# Adding optional likes as a response to posts? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 27, 2020, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adding-optional-likes-as-a-response-to-posts/847073 "2020-01-27T19:41:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adding-optional-likes-as-a-response-to-posts/847073/21 "2020-01-29T05:03:13Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > OK. If that’s the group will, I’m fine without it. I simply find it occasionally useful elsewhere. Useful for what? ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adding-optional-likes-as-a-response-to-posts/847073/22 "2020-01-29T14:03:36Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > We did away with Reputation Points (Greenies) on a site I moderate for the same reason. It was just people giving points to their friends every time they posted something, signifying nothing. My experience on other boards indicates this is truly the case. Very often, it seems to be used and abused by children trying to have fun with a feature that was never intended to have fun. Instead of adding some “like or dislike” feature, I would venture a guess that many people here could come up with something far more useful and/or far more fun. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adding-optional-likes-as-a-response-to-posts/847073/23 "2020-01-29T14:34:54Z")
Works nicely on Stack Exchange. Probably not here at IMHO or Cafe Soc. Like many things, utility is likely content sensitive. Despite what the Atlantic, and and a bunch of guys from the internet’s have to say, likes are Not a thing of pure evil. Methinks though dost protest too much. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adding-optional-likes-as-a-response-to-posts/847073/24 "2020-01-29T16:48:23Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Works nicely on Stack Exchange. Probably not here at IMHO or Cafe Soc. Like many things, utility is likely content sensitive. Despite what the Atlantic, and and a bunch of guys from the internet’s have to say, likes are Not a thing of pure evil. > Methinks though dost protest too much. Methinks “Not a thing of pure evil” is not exactly a ringing endorsement. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adding-optional-likes-as-a-response-to-posts/847073/25 "2020-01-29T23:57:48Z")
True that, Czarcasm, but I definitely got the impression that some regarded them as such. Mayhap they overstated to try to make a point? Understatement is sometimes an effective tool. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adding-optional-likes-as-a-response-to-posts/847073/26 "2020-01-30T12:38:38Z")
> [@](#): > > There’s reason to believe that the “like” button degrades interaction and behavior and information and understanding – Yep, that’s Facebook alright. LOL ---
**Author:** ![KMS94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ad7895/32.png) [@KMS94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KMS94)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adding-optional-likes-as-a-response-to-posts/847073/27 "2020-01-30T20:15:33Z")
I’ve been on another forum, also now on Vbulletin, for about 20 years. During a recent upgrade, the ability to “like” a post has been added. When you hover over the “like” button, however, you can pick the following icons: a middle finger icon (FU), thumbs up (like), thumbs down (down), laughing smiley face with tears (funny), a heart (heart), crying face (sad) and shocked face (wtf) That forum allows in-thread pictures, and it seems most of the “likes” are given on those. There’s no reputation or anything like that I can see. It doesn’t seem to have hurt the board at all. It’s handy when you want to acknowledge a joke somebody made with a “funny” but don’t want to disrupt the thread by posting just to say so. I wouldn’t say it hurt the boards at all. In fact, it was nice to see some “responses” made from a few folks that hadn’t posted in a while, got called out on it, and back posting again. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adding-optional-likes-as-a-response-to-posts/847073/28 "2020-02-02T02:17:52Z")
I’ll agree that a simple way to say “I found your joke funny” might be a good thing. I’ve occasionally posted what I think is a funny joke and never gotten any feedback to say so. I just assume people did find it funny, but didn’t want to go to the trouble to make a post just to say so. I know I’ve seen other people’s jokes that I found hillarious, but didn’t have a reason to post a reply saying so. As long as the indication doesn’t accrue to the person but just stays with that post, it’d be OK. We don’t want people excessively posting lame jokes trying to up their Funny Score. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adding-optional-likes-as-a-response-to-posts/847073/29 "2020-02-02T04:31:34Z")
AFAIK, on Stack Exchange, There’s no way to find anyone’s total “like” count on comments. Votes on answers are a different matter. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adding-optional-likes-as-a-response-to-posts/847073/30 "2020-02-02T23:28:22Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > This has been discussed before. > [Likes, Thanks, Reputation etc... - About This Message Board - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732824) > And again more recently, less than a year ago. > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=874005](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=874005) > It has been debated to death, and I think this feature is not “like”ly to happen any time soon. Like. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2020, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adding-optional-likes-as-a-response-to-posts/847073/31 "2020-02-04T12:11:43Z")
I wouldn’t mind it if we could find out who voted, for instance when you hover over the like button on Facebook. To do otherwise would encourage sock armies to upvote otherwise unpopular posts. Other than that I have no problem with it as long as it doesn’t otherwise alter the functionality of the board. ETA: by that I mean sorting OPs by popularity. I don’t mind that on Reddit but I like to have some variety in my social media. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adding-optional-likes-as-a-response-to-posts/847073/32 "2020-03-06T22:02:20Z")
I’ve posted on boards that have the sort of “like” feature the OP is talking about, and I’ve posted on boards (like the SDMB) where the only way of other posters expressing their appreciation for a post is to make another post to that effect. I can say that I vastly prefer seeing individualized “Thank you for that wonderful post!” replies than mindless “like” counts, even for posts that aren’t mine. The negligible cost (and typically, anonymity) of clicking a “like” button makes me completely discount them as a measure of appreciation or quality. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adding-optional-likes-as-a-response-to-posts/847073/33 "2020-03-06T23:36:58Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Like user icons and a separate forum for thread games, this is a feature which would - guaranteed - lead to the inevitable destruction of these boards. My first impulse was to look for the “Like” button for this post. But then I remembered how hidebound this board is. > [@Squink](#): > > Works nicely on Stack Exchange. Probably not here at IMHO or Cafe Soc. Like many things, utility is likely content sensitive. Despite what the Atlantic, and and a bunch of guys from the internet’s have to say, likes are Not a thing of pure evil. > Methinks though dost protest too much. Right. > [@psychonaut](#): > > I can say that I vastly prefer seeing individualized “Thank you for that wonderful post!” replies than mindless “like” counts, even for posts that aren’t mine. I vastly prefer a “Like” button to any “me too” post. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adding-optional-likes-as-a-response-to-posts/847073.md?page=1)