# Social media buttons should be more available **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 7, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728 "2018-12-07T02:14:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728/1 "2018-12-07T02:14:24Z")
For purposes of bringing in more newer board members, I would recommend moving and/or duplicating the social media share buttons to the top of threads. At the moment, ~37% of posters aren’t even aware that they exist and the lurkers could be even lower (potentially). ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728/2 "2018-12-07T16:22:00Z")
Vertical space is precious. Please don’t steal my vertical space with stupid social sharing buttons, unless there’s an option to not send them to me. I don’t mean hide them with CSS, but not even waste my bandwidth with those pieces of faeces. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728/3 "2018-12-08T18:39:17Z")
I agree with Balthisar. Also, I think too many sites make it too easy to share on social media. I think it should more effort to share something than just clicking a button. Those buttons make it too easy for people to spam FaceBook or Twitter. Note I’m using spam in the classic sense where it covered things like newbies chatting “Sup?” over and over on MUDs. ---
**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728/4 "2018-12-08T20:03:34Z")
Thirded on “don’t steal my vertical space.” ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728/5 "2018-12-08T20:46:07Z")
I disagree – scroll past it if you don’t like it, but unless we do things like this, new people aren’t going to find our humble corner of the internet. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728/6 "2018-12-08T21:08:14Z")
No site, and the subject is moot. Compared to the ad popups (if they’re still happening) a row of buttons at the top of the page is hardly the intrusive experience. Anyways, I would also suggest adding them to the view of a single post - you know when you click the post number. That way people can share a single post rather than a full thread. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728/7 "2018-12-08T21:58:48Z")
No. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728/8 "2018-12-08T22:23:03Z")
There’s no need for that. I’d prefer to create a culture of sharing on this message board. If you are enjoying a thread _and_ have something to say, just tack on to the end of your post something like. #SharedOnTwitter I’ve never done that, btw. All my links to the [#sdmb](https://twitter.com/search?q=%23sdmb&src=typd) have been opportunistic. Maybe I should. Hijack! What are the best threads to share on social media? I nominate the latest GD thread, [Is mathematics invented or discovered?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=865580), in particular the latter 2/3 of [this post](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21333443&postcount=82) by Half Man Half Wit, which is a heavy slog but ultimately rewarding, with an honorable mention to [this post](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21324398&postcount=38) by Thudlow Boink. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728/9 "2018-12-08T22:34:37Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > No. [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=866721](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=866721) Given that the site already has them, I’m reasonably sure that whatever horror you are envisioning is unlikely to pass. I would also suggest that you will have the complete freedom to not click them. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728/10 "2018-12-08T22:36:11Z")
The last thing this board needs is to open up the gates to a flood of trolls who pile on to something they see on Twitter or Facebook. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728/11 "2018-12-08T22:41:14Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > The last thing this board needs is to open up the gates to a flood of trolls who pile on to something they see on Twitter or Facebook. I’ve worried about this. The problem is we are in a long term death spiral due to declining membership. To be honest the challenge is to find people who are a good fit for this message board, which for better or worse is quite frankly not most people. That’s ok. Most message boards are not for most people. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728/12 "2018-12-08T22:49:36Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Compared to the ad popups (if they’re still happening) a row of buttons at the top of the page is hardly the intrusive experience. Without disabling my blocking of them to check, there is a likely downside. The norm for code enabling social media buttons is to provide tracking data to the social media company even if they aren’t used. I tend to think of that as intrusive even if it’s very common. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728/13 "2018-12-08T22:54:38Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > The last thing this board needs is to open up the gates to a flood of trolls who pile on to something they see on Twitter or Facebook. Let’s assume that you’re on Facebook, for the sake of example. You are a person who enjoys knowledge and reasoned discussion. As such a person, you are more likely to socialize both online and in person with people who enjoy knowledge and reasoned discussion. You are, similarly, more likely to gain followers of such a persuasion, on Twitter, etc., than most other people would. Now if the site (the SDMB) advertised - like went to Google AdWords and created ads - we would just be getting any random asshole coming to the site and checking it out. And, by Sturgeon’s Law, most of everyone who came would be a troll or other form of idiot. If, on the alternative, people share threads which discuss reasoned, interesting discussions between knowledgeable people to their friends - on the basis that they believe that those friends were the sorts of people to like that sort of thing - then while it is not impossible that we will get some trolls or idiots, I would suggest that the percentile will be far lower than _any other means of attracting new posters_. So if your belief is that by you sharing threads from the SDMB with those you associate with online would flood the website with the most horrible beings of the Earth, well then yes, I would recommend that you don’t share links to the site with those you associate with online. You will have the power to not click the share buttons - there is no mandate that you do so. But, I would also suggest, that you get better friends. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728/14 "2018-12-08T22:56:32Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > Without disabling my blocking of them to check, there is a likely downside. The norm for code enabling social media buttons is to provide tracking data to the social media company even if they aren’t used. I tend to think of that as intrusive even if it’s very common. They already exist. They’re at the bottom of every page. Look down. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728/15 "2018-12-08T23:11:30Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > They already exist. They’re at the bottom of every page. Look down. Not on my screen. 😉 I don’t really care much about where they get located from an interface perspective. I’d generally prefer that poorly known about and inconveniently located privacy intrusions be removed not shuffled around the page. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2018, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728/16 "2018-12-09T03:49:31Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=866721](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=866721) > > Given that the site already has them, I’m reasonably sure that whatever horror you are envisioning is unlikely to pass. I would also suggest that you will have the complete freedom to not click them. Leave my whores out of this, thank you. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2018, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728/17 "2018-12-09T04:56:00Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > There’s no need for that. As this board slowly dies… > [@Acsenray](#): > > The last thing this board needs is to open up the gates to a flood of trolls who pile on to something they see on Twitter or Facebook. Like what happened when avatars got activated. Message boards are a niche thing nowadays. Sharing threads here and there won’t turn us into Twitter. Really. And nothing indicates that we really should do this more than the knee jerks from the Luddites here. The fact that so many think that sharing threads to Facebook or Twitter will open the flood gate to trolls kind of indicates out of date thinking. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2018, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728/18 "2018-12-09T05:47:30Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > As this board slowly dies… As one of the four remaining people on this board the last thing we need is more people. :mad: > [@](#): > > kind of indicates out of date thinking. Good. New thinking is wrong. :mad: We all know the best thinking is from 187 years ago when we were youngsters and we were the smartest people on the planet before all these new fangled whoosy whatsits like electricity and horse-less pumpkins. Horse-less pumpkins indeed. :mad: Why I bet Adam hisself is rolling in the grave at the thought of leaf clothing. :mad: The world has gone mad I tells ye! :mad: ---
**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:** [December 9, 2018, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728/19 "2018-12-09T06:58:59Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > They already exist. They’re at the bottom of every page. Look down. I don’t understand this. I’ve looked and relooked and I don’t see anything like that. Am I just really lucky? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2018, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728/20 "2018-12-09T08:13:06Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I don’t understand this. I’ve looked and relooked and I don’t see anything like that. Am I just really lucky? I can’t see your screen and I don’t know what plugins you have, but try doing a page search for the text “Facebook”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-buttons-should-be-more-available/825728.md?page=2)