Like/thumbs up/+ button

[UnlikeAny]

NEW:
I suggest a "Agree/Like" button. In some situations I find myself no ways to show agreement or likeliness. This would also make this forum clearer.

For example, someone made a thread about their keyboard collection and 4-6 people have wrote "Good collection! ", "Nice collection ". What I would be doing is writing the same thing all over again and feel like I'm spamming. That's why I don't do it. So why not just click a button on his post? If I have more certain things to say, like "Wow your HHKB has great keycaps! Where did you get those?" or even "I wish I was in your place.", I would simply do that.

The same thing is with agreement. I find a constructive and argumentative comment and I don't have anything to add to it. I simply agree to it. Why do I need to quote it and write "I agree", "Exactly!" or even "This!" on top of a bunch of replies that are basically the same?

Doesn't all those same comments look like spam, feels out of context and is hard to read? Isn't a button and a number just an easier and better way to display the same thing? I agree that there aren't a lot of posts like this, but it is exactly what is stopping people from showing what they think.

Now it SHOULD be like this:
1: In my opinion this is wrong, because blah blah and blah blah.
2: Yea, I think the same.
3: Exactly.
10: But blah blah is blah blah blah.
11: Yes, who would think differently.
4. (Quote to 1) I'm with this guy.

Why not do this?
1: In my opinion this is wrong, because blah blah and blah blah. (+7)
10: But blah blah is blah blah blah. (+5)

Did you notice that upvotes doesn't show the same count of how many people agreed to them by commenting? Exactly! People, for example me, don't want to look like spammers, so they simply don't express themselves. It's not just a way to make everything clearer it's a way to make people express them more. I don't see why you wouldn't want that, unless you want to increase your post count.

OLD:
Why there is no button of such kind? You see an useful post, for example review, and you can let the owner know about it with just a click of a button. With this system we could see who brings good content into this community.

Of course, you can write a reply "Good review/explanation/...", but after you see that one person wrote it, you don't want to reply the same again. You also can't check someones profile to see how many people wrote this to him.

There is also an idea that at the end of the year or some other time, we could reward "top x" posters of this community with some geekhack goods. We would not decide who are they by a post count, but by who wrote the most likeable post or who received most likes over that year.

Giving members an incentive to write good content is not the only advantage. If you are in a hurry and want to check a few interesting posts, you could just look how much likeable they are and decide if you want to read it or not.

The only limitation I see is that you shouldn't be able to like a post in "off topic". But maybe there could be more?

I'm very interested to see your opinions about this.

[Coreda]

I think Rep buttons can be a nice idea if people use them properly, but on many forums the system is under-utilized or not understood that well.

Giving members an incentive to write good content is not the only advantage. If you are in a hurry and want to check a few interesting posts, you could just look how much likeable they are and decide if you want to read it or not.

It's extrinsic motivation for making good posts vs intrinsic. When I make a post that's helpful and enjoy replying it feels better personally than making a helpful post just to hope for a like/Rep. It can work the other way, too, after putting effort into a post only to see no one adds a Rep.

It's not such a great way to gauge a users quality either imo, just as post count doesn't indicate how much one should pay attention to a poster. Another forum I'm a member of has neither post count or a rep score visible next to posts and we all know who are quality posters by their natural reputation and post quality.

Should be an interesting topic 

[CPTBadAss]

This topic has come up before. I can't find the thread now. My opinion? This isn't Facebook or reddit and we don't need this. We definitely don't need an e-peen measuring popularity contest either.

I think part of what I enjoy about getting know Geekhack is that you learn about people and their opinions. It's not based on some odd metric.

[UnlikeAny]

-

I definitely agree that this could work both ways. It puts you down when you put a lot of time and effort, but you don't get any likes/rep. Not having this option just hides you from the truth.

Well I'm an old member on IT and business forum and this thing works there pretty well. You also cannot see this score next to their avatar; you have to go to their profile first. If I opened a thread with 10 pages of replies and just want to read good ones, I just scroll and choose the ones who have some likings. It saves me a lot of time.

In my opinion it is a lot better indicator of a quality user than a post count. Because post count only shows if you are an active member or not, but like/rep count shows if your content is good.

To be honest, when thinking about it more, I feel like it would be a bit wrong to judge a user by his score. How about not showing this in their profile and just keeping each posts score to itself? You could still see how many people like and agree to a post.

[UnlikeAny]

This topic has come up before. I can't find the thread now. My opinion? This isn't Facebook or reddit and we don't need this. We definitely don't need an e-peen measuring popularity contest either.

