In the discussions about Discourse, there is a lot of good information from people that I’d like to acknowledge and let people know I appreciate their input. In other discussions, there are times when I want to acknowledge that I read and heard someone’s thoughts and appreciate their writing it. But it’s difficult to do in the thread without feeling like I’m interrupting the flow of the conversation.
At Reddit, there are at least 5 ways to thank people.
Just say thanks in the thread. That’s not only culturally accepted, but people will upvote you for saying thanks as an encouragement. Since the conversations are threaded, the thanks doesn’t hijack or drag down the conversation.
Upvote. That’s at least an acknowledgement that the person read what you posted and is acknowledging that they heard you.
DM the person. Generally people are super nice about receiving thanks since the notification system is the same as for getting a comment, so it’s not an inconvenience to reply back to them from that screen.
Give someone an award. There are lot of awards on Reddit.
Give people money in the form of gold or silver.
On the Dope
Slows down the thread,
Not possible,
Possible, but not common or as accepted, I think.
Not possible
Not possible
I’m not suggesting that the Dope implement any of the systems on Reddit. I just gave the comparison to show how one system allows for a lot more opportunities for acknowledgement.
Given that the only two options of showing thanks either slow the thread down or is not commonly done, which is more accepted and encouraged here? Are there other ways of showing thanks on the Dope that I haven’t thought about?
I don’t see how a thanks post slows down a thread. I see and use them all the time.
One thing I don’t see mentioned when we talked about this before is my worry that upvotes and likes will take the place of some posts. IMHO we do not need fewer posts on this board.
To clarify what I mean about slowing the thread down. For example, if I posted thanks to every tip that codinghorror gave, there would be a LOT of extra posts in the thread, just saying thanks. I really am appreciative of so many of those tips and insights.
In other places, I might hit an upvote or a like to save space and other people’s scrolling. Again, I’m not advocating for those systems here. I’m just looking for the best way to thank people.
For the people who are saying that they only see 3 posts per screen, those posts would slow them down even further and might become an aggravation rather than something thoughtful.
I do sort of like this idea, but it might be nice for people to be publicly acknowledged too, so other people know that they’re appreciated.
I consider +1 to be the SD like and if the thread has moved on from then use: @Heffalump_and_Roo
+1
Being a “not current in this time zone” poster I find this is a regular occurrence.
It’s my habit to send out DMs as compliments on posts quite regularly.
Way less than half respond which likely means I’m deemed some antipodean stalker and best ignored.
@penultima_thule
+1
Like. I hadn’t thought of that. Thanks. It does take an extra post, but maybe if I’m replying to other posts as well, it might not be seen as extra.
I honestly wouldn’t mind having a “like” or “thanks” button here, but the one that comes with Discourse (just like on Reddit) seems to influence sorting, which I would not want. All I would want it to do is add a number below a post and to optionally notify the user (though they could turn such notifications off).
As the software currently exists, I’d just stick with thanking people in posts. As a standalone post, I’d probably limit my thanks somewhat, using it for bigger thanks. But including the thanks as part of another post is an option, too. As is thanking someone for several posts at once… eg. “Thank you for your help. And thanks for the other times you’ve helped me, too.”
Maybe I’m odd, but I’d save PM thanks for the most special, or when the thanks gets a bit personal. I know that, if you PM me a compliment/thanks/etc, I’m going to want to reply back.
I strongly agree with the decision not to have a like button here.
I think it distorts conversations, because people tailor their posts to get the most likes. So posting can become a game of ‘who has the most likes’, and can result in an echo chamber of popular opinions.
Maybe we need to start a tradition of anti-pit threads. (un-pit? de-pit? I’m sure there’s a better term for this…)
We have no problem starting a new thread to call out other dopers on their egregious behavior, why are we so hesitant to call them out when they’ve done it right? I know I’ve learned SO MUCH in the aviation threads from posters like LSLGuy, Richard Pearse, Bear Neno, etc. And if you need the 411 on copyrights and trademarks Acsenray is your guy/gal.
And there’s many more (whom I’m forgetting at the moment) who are more than wise in their niche area of expertise. It should be part of the board culture to praise these efforts at fighting ignorance!!
This is incorrect. Sorting is not influenced on Discourse like Reddit. According to codinghorror,
I’m not advocating for a like button. I’m just correcting misinformation here.
For the rest of the post, I agree that’s what I see people doing here, waiting for something special to thank someone. It’s why I started the thread. When people wait to thank people, there are less thanks going on.
That has been my thought as well. But I have wondered recently whether it might sometimes reveal that an unpopular opinion has more support than one would think if they just read the thread. For instance, if you read this thread on the day after the migration to Discourse on vBulletin vs Discourse, you might think that vBulletin would be winning by a mile. But the poll shows otherwise. Discourse was winning 51% to 41% for vBulletin.
Anonymous likes might have the same effect. But again, I’m not advocating for that. It’s just an interesting thought experiment.
Can’t understand reluctance to just post a ‘thank you‘ in the thread. They are always pleasant to read, it never ‘slows?’ the thread or conversation down in any way that I have ever detected. As several others have also mentioned! I’ve certainly never seen anyone remark or slag anyone for doing so.
I think the OP needs to reexamine that thinking and adjust their attitude maybe. I’m certainly not wanting likes and upvotes, yikes!
If you’re wanting anonymity while giving thanks then there is already the perfectly functioning and, already being used as such, PMs!
Not really getting the whole ‘thought experiment’ thing, tbh.
We can’t have likes it will destroy the board and its culture! We can’t have Profile pics it will destroy the board and its culture! We can’t have more smileys it will destroy the board and its culture! We can’t have pictures in threads it will destroy the board and its culture!
Could just be me but I think I see a pattern here.
(One could argue that posting ‘likes’ as posts might violate the rarely used no post padding rule.)
I understand the argument that a Reddit-style system of upvotes/downvotes would stifle discussion on the boards. I disagree, but I understand the argument.
But the idea that a “+1” or “this” or “QFT” is somehow a value-added proposition when compared to a “like” button makes no sense to me.
So here’s an example:
TriPolar is contributing to the discussion by explaining why he agrees with elbows. He could’ve just posted “this” and moved on, and that would also be fine, but how would it be inherently more valuable to the conversation than a like button?
Now to respond to the quote directly…
I would suggest a post incapable of generating more than “likes” (or their one-off equivalents) is not a very good part of the conversation to begin with. It may be a good quip, but it’s not doing anything to move the conversation along. “QFT” is not a conversation - it’s the forum equivalent of a cocked eyebrow and a slow nod of appreciation.
And, of course, the addition of a ‘like’ button would not suddenly preclude anything already being done. It wouldn’t (shouldn’t) become against the rules to say “This!” or “/thread” or anything else. It would just be another tool in the toolbox.
Because it makes it clear you’re agreeing with the post, not the poster.
An upvote/downvote system can make it possible to “attack the poster” without drawing attention from the mods.
Seems exactly the same as a Like button. It works perfectly well on another board I read, Primetimer.com. Not sure why people insist it’d be any different here. It seems the only argument against it is, “All change is bad, everything should always stay exactly the same!!”
