# We've added share buttons **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 2, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521 "2011-05-02T22:16:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ed\_Zotti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/fbc32d/32.png) [@Ed\_Zotti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ed_Zotti)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521/1 "2011-05-02T22:16:21Z")
OK, so we don’t put a lot of stock in being on the cutting edge of technology around here. Nonetheless, we were a little embarrassed to be the only media outlet on earth that didn’t have “share” buttons (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) on its pages. Now we do, thanks to Jerry. The red Share widget comes from AddThis, which provides it free in order to collect data, as described here: [http://www.addthis.com/privacy](http://www.addthis.com/privacy) Doesn’t sound all that nefarious, and the price is right, so we figure we’ll try it and see what happens. Pls advise if any problems. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521/2 "2011-05-02T22:19:01Z")
Eh, where is it? ---
**Author:** ![Ed\_Zotti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/fbc32d/32.png) [@Ed\_Zotti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ed_Zotti)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521/3 "2011-05-02T22:21:28Z")
On the column archive pages. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521/4 "2011-05-02T22:43:32Z")
Ah ok, I thought you were referring to the messageboard, hence the confusion. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521/5 "2011-05-03T06:42:14Z")
Note that this was tried on this board, and it wound up significantly slowing down people not in the U.S. or with cellular based connections. You may want to get in touch with **xash** for more info. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521/6 "2011-05-03T11:53:38Z")
It’s on the Straight Dope front page as well. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521/7 "2011-05-03T12:16:42Z")
Actually it’s appearing on all the column pages. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521/8 "2011-05-03T12:47:59Z")
Okay, as a test I’ve turned on the social network link option here on the board. Listed are the vBulletin defaults. We can apparently add other links as we like. So let’s see if this does adversely affect performance and take it from there. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521/9 "2011-05-03T13:55:11Z")
Well, it’s not perceptibly slowing me down, but it is cluttering my screen. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521/10 "2011-05-03T17:25:22Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > Well, it’s not perceptibly slowing me down, but it is cluttering my screen. Yeah, I don’t like this. What’s next, thumbs up/down to rate posts and crowd the screen a little more? ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521/11 "2011-05-03T18:42:12Z")
I don’t like this. We have enough illiterate morons finding us through Google these days, do we really need to sink yet closer to their level? ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521/12 "2011-05-03T21:11:15Z")
> [@Teacake](#): > > I don’t like this. We have enough illiterate morons finding us through Google these days, do we really need to sink yet closer to their level? How do you want people to find this place? ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521/13 "2011-05-03T21:17:08Z")
Where’s the facebook button? ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521/14 "2011-05-03T22:32:37Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Yeah, I don’t like this. What’s next, thumbs up/down to rate posts and crowd the screen a little more? I give this post a thumbs up. Behind the times? Nah, more like beyond the clutter. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521/15 "2011-05-03T22:36:15Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > Well, it’s not perceptibly slowing me down, but it is cluttering my screen. > [@elfkin477](#): > > Yeah, I don’t like this. What’s next, thumbs up/down to rate posts and crowd the screen a little more? > [@Teacake](#): > > I don’t like this. We have enough illiterate morons finding us through Google these days, do we really need to sink yet closer to their level? 😕 I don’t see any Facebook button. Where’s all this clutter you are talking about? ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521/16 "2011-05-03T23:10:18Z")
Annoys me aesthetically. Would like registered users to have the option to turn it off in their user CP if possible. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521/17 "2011-05-03T23:27:17Z")
There should be a Facebook button. If I remember from when **xash** was working on implementing this, there was a single button at the top of each thread, and mousing over it would drop down the various “share” options. I think that would be visually less cluttering than the current version. Or the button could be at the bottom of the thread, to avoid the problem of people accidentally mousing over it when really they wanted to get to “Thread Tools” or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521/18 "2011-05-03T23:31:48Z")
A small strip at the bottom of a column is hardly clutter. I’m no fan of share links generally, but this is barely perceptible and I have no problem with it. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521/19 "2011-05-03T23:34:12Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > A small strip at the bottom of a column is hardly clutter. > > I’m no fan of share links generally, but this is barely perceptible and I have no problem with it. I should clarify my previous post; personally I don’t find the current implementation particularly cluttering. But for the people who do, I think the drop-down box might be nicer. Either way is OK with me, though. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521/20 "2011-05-03T23:41:06Z")
I don’t see any button on the column pages or on the message board. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weve-added-share-buttons/580521.md?page=2)