I think part of what I enjoy about getting know Geekhack is that you learn about people and their opinions. It's not based on some odd metric.

I couldn't find a similar topic either.

I agree that we don't need to measure popularity, but it would be very useful if you want to show your agreement or liking to something. When I see a thread with a lot of "Good job", "Good review", "This is very nice" or "I agree" I'm afraid to comment something like this again, because it simply feels like spam.

Taking out this score out of peoples profiles should solve "odd metric" problem.

[CPTBadAss]

The way you describe how you surf your other forum, where you pick users with a score and read only their posts, just sounds like the ignore system here in a more positive tone.

[UnlikeAny]

The way you describe how you surf your other forum, where you pick users with a score and read only their posts, just sounds like the ignore system here in a more positive tone.

I don't judge a person by the score next to his profile, I don't even look who wrote the message. I see a post that a lot of people agree to and take my time to read it. The only time when I do this is when I see an old thread that has more pages of replies that I can physically read.

EDIT:
To conclude the advantages that I now see:
 Show your agreement or liking without unnecessary spam.
 Read old threads more efficiently.
 
Don't get me wrong. I love when people reply with a message that they liked or agreed to something, especially with arguments. It shouldn't be stopped. But there are situations where people don't do it and because of that it doesn't show the numbers. At least I don't write the same thing that 5 people before me did. Or if I find a reply I agree to 5 pages before, I don't quote him. Am I the only one who does so?

[Puddsy]

This topic has come up before. I can't find the thread now. My opinion? This isn't Facebook or reddit and we don't need this. We definitely don't need an e-peen measuring popularity contest either.

I think part of what I enjoy about getting know Geekhack is that you learn about people and their opinions. It's not based on some odd metric.

100% this

A system like this is never properly used. I prefer to see a username and go "I know that CPT likes X over Y, but I like Y over X, so let's ask him why he thinks that" instead of "I know CPT likes X over Y, but  I like Y over X, so let's downvote him and tell him he's wrong"

See the difference? It happens all the time.

UnlikeAny also puts is pretty well.

[SpAmRaY]

There are too many opinions and feelings around here this would make the cliques even worse.

[UnlikeAny]

This topic has come up before. I can't find the thread now. My opinion? This isn't Facebook or reddit and we don't need this. We definitely don't need an e-peen measuring popularity contest either.

I think part of what I enjoy about getting know Geekhack is that you learn about people and their opinions. It's not based on some odd metric.

100% this

A system like this is never properly used. I prefer to see a username and go "I know that CPT likes X over Y, but I like Y over X, so let's ask him why he thinks that" instead of "I know CPT likes X over Y, but  I like Y over X, so let's downvote him and tell him he's wrong"

See the difference? It happens all the time.

UnlikeAny also puts is pretty well.

I fully understand you. I also like how it is right now, but there is a lot of situations for me where I cannot express what I think. And if I post something, I'm also interested to see how many people agree to me.

I forgot to mention that downvotes shouldn't be allowed, just upvotes. So I guess that fixes "let's downvote him" problem.

I currently don't see any real disadvantages in it. But if you all don't like it, there is nothing I could do. Maybe I want this button, because I'm used to it, like you are used without it. Maybe I should have spend some more time in geekhack, before I made this suggestion.

[jdcarpe]

There are too many opinions and feelings around here this would make the cliques even worse.

[UnlikeAny]

There are too many opinions and feelings around here this would make the cliques even worse.

Show Image

:D

I bet that if ~6 people also agree to him, they all won't write the same reply all over again. Unless you all gonna do this on purpose now.

[strict]

There are too many opinions and feelings around here this would make the cliques even worse.

 

[Frenir]

There are too many opinions and feelings around here this would make the cliques even worse.

Show Image

[IvanIvanovich]

Sorry, but I only unlike things.

[Coreda]

Not having this option just hides you from the truth.

Not true, although you clearly see it that way. On Overclock.net, an enormous tech forum, they have a Rep system yet even many of their members realize the system isn't representative of a user's overall helpfulness and is under-utilized, such as some of the more helpful members with thousands of posts having very few Reps comparatively. Some of the Reps can also come from jokes.

[HPE1000]

I don't know if it would really happen here as much, but I know on OCN the rep system can get really annoying. People end up getting so caught up on it, posting random and usually wrong information to "help" people out in an attempt to get rep(usually a LOT of spam).

