how difficult would it be for SDMB to add the option for voting up/ down comments?
The Dope just doesn’t want to overcomplicate things. That is why we don’t have thread ratings, reputation, or any of that shit. I completely understand it and subscribe to the opinion that most message boards just have too many features which detract from the desired simplicity of having a discussion.
This is one of those boards where the actual main part are the discussions, not ratings, reputation, avatars, etc. Embrace it while you can. It is a needle in a haystack probability that you will find other boards this simple and professional (the moderation here is very fair and of high quality).
I believe it’s a standard vBulletin feature that can be turned on or off from the admin panel.
It’s not something that is likely to happen here because it’s really not wanted or needed.
It’s very easy.
Step 1. Get all Dopers to agree to do this.
Nobody ever reached step 2.
Not cluttering up the Board with the doohickeys is one reason the Board rarely suffers any technical problems.
Oh, wait …
I find such things to be almost utterly meaningless, even if it is on a 5 point scale and not a simple yes/no option.
I doubt it would add that much load to the board. It would be obnoxious and pointless, however, and would essentially make each post a popularity contest. Or more likely, a way to “reward” or “punish” anything said by a fellow poster you like or despise, regardless of the actual content.
Call me antiquated, but I prefer deciding for myself whether a post is teh roXXorz or teh suXXorz.
We’ve had this discussion before. As has been said, we prefer that posts stand on their own merits rather than be subjected to a popularity contest. We don’t see this feature as adding any real value to the board, and have no plans to implement it.
Thumbs down
+1
And now my coworkers want to know why I can’t quit laughing.
Because any right-wing post will immediately have 3 +1’s and 74 -1’s.
Reverse it for a left-wing post.
I post on other boards that do this. I find it annoying, even though I do use the feature occasionally myself. I find I tend to concentrate more on the approval rating of the comment, especially of my own comments, rather than on the conversation itself.
I’d be totally in favor of it if I were the only one to have it as I can’t trust any of you yahoos not to abuse it.
Could we at least compromise and have a “get off my lawn” button?
I also can’t see how this does any good and certainly could be bad. Though I suspect stuff like talking about which book to read or how to cook X and the like might benefit from it.
This.
What about “pokes” and being able to send other members childish, pointless images of cupcakes and snowballs as “gifts”?
Such things are proven to add a sense of community. A very obnoxious and annoying community.
Not this version.
Even so … no.
We’re really cranky in that we want you to use your words.
I guess you say we’re the antisocial social media.
How about just a +1 button and a LOL button?
Thumbs down or ‘no’ votes are just asking for bad blood and abuse.
How about an “Eject” button that will transport you to another site that has those buttons?