Idea to have a Like button beside posts

[dacruick]

Idea to have a "Like" button beside posts

Hi everyone,

I have an idea similar to something that Facebook does. I know that bringing up Facebook on this forum is dicey, so I probably just shouldn't have mentioned it.

I think it would be a cool idea to give the option to "Like" a post for a couple of reasons:

1) A lot of debates go on in these threads and it would be nice to allow people to contribute by supporting an already existing post, while not cluttering the thread with redundancies. This like button could also subscribe a person to a thread, as they have expressed interest but not seen the opportunity to contribute something new.

2) It would help people read through threads and catch up to speed. Often I see interesting threads that are already 20-30 posts in and it's a toss-up whether or not I want to read through it all before I post. Showing the likes beside a post would allow me to more efficiently gather the essence of the thread, and read through the posts more integral to the discussion.

3) I think that it is a good form of recognition. A lot of members here put obvious effort, thought, and organization into their posts; this would be an easy way of thanking them and showing them support for their work.

4) These likes could also be used as encouragement for people new to the forum to become more involved, and more thorough in their posts.

It could also be cool to have a monthly leaderboard of the members who received the most likes.

There could obviously be rules in place like you are only allotted a certain amount of likes per month (so people can't spam them), and maybe give PF contributors, mentors, and admins more likes because I'm sure they will not abuse them.

Anyways, these are just some thoughts. Let me know what you guys think!

 

[micromass]

This has been discussed before, and I think that this would not work.

Firstly, we already have a recognition. It are the Science Advisor and Homework Helper medals. These are guaranteed to be the quality posts by knowledgeable members. If you read any posts, then it should be by them.

Secondly, there is no guarantee that the posts with the most likes will actually be the posts with the best quality. An example:

In a discussion about Obama, one could say: "Obama sucks". All the Obama haters here will like it. Another member could actually do a long well-researched post. Most people will think it is too long and don't read it, hence it will get less likes. I don't think this is a very fair system.

Furthermore, if a post on a science subject receives many likes, does it mean it is correct?? I seriously doubt so: science is not a democracy. On the other hand, if an SA makes a post, then it is quite often correct.

 

[dacruick]

This has been discussed before, and I think that this would not work.

Firstly, we already have a recognition. It are the Science Advisor and Homework Helper medals. These are guaranteed to be the quality posts by knowledgeable members. If you read any posts, then it should be by them.

Secondly, there is no guarantee that the posts with the most likes will actually be the posts with the best quality. An example:

In a discussion about Obama, one could say: "Obama sucks". All the Obama haters here will like it. Another member could actually do a long well-researched post. Most people will think it is too long and don't read it, hence it will get less likes. I don't think this is a very fair system.

Furthermore, if a post on a science subject receives many likes, does it mean it is correct?? I seriously doubt so: science is not a democracy. On the other hand, if an SA makes a post, then it is quite often correct.

Fair enough...

I'm a little disappointed in that I don't feel you've given my idea a chance. Maybe this is because it's been considered before but you just seem set on shooting down the idea rather than discussing the pro's and cons.

I think some of the positives I associated with the idea are legitimate. Being a PF mentor I feel that you could in the very least acknowledge that and disagree with the idea. I think your post discourages the discussion.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

The problem I see is that "likes" represent an expression of an emotive opinion rather than a fair judgement of a post's quality. Especially if we add some sort of leader-board option. It will add a dimension of popularity contest to posting which I don't think is appropriate for PF. Thank you for the suggestion though it is always good to get feedback and ideas, even if they aren't used.

 

[micromass]

Fair enough...

I'm a little disappointed in that I don't feel you've given my idea a chance. Maybe this is because it's been considered before but you just seem set on shooting down the idea rather than discussing the pro's and cons.

I think some of the positives I associated with the idea are legitimate. Being a PF mentor I feel that you could in the very least acknowledge that and disagree with the idea. I think your post discourages the discussion.

How do I discourage the discussion?? I AM discussing the idea right now. Discouraging the idea would be locking the thread.

What I did is to give you some problems with the idea. Your reply gives me the impression that you don't like that I pointed out the problems and that I just should have said that this was the best idea ever.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Fair enough...

I'm a little disappointed in that I don't feel you've given my idea a chance. Maybe this is because it's been considered before but you just seem set on shooting down the idea rather than discussing the pro's and cons.

I think some of the positives I associated with the idea are legitimate. Being a PF mentor I feel that you could in the very least acknowledge that and disagree with the idea. I think your post discourages the discussion.