Also, there are a lot of people who just say whatever they think will get them the most rep. For example one member bashes console gaming to no end, stating opinions like they are fact and misinforming many people, but since it is a computer website, everyone will agree and rep them.. Some members end up with massive amounts of rep and are usually the least helpful people on the website, yet they look like they are really important.

Not to mention members to go around messaging their friends begging them to rep them on all their posts.

[SpAmRaY]

Not that anyone would abuse a rep system but all you need is about 5 people and trade rep on a schedule.....man that was a long time ago. A rep hit list if you will.

[UnlikeAny]

Well my idea kinda changed from the op message. There would be no rep shown for a person. You could not see how many rep which person has. Only on each post there would be a little button that would let you agree to that post, and a number which would show how many people do it.

[SpAmRaY]

Well my idea kinda changed from the op message. There would be no rep shown for a person. You could not see how many rep which person has. Only on each post there would be a little button that would let you agree to that post, and a number which would show how many people do it.

Still think this would be greatly abused and it just sounds like reddit/facebook to me which needs to stay there.

I honestly don't see a point, this topic has been brought up a few times but at the end of the day many great threads/posts are completely looked over by people and a lot of pointless threads with absolutely no value get posted/bumped continuously.

Believe me, in a few months or maybe even a few weeks this thread will be buried and someone will post again saying we need a like system, etc, etc.

[UnlikeAny]

Well my idea kinda changed from the op message. There would be no rep shown for a person. You could not see how many rep which person has. Only on each post there would be a little button that would let you agree to that post, and a number which would show how many people do it.

Still think this would be greatly abused and it just sounds like reddit/facebook to me which needs to stay there.

I honestly don't see a point, this topic has been brought up a few times but at the end of the day many great threads/posts are completely looked over by people and a lot of pointless threads with absolutely no value get posted/bumped continuously.

Believe me, in a few months or maybe even a few weeks this thread will be buried and someone will post again saying we need a like system, etc, etc.

I find it hard to understand what you wrote. It looks like we don't think of the same thing. Are you thinking that posts would be ordered by upvotes? Because I really don't mean that.

This button could even be called "Agree". I just want a way to agree to something without a comment that would feel like spam.

[SpAmRaY]

Well my idea kinda changed from the op message. There would be no rep shown for a person. You could not see how many rep which person has. Only on each post there would be a little button that would let you agree to that post, and a number which would show how many people do it.

Still think this would be greatly abused and it just sounds like reddit/facebook to me which needs to stay there.

I honestly don't see a point, this topic has been brought up a few times but at the end of the day many great threads/posts are completely looked over by people and a lot of pointless threads with absolutely no value get posted/bumped continuously.

Believe me, in a few months or maybe even a few weeks this thread will be buried and someone will post again saying we need a like system, etc, etc.

I find it hard to understand what you wrote. It looks like we don't think of the same thing. Are you thinking that posts would be ordered by upvotes? Because I really don't mean that.

This button could even be called "Agree". I just want a way to agree to something without a comment that would feel like spam.

But whats the point? If those 'spam' posts as you call them aren't made then no one else will know to read the post/thread. If you just click a like button I don't see how that will bring anymore attention to a post.

What's the goal? I mean sure we have a few posts here and there when people will post a '+1' in agreement etc but it's not like threads are full of tons of spam posts just from people saying they like a post.

[UnlikeAny]

Updated original message to make things clearer.

-
But whats the point? If those 'spam' posts as you call them aren't made then no one else will know to read the post/thread. If you just click a like button I don't see how that will bring anymore attention to a post.

What's the goal? I mean sure we have a few posts here and there when people will post a '+1' in agreement etc but it's not like threads are full of tons of spam posts just from people saying they like a post.

To the text that I made bold:
Exactly! I don't know how about you, but I don't want to trash a thread with these short and spamy comments. I could bet that a lot of people don't want to do this too. A simple button would not only make this clearer, but it would also show more people opinions.

[Pacifist]

I used to frequent teamfortess.tv, where they do have this system. Some guy missed his flight because he was busy making multiple accounts to downvote a person....

[SpAmRaY]

Updated original message to make things clearer.

-
But whats the point? If those 'spam' posts as you call them aren't made then no one else will know to read the post/thread. If you just click a like button I don't see how that will bring anymore attention to a post.

What's the goal? I mean sure we have a few posts here and there when people will post a '+1' in agreement etc but it's not like threads are full of tons of spam posts just from people saying they like a post.

