# This board needs "likes" **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 13, 2019, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496 "2019-04-13T13:29:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [April 13, 2019, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496/21 "2019-04-13T20:46:51Z")
This Board needs “likes” about as much as it needs a bad case of herpes. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2019, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496/22 "2019-04-13T20:52:23Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > This Board needs “likes” about as much as it needs a bad case of herpes. +∞ ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2019, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496/23 "2019-04-13T21:33:16Z")
IMHO, what makes the Dope intellectual and different is precisely the absence of social-media-ness like thumbing up or downvoting as seen on Facebook or Reddit. It forces things to be more about debate and less about popularity. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2019, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496/24 "2019-04-13T21:49:28Z")
I don’t have a strong opinion on this either way, but I have seen people complaining about “+1” posts, which is the closest thing to a Like option we have here. Maybe that’s the compromise: no Like button, but no griping about +1. ---
**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:** [April 13, 2019, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496/25 "2019-04-13T21:59:27Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > I don’t have a strong opinion on this either way, but I have seen people complaining about “+1” posts, which is the closest thing to a Like option we have here. Maybe that’s the compromise: no Like button, but no griping about +1. No compromise necessary, since they _can’t_ add “like” buttons. ---
**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:** [April 13, 2019, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496/26 "2019-04-13T22:01:15Z")
An even were it otherwise, I wouldn’t consider that a necessary compromise. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2019, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496/27 "2019-04-13T22:17:39Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > There already is a way. They can type “I laughed.” Typing a dozen or so keystrokes shouldn’t overtax anybody’s available time or brainpower. +1 ---
**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:** [April 13, 2019, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496/28 "2019-04-13T22:29:22Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > No, absolutely not. **Like** Oh, shit. Wait a minute… ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496/29 "2019-04-14T00:06:38Z")
☹ ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496/30 "2019-04-14T00:41:44Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > It would still facilitate cliquish behavior, trolling, and bullying among those who did have it turned on. Could you explain how? I see this happening with a “dislike” button but I see a “like” button as ultimately harmless (if pointless). ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496/31 "2019-04-14T00:48:30Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > No, absolutely not. like ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496/32 "2019-04-14T01:43:37Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Not upvotes and downvotes as on Reddit. And not the menu of choices Facebook now has. Just the option to like a comment, as you have on Twitter. > > When someone says something smart, or makes a funny joke, I’d like to be able to tip my hat to them, without clogging up the thread with a separate post that says “Cosigned” or “LOL”. You’ll get nothing and like it. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496/33 "2019-04-14T03:13:11Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > How would “liking” posts facilitate bullying? Definitely cliqueishness. A board that I used to haunt had a “karma” system (I think that what it is called, but maybe something else.) you can send points to other members, with their total karma listed under your username. With that system, the more points you have, the more you can send (and you start off with 10 points.) People started plaaying around it, sending karma back and forth between “friends”, and it ended up with newer people and lesser-liked people having karma in the tens or hundreds and popular people with karma in the hundreds of millions. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496/34 "2019-04-14T03:14:59Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > It would still facilitate cliquish behavior, trolling, and bullying among those who did have it turned on. I have a friend that I call “Poster boy for Social Media Victimhood”. As a respected CEO in his 50s, you’d think he’d have outgrown that, but nope. If we had Likes, he’d spend days concocting a post that he was just _sure_ would get a hundred of them. He’d then spend the next few days monitoring the threads he’d posted in, counting the number of Likes he’d gotten. And comparing that to other posters. Then he’d start frantic follow up comments in hopes of getting Likes on those, too. I am NOT exaggerating - - you’d notice him looking tired and depressed, and he’d say “That damn **Gato-pesky** dude has 31 Likes and I only have 27 and it’s MY thread!” Next, he’d start nitpicking **Gatopescado** ’s comments in other threads, while racking his brain to come up with The Perfect LIKEABLE Topic. And he’d be doing all this instead of sleeping. I wish I were exaggerating, but I’ve watched him get competitive about _Pinterest,_ fergodzake! I’ve been very careful to never tell him about this place. Even without most Social Media tools here, he’d find a way to feel sorry for himself: “That **Slacker** guy replied to me, and then someone told _him_ this was a good idea… but it was _MY idea!_ I’m so frustrated that he’s still got more posts than I do, but not for long! And his Join Date is earlier, but I’m catching up…” ---