I don't think micro meant any disrespect at all, simply that this conversation has been had before and the benefits do not seem to outweigh the cost.

 

[Evo]

We appreciate your thoughts, but honestly, this discussion has been coming up repeatedly for years, and it is the reason that we created the HH and SA badges. It was the only way to recognize members with consistently good posts that would have some meaning.

Any crackpot can get themselves tons of votes. I see some of the worst, most inaccurate answers on places like yahoo and other popular answer sites get ranked as best answer, because of sockpuppets, friends, pranksters, and people that just have no clue voting for it. It's made those sites pretty much worthless and we don't plan to let that happen here.

 

[phinds]

We appreciate your thoughts, but honestly, this discussion has been coming up repeatedly for years, and it is the reason that we created the HH and SA badges. It was the only way to recognize members with consistently good posts that would have some meaning.

Any crackpot can get themselves tons of votes. I see some of the worst, most inaccurate answers on places like yahoo and other popular answer sites get ranked as best answer, because of sockpuppets, friends, pranksters, and people that just have no clue voting for it. It's made those sites pretty much worthless and we don't plan to let that happen here.

Excellent.

 

[lugita15]

I don't know whether this has been considered, but perhaps it would be useful to have a feature where PF Mentors could mark specific posts they thought were particularly noteworthy. This way you could avoid the problems associated with voting, like popularity contests and sockpuppetry. Of course, you can just look for posts by people with badges, but this might narrow it down for people who are quickly skimming a ten page thread, for example.

 

[phinds]

I don't know whether this has been considered, but perhaps it would be useful to have a feature where PF Mentors could mark specific posts they thought were particularly noteworthy. This way you could avoid the problems associated with voting, like popularity contests and sockpuppetry. Of course, you can just look for posts by people with badges, but this might narrow it down for people who are quickly skimming a ten page thread, for example.

I can see where you're coming from on this, and it seems reasonable ... UNLESS you happen to be one of the moderators. These folks do a great job and putting this extra burden on them is ONLY something that should be done if THEY think it's a good idea.

 

[Astronuc]

We keep pretty busy keeping PF clean of spam and crackpottery.

 

[lugita15]

I can see where you're coming from on this, and it seems reasonable ... UNLESS you happen to be one of the moderators. These folks do a great job and putting this extra burden on them is ONLY something that should be done if THEY think it's a good idea.

I'm not suggesting that they should have to do it, just giving them the ability.

 

[dlgoff]

I'm not suggesting that they should have to do it, just giving them the ability.

You do realize that they are volunteering their time as it is?

 

[Evo]

Not to mention, what I find "interesting" may be of no interest to anyone else.

Use the badges as a guide and then if you find something they say intriguing, do some research on it, if you don't understand the research or find different versions, then start a thread and explain what you found and ask for input. That's how you learn.

 

[micromass]

Not to mention, what I find "interesting" may be of no interest to anyone else.

Yah, we're not really interested in Evo marking all her own posts as "interesting"...

 

[dlgoff]

Yah, we're not really interested in Evo marking all her own posts as "interesting"...

That's because we all know she IS interesting.

 

[dacruick]

How do I discourage the discussion?? I AM discussing the idea right now. Discouraging the idea would be locking the thread.

What I did is to give you some problems with the idea. Your reply gives me the impression that you don't like that I pointed out the problems and that I just should have said that this was the best idea ever.

Hi there micromass,

Reading my post over again, it seems that I took offence and I shouldn't have. I guess I was just a little proud of my suggestion, and that can make it difficult to accept criticism.

 

[I like Serena]

In another forum, which is similar to our HH forums, the "like" option has been implemented.

On each post there is a "Thanks" button, that people can click to show their appreciation.
Separately there are HH and SA medals, and also yearly awards, just like what we have.

I have posted a few replies there, and I have to say that I like seeing people show their appreciation for my help, and show which of my (and other people's) posts they find most helpful.

Edit: When a known specialist has "liked" a post, it also draws my attention so I read those posts.

 

[LCKurtz]

Yah, we're not really interested in Evo marking all her own posts as "interesting"...

That's because we all know she IS interesting.

Certainly, "her" picture is...

 

[I like Serena]

I've just been 2 days on a forum that has a "like" button.

And I was just "Thanked" on a number of my posts by the member who holds the awards:

• Best New Member
• Most Helpful Member

Hehe...