To the text that I made bold:
Exactly! I don't know how about you, but I don't want to trash a thread with these short and spamy comments. I could bet that a lot of people don't want to do this too. A simple button would not only make this clearer, but it would also show more people opinions.

I still think your looking for a solution without a problem.

And simply clicking a button to me shows nothing but being lazy. I mean this is a keyboard forum, let's type moar!

 If you have something to say post it up, obviously I'm biased.

[UnlikeAny]

--

I still think your looking for a solution without a problem.

And simply clicking a button to me shows nothing but being lazy. I mean this is a keyboard forum, let's type moar!

 If you have something to say post it up, obviously I'm biased.

I don't want this button to take over commenting. It would be just an addon to what currently is. If you have something interesting to say, go ahead. But if I basically just want to say "Agree", then I would click a button instead of replying one word, or even worse, not doing anything at all.

[SpAmRaY]

--

I still think your looking for a solution without a problem.

And simply clicking a button to me shows nothing but being lazy. I mean this is a keyboard forum, let's type moar!

 If you have something to say post it up, obviously I'm biased.

I don't want this button to take over commenting. It would be just an addon to what currently is. If you have something interesting to say, go ahead. But if I basically just want to say "Agree", then I would click a button instead of replying one word, or even worse, not doing anything at all.

Still don't get the point of this (except to boost your post count so you could sell you hhkb) but now that you have enough posts to sell your goods will you stick around afterwards or disappear? For someone who is so concerned with spamming the forum you've posted 41 times in ~4 days.

I post more than almost anyone else here, I get that. But I honestly don't see that many threads where people post tons of replies simply saying they 'agree' with a post. Yes there will be an occasional '+1' and/or someone may post a very nice board or setup and there will be a few 'nice setup' replies but the idea those are somehow bad and we should instead click a button, I'll never understand that. But that is just my opinion.

[UnlikeAny]

--

I still think your looking for a solution without a problem.

And simply clicking a button to me shows nothing but being lazy. I mean this is a keyboard forum, let's type moar!

 If you have something to say post it up, obviously I'm biased.

I don't want this button to take over commenting. It would be just an addon to what currently is. If you have something interesting to say, go ahead. But if I basically just want to say "Agree", then I would click a button instead of replying one word, or even worse, not doing anything at all.

Still don't get the point of this (except to boost your post count so you could sell you hhkb) but now that you have enough posts to sell your goods will you stick around afterwards or disappear? For someone who is so concerned with spamming the forum you've posted 41 times in ~4 days.

I post more than almost anyone else here, I get that. But I honestly don't see that many threads where people post tons of replies simply saying they 'agree' with a post. Yes there will be an occasional '+1' and/or someone may post a very nice board or setup and there will be a few 'nice setup' replies but the idea those are somehow bad and we should instead click a button, I'll never understand that. But that is just my opinion.

If you think that this thread is just a way for me to get my post count up, you are wrong. I have reached 25 posts 3 days ago.

Yes, I was constantly searching for an opportunity to post something meaningfully and it was a really hard job (I have no idea how you keep it up). In no way I have posted any spam.

41? My post count is 33 at the moment.

Back to topic.
You seem concentrated towards an idea that this button would replace commenting. It is more of a way to get more opinions about certain posts. Making forum clearer is not what I intend, but it would help a bit in this way too.

But I honestly don't see that many threads where people post tons of replies simply saying they 'agree' with a post

Yes, indeed. My example in original post shows how it SHOULD be if a lot of people expressed what they think. It wouldn't look nice, would it? That's why, in my opinion, people don't post like this. If there was a clear an easy way to do the same, people would start using it.

Again, I have to repeat myself. This is not a way to stop spamming or to see who's right and wrong. It's a way for people to clearly show what they think.

[SpAmRaY]

If you think that this thread is just a way for me to get my post count up, you are wrong. I have reached 25 posts 3 days ago.

Ok so you did spam your way to those 25 posts to sell something, only you did it 3 days ago.

41? My post count is 33 at the moment.

Click your profile then click to show posts go to the last page.

Back to topic.
You seem concentrated towards an idea that this button would replace commenting. It is more of a way to get more opinions about certain posts. Making forum clearer is not what I intend, but it would help a bit in this way too.

clicking a button does not show an opinion and what does it matter if 5 people agree with a post? If you don't have a disagree option you aren't really showing anything.

So in your system reading through a thread what benefit is there if 5 people like a post versus 10 people like another post? Will the post with the most likes be highlighted? or bolder to stand out?