**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:** [April 14, 2019, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496/35 "2019-04-14T04:53:58Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Next, he’d start nitpicking **Gatopescado** ’s comments in other threads, while racking his brain to come up with The Perfect LIKEABLE Topic… I blame myself. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496/36 "2019-04-14T15:54:19Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I would envision a “like” feature on the SDMB as a way of indicating “That was useful information” or “That is a good addition to the thread” or “Your attempt to amuse me succeeded,” without cluttering up the thread with content-less posts. I would like to have a feature where you could respond to a post by saying something like “Agree” and then go on to make a useful point of your own. Wait… ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496/37 "2019-04-14T16:59:17Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I blame myself. ☹ Ha, I actually picked your name, knowing you had a good sense of humor. Oh, no, I just “liked” **Gatopescado**. Now **Slackie** or another poster will feel left out… Damn, I don’t have time to upvote you all, but I like you all equally. (Well, not **Brickie** - - when he realized that, he sulked off…) ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496/38 "2019-04-14T18:49:33Z")
There’s a simple vB add-on that allows people to “thank” others for helpful and/or interesting posts. I’d have no problem with something like that, and would prefer it to a thread that gets multiple two-word replies that don’t add either factual or entertainment value to the discussion. It just adds a line beneath the post that says _3 people thanked **choie** for this post_. (I think there’s also the option to show names, but I’m not sure if that’s another version of the add-on.) That hardly seems like the road to perdition–to the contrary, it _should_ be a completely uncontroversial option. But I doubt it’ll happen. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496/39 "2019-04-14T19:14:12Z")
How about a “Hate” button, because I hate this idea every time it comes up. The only function that likes and upvotes serve is to filter the content of ideas that you might be exposed to, ideas that you might not Like. This board is already becoming a sanctuary for like-minded, correct thought, an echo chamber of support for certain views. We have lost many quality posters who simply gave up on the idea of discussion of a different point of view. You are killing the board faster by driving these posters away. They didn’t get banned, they didn’t all die, they just gave up. It wasn’t always this way. There used to be free-wheeling discussions, mild arguments, debates, between posters who did not obviously hate their opponent. That has all been lost, like tears in the rain. This isn’t Facebook, this isn’t Reddit, this used to be a place for intelligent discussion but that has all been lost. A Like button should be the final stake in the heart. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496/40 "2019-04-14T19:43:48Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > How about a “Hate” button, because I hate this idea every time it comes up. > > The only function that likes and upvotes serve is to filter the content of ideas that you might be exposed to, ideas that you might not Like. This board is already becoming a sanctuary for like-minded, correct thought, an echo chamber of support for certain views. We have lost many quality posters who simply gave up on the idea of discussion of a different point of view. You are killing the board faster by driving these posters away. They didn’t get banned, they didn’t all die, they just gave up. > > It wasn’t always this way. There used to be free-wheeling discussions, mild arguments, debates, between posters who did not obviously hate their opponent. That has all been lost, like tears in the rain. > > This isn’t Facebook, this isn’t Reddit, this used to be a place for intelligent discussion but that has all been lost. A Like button should be the final stake in the heart. There are good and valid reasons for not having a “Like” button, but I have to disagree with the premise that “many quality posters” are being driven away because of some sort of hive mentality. I can think of a number of posters who appear to have ceased posting during my relatively short time here, and most of them were largely or entirely non-political. I don’t know why they left, but there was certainly nothing in the trend of discussions that was driving them away. Meanwhile we have some posters representing extremist minority views who seem to stick to the board like leeches. So I don’t think your hypothesis is correct. The problem with “Like” buttons or the general idea of upvoting/downvoting is just that it isn’t particularly reliable in terms of a quality indicator, and it tends to encourage clique-ishness. Slashdot relies on it in lieu of moderators, and while it’s helpful, again, it isn’t reliable. There was some topic or other many years ago that various posters were speculating about that I had authoritative first-hand information on. But since I posted as an unregistered anonymous poster, it was overwhelmed by presumed “high quality” speculation from registered long-time users with low membership numbers – all of which was wrong – and my post was never seen again due to volume of other posts and lack of upvotes. I gave up trying to contribute over there ever since. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-board-needs-likes/832496.md?page=3)