The like button

[areynoldsre]

I have I been asleep? I've just noticed that this forum has a 'like" button for posts. How many people are using those?

I like the 'like' button. Many times I just want to say, "cool" but don't like to write those annoying, "me to" posts.

And I think there should be a "that sucks" button for those times when people post about something bad that has happened. When someone posts about a shop disaster I don't want to 'like.'

[Beechwood Chip]

There used to be a tiny green "+" button, but recently Marc changed it to a more obvious "like" button. Around the same time, I changed my sig to advertise it.

I think it's fine to "like" a well written post about something bad. No one will think that you are happy that it happened. I think the "like" button means, "I agree with that" or "that was helpful" or "that made me laugh" or "thanks for posting that."

The only thing that bugs me is when people "like" my posts just to raise my reputation count. Like when there's a thread about the "like" button and people "like" every post in the thread.

I wish there was a way to do an advanced search and sort results by "likes". I try to keep track of the posts I've made that people like, as positive feedback to write more posts like that. The thing that I love about this forum is that people seem to really care about helping and entertaining each other, and for people like me I think the "like" button is a way to encourage that.

[Roger T]

I think there should be a dislike button as well. Sometimes posts are made, that are off base, contain bad information, or share something that is so not right. There should also be a way to discredit these kinds of posts.

Roger

[JayWC]

I think there has been a petition for the same thing on Facebook for years. I agree Roger T.

[Beechwood Chip]

I'd rather not have a dislike button. There have been very few posts in this forum that I would have wanted to give a thumbs down. I'd rather keep this forum as a place where "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

[thewoodwhisperer]

yeah we did discuss the concept of a dislike button. Actually, the software won't allow a dislike button. instead, we would have to implement the plus/minus system where people accumulate points. Overall, we pretty much agreed that the Like system was a little more friendly and less likely to be abused. But over time, we might try something different. That said, people barely use the like button as it is. So even if there were a +/- option, it probably wouldn't help all that much since most folks don't use it.

[PaulMarcel]

I'll only support a +1 button if we're allowed to plus by irrational numbers.