Don’t be sorry! It’s a function of the forum so it’s good to understand what things do and if it’s useful to you!
It does affect messages. I actually just tested this and the ignored user messaged me and I dont see it in my messages (nor do I have a message notification). If it is a group...
Ignoring is one-direction only. If an admin/mod has a user ignored, the ignored user would still see everything posted by the mod/admin.
I hope that’s clear! Let me know if it’s not!