How do I prevent myself from seeing the lewd photos someone posts on my local, home and or federated timeline without preventing them from commenting on anything I post with words or without preventing myself from reading any replies they have to anything I post?
So if I mute them but do not block them then I will not see images they post on the timeline but I can see if they reply to me somehow?
Is there any way to allow DMs and mentions to work while muting someone?
Yes! If you mute someone through your server’s website or web app, there will be an option to allow notifications. If you allow notifications, then DMs and mentions by the muted account will still show up normally in your notifications.
https://fedi.tips/blocking-and-muting-on-the-fediverse/
That article answered my questions
There is a switch you can flip when you mute someone to choose this setting at least on my interface