Again, I have to repeat myself. This is not a way to stop spamming or to see who's right and wrong. It's a way for people to clearly show what they think.

Ok before you said this system was to stop spam posts, so is it or not? And this is the internet so people will always think they are right and someone else is wrong so they would 'agree' and 'disagree' accordingly.

For people to clearly show what they think, they will need to actually think and then type up a post. I fail to see how clicking a 'like' button shows anyone thinking anything, we have enough sheeple as it is.

To all those who will go 'hue, hue' spamray never thinks before he posts, your partially right.

IF I'm understanding you correctly there are scores of lurking forum members out there who never post for fear of being 'spammy' and IF we had an 'agree' button they would flood the forum with their agreements to posts by clicking the button? But to what end? I mean what exactly is the point?

[osi]

This topic has come up before. I can't find the thread now. My opinion? This isn't Facebook or reddit and we don't need this. We definitely don't need an e-peen measuring popularity contest either.

I think part of what I enjoy about getting know Geekhack is that you learn about people and their opinions. It's not based on some odd metric.

My sentiments exactly here. Facebook and reddit already offer these features and as captain said, it is a bout for popularity.

Forums are made for linear discussion and arguments.

</thread>

[UnlikeAny]

Ok so you did spam your way to those 25 posts to sell something, only you did it 3 days ago.

When do you consider it is spamming? 5 posts per day? 10 posts per day? As much as I know, spamming isn't about quantity, it's about quality. If you make meaningless messages for whatever reason, then it's considered spamming.

Click your profile then click to show posts go to the last page.

Thanks for the tip. Now I can see real post count (with off topic).

clicking a button does not show an opinion and what does it matter if 5 people agree with a post?

What is the reason for showing an opinion? Well it's a really big question to answer, but I'm certain that forum is a place to do that.

If you don't have a disagree option you aren't really showing anything.

Well that button would mean more of "I think exactly the same", so if you think differently and disagree, you would have to write your own opinion.

So in your system reading through a thread what benefit is there if 5 people like a post versus 10 people like another post? Will the post with the most likes be highlighted? or bolder to stand out?

No benefit at all. It's the same as writing "I think the same". This would create a way to express yourself without a mess.

Ok before you said this system was to stop spam posts, so is it or not?

Not really, but this would help a bit in a way.

And this is the internet so people will always think they are right and someone else is wrong so they would 'agree' and 'disagree' accordingly.

Can't you do the same with normal comments?

For people to clearly show what they think, they will need to actually think and then type up a post. I fail to see how clicking a 'like' button shows anyone thinking anything, we have enough sheeple as it is.

If you think differently then go ahead and write it. If you think exactly the same, with nothing to add then what's the point of writing the same thing?

IF I'm understanding you correctly there are scores of lurking forum members out there who never post for fear of being 'spammy' and IF we had an 'agree' button they would flood the forum with their agreements to posts by clicking the button? But to what end? I mean what exactly is the point?

What I'm saying is that, people sometimes don't want to make a mess, so they just stay quiet. "flood the forum" is a bit of
exaggeration, but I think that there would definitely be people like that. The point is to make a way for people to say that they think exactly the same or like something (like a collection).

--

My sentiments exactly here. Facebook and reddit already offer these features and as captain said, it is a bout for popularity.

Forums are made for linear discussion and arguments.

</thread>

<thread>
In Facebook likes are a way for people to brag how many likes they got. In reddit you get more seen if people like what you said. Why do you all want to use it for the same reasons?

I guess it really does depend on the community. With this system all that we would get is an option to show that we think the same. All the person with most agrees did was write the same opinion first. He is no cooler or better than others, he is exactly the same. If you want this to be a popularity indicator then it will be exactly it. If you want post count to be a popularity indicator then it will also be exactly it. Luckily this isn't the case, because you, as a community, chose not to treat it this way.

It is me vs everyone and it is really hard for me to keep up. I have spent way to much work and time doing so. Pretty much what all of you are saying is that you would make this bad for yourself, because you don't like a change. You can do the same things with comments and even a lot worse. But somehow people manage to behave.

Please someone lock this thread.
</thread>

[SpAmRaY]

Please someone lock this thread.
</thread>

In the bottom left corner you as the OP have a lock button.

[UnlikeAny]

Please someone lock this thread.
</thread>

In the bottom left corner you as the OP have a lock button.

Thank you SpAmRaY.