you’ve blocked them unless they do some serious investigating into why their shared posts and comments on your posts aren’t showing up as they normally would.
When you select this option, you see the box shown on Blocking, Muting, and Reporting Posts. It explains that blocking someone removes that person’s ability to see and comment on things you post, you won’t see the things you’d normally see from that person (like posts and comments), and she won’t be in your circles anymore. When you post something as Public, she can still see that, but only if she happens across it somewhere outside her main Google+ stream. A new, red circle named Blocked will also appear on your Circles page; you can drag people into and out of it, just like regular circles.
Note there are two block buttons: “Report and block this person,” and “Block Jane Doe.” Click “Report and block” when that person has posted, commented, or otherwise behaved in a way you think is intentionally harmful, obnoxious, spam-like, or otherwise against the social norms, and you think they should be booted off the site for everyone’s benefit. Click “Block Jane Doe” when you just don’t want that person pestering you anymore.
Chapter 4. Notifications
LOTS OF STUFF CAN HAPPEN on Google+ when you’re not looking. In between your visits to the site, people can +1 or comment on your posts and photos, or share them with their own circles. People you’ve never met can add you to their circles and folks you’ve added to your circles can add you back. And people can mention and tag you in posts and photos, send you messages, and so on. Google+ doesn’t want you to miss any of this, so it uses notifications to let you know about these happenings even when you’re not logged into the site.
When you first join Google+, you’ll probably smile and get a little self-esteem boost every time you see a notification. But as your circles grow and your stream gets busier, you’ll want to manage and scale back these notifications, or at least make them less intrusive. This chapter explains all the notifications you can get, where you can get them, and how to fine-tune them to hit the sweet spot of not missing anything important yet not feeling overwhelmed.
Where You Get Notifications