I like this. And if we disagree, we can bill you.
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Posting to thank someone doesn’t currently slow down threads because it is done rarely. But threads would be unreadable if this was the common means to thank anyone or express support. One post followed by 20 “thanks”, another post followed by a bunch of +1’s - it wouldn’t just slow down threads, it would kill them.
Kidding aside: I’m not in favor of like/dislike, thumbs up/down buttons. If you agree, post that you agree or use the thumbs-up emoji. So what if threads get bloated with replies? We’ve resisted the gimmicks and doo-dads that litter other boards. Heck, just getting avatars required an Act of God (aka Ed Zotti). I’m happy with the board exactly as it is, now that I’m used to Discourse. I vote against any more tweaks (now where is that VOTE button?).
If anyone is actually interested in opinions, I’m in the “Use your words” camp.
I’m not seeing it evolve as you say, I think it would be more like…exactly as it has evolved. Available but rarely used, seems about right to me.
I think a like button lowers communication, not enhances it. Tripolar’s comment/actual conversation/communication becomes a ‘like’. That’s less content to my eyes.
Does that happen often enough to matter? Or ever?
I won’t mind either way. Keep it as is, turn back on likes or some other system.
I wouldn’t want to see a lot of “+1” posts or “This!” posts. the occasional ones we get are fine but to see a lot of them in a lot of threads isn’t something I would like.
The likes are fine but don’t add much.
Why assume that a like button would have robbed Tripolar of the ability to make the comment he did? I think Dopers, by and large, are pretty verbose creatures who will continue to say what they want to say.
I do assume that there are also posters who are like me - who rarely make “I like this!” posts because they feel extraneous, but who would make use of a like button. That’s more content, not less.
Likes are also a way to engage lurkers. A lurker is an embryonic poster, and giving them a way to participate - even obliquely - is potentially a way to grow board membership.
Putting +1 between colons gives a thumbs-up here.
Of course, that’s less than five characters so the thumbs-up won’t be accepted by itself. If you want a post to just be a quote and a thumbs-up, use asterisk colon +1 colon asterisk. That’s how I got this to post.
So the dislikes are elaborated upon in-thread, and the likes are numbered at the bottom or top of the thread?
There’s no reason to presume that Dopers will suddenly stop using their words if a ‘like’ button is implemented. We’re a chatty bunch. The only thing that it would be capable of wholly replacing are content-free posts. Elaboration will continue apace.
No it doesn’t, as I said, because it is not widely used. But the question asked was how people can show their thanks. If posting our thanks became a standard practice for many people, then it would definitely detract from threads.
It’s fine the way it is used now. It would not be fine if it were universally adopted.
I misunderstood what you meant initially. But I thought posting thanks was already a standard practice, just not necessary often enough to be a problem. The OP has stated hesitation to do it though, don’t know how many other people do. And to be clear I have no problem with a Like button, I just don’t see the need to avoid a more conversational style.
Like!
For that matter, I don’t feel much need to be kept notified on how many people have clicked on a link I’ve posted.
I was happy with the way avatars were introduced on vBB, where I could decide if they were visible or not (I was a “not”).
And if the “like” feature is activated, we’ll have people mournfully announcing that they’re leaving because they refuse to be on a board that’s just a huge popularity contest. Within three weeks, all those people will resume posting as if nothing happened.
Thanks for your contribution to this thread! I think it’s just you since 2 of the 3 you crossed off have nothing to do with conversation and the third I wouldn’t mind losing because it takes me a extra scroll on the mouse wheel because I’m forced to look at your “funny” pic or video instead of having a choice in the matter. It’s even better when more than one poster put the same “funny” pic/video in the same thread.
And again. I have to offer my thanks for your generous contribution to this thread. It may take me some time to process your deep thoughts on the matter, so expect to wait a few days until I can develop a proper response.
Boy it’s fun to make up opinions of others!
I fall into this camp as well. There have been quite a few posts that I like but not love, and I don’t want to clutter up their respective threads by posting just a short comment.
I agree with CardboardBoxx that Likes cannot be anonymous, as to encourage accountability, but I am unsure about dislikes - it’s probably a feature that I wouldn’t be bothered whether it existed or not.
I also concur with BigT that a Like button should not influence the sorting of posts as it does on Reddit.