I answered a climate question and was immediately blocked by the asker?

When Cyclops asks a question, he's just looking for people to reinforce his beliefs. If you don't do that, you're immediately banned from answering his questions. Maxx is similar, he slanders people constantly, but if you point out that what he is saying is not true, he doesn't want to hear it--or anyone else to hear it also.

Perhaps Kano could explain why he thinks the IPCC has changed their views on tornadoes.

Well, this category of Y/A has become extremely emotional and bitter. Most of the regular participants have very strongly held opinions and the division is largely between two groups, one which is oriented toward the scientific and the other which is more politically based. Which one can see will cause conflicts in and of itself...and of course, is reflective of the larger world according to polls which say belief/disbelief regarding AGW is largely influenced by political ideology. Aside from that, when you look at the political leadership of the U.S. (and many other countries, but I am from the U.S. so I am most familiar with the situation here) politics is not really about issues, it is about emotional appeals to whatever constituency the politicians feel will keep them in power, so pretty much everything is about personalities-'we're the good guys, they're the bad guys.' A lot of people model their behavior after their chosen ideological leadership, which can be contradictory when you see how unsuccessful that behavior is in terms of anything but getting reelected. But most matters really aren't as black and white as some people would like to believe, whether scientific or political...and even my synopsis of the fight here is an oversimplification, as there are a LOT of nuances that keep me coming back aside from the information I am always looking for. (I'm just in business and have interests in several arenas that are impacted significantly by weather and what appears to be a changing climate, so I am always trying to get the most current information and updates.)

Blocking, here, has become a topic of some interest and it can be frustrating to be blocked. Most here are opposed to the practice and I don't block anyone myself, but blocking is allowed by Yahoo TOS and nobody has to explain why they block if they don't feel like it.

I cannot comment on Cyclops, I have not read many of his questions or comments and I don't comment that much on individuals, especially not negatively. Generally, even if I disagree strongly with someone I look for content and information; redundancies that are or border on spam drive me away from participants on both sides of the issue, but there are often interesting discussions to be had, which can not only reveal previously unrealized areas of interest and study, but also lead to a search for common ground rather than impasse. I'm more interested in that, so blocking, from my perspective, is cutting off one's nose to spite one's face.

All that being said, blocking is done for a WHOLE lot of reasons and I would not necessarily characterize it as 'cowardly.' Sometimes it is to drive home a point, other times it is a response to an insult, intended or not, and in some cases the blocker just got tired of spending time dealing with the blockee. It's kind of like a conversation up at the coffee shop-you hang out with people you enjoy talking with, and if there is somebody who keeps trying to butt and is not welcome in the group that is talking, everybody tunes him or her out. That's one of the functions of the blocking tool here although there are some who may make unwarranted assumptions about it, such as-forgive me for saying so-the assumption of cowardice. I note, of course, that this characterization was not so much an assumption in your question as...a question.

So yeah, in this case cowardice could be the reason. Like I said, I don't know in this case, I don't even know the individual for the reasons stated above. But there are a lot of reasons people block. It is immaterial to me personally. Free association is guaranteed by the Constitution of the U.S. so if Yahoo offers blocking, it is the right of the individual participant to use it if he or she wants to-for whatever reason.

Cyclops and Maxx are ignorant and dishonest ranters. They want to rant, they do not want to think or learn. That is why they deny climate change.

Cyclops... doesn't want to hear any views that disagree with him, as far as I've seen. He's one of the worst offenders in that respect, I think.

Cyclops blocks everyone that will not join him in a Vulcan mind meld and submit to his/her views. Relax. When Cyclops blocks you it is to put you in with a better group of people. ... Remember, having only one eye greatly reduces your sense of perspective and peripheral vision.

Global Warming ended in 2012, confirmed by our Satelite reports 11/28/2012. Man made climate change will only destroy all life permanently. Mike

A number of deniers behave this way. You can always do the same as hey dook- mirror the question and provide your answer.

Where was this exactly? Did you use foul language? Did you call him names? Were you disrespectful?

Waa! Waa! Waa!

Flunky, "Cyclops... doesn't want to hear any views" Are you hearing things again?

Perhaps your opinion was not valued.

Well some of the cry baby deniers will block you right away if you threaten their way of thinking