Pros and cons of "like" or thumbs up/down buttons

[TrillianAstra]

What do you think?

It causes problems on other forums where I've seen it used.

• people are less likely to respond to a thread when they can just click "like"
• when there are already accusations of MN royalty, a "like" button will add fuel to the fire
• it can give the impression of a bit of a popularity contest
• it has no benefits.

Why would you use it though?

Why can you not press add message and write: I agree with TA.

Or: I think TA is talking through her arse

We can write, we have brains, we can express ourselves.

Like buttons are a bit monkey in the zoo-ish.

Uggggg. LIKE. Press button. Me likey. Button. Ugg ugg

What would you have? Just a count of how many people had clicked "like"? Or list of who had done so?

Would a "dislike" button be cruel?

The Freakonomics blog has a system where comments on blog posts are coloured - one colour for "well-loved" (= lots of likes), another colour for "hotly debated" (lots of likes AND lots of dislikes), and posts with lots of dislikes say "comment hidden due to low rating, click here to reveal".

I'm not saying we should do any of it, just saying that there are lots of options.

I think you should all write "I agree with Trillian" of course :)

Like/Dislike buttons were being discussed on the Quote option thread so I thought I'd start a thread just to talk about this.

Exactly what Empjusa said - it'll inflate egos and that's not necessary. It'll also make thin-skinned posters feel rubbish. And it'll lead to lots of newbies arse-kissing royalty. Gah. And what Mme said - it's all a bit using a mallet when a fine pencil will do the job nicely.

No to a Like button.

No to the like button from me.

I could have listed the reasons why but they've already been said by Pinot, Empusa and MmeL. Ironically I could have just "liked" each of their posts.

There is already a box highlighting discussions.

There is a weekly round-up

We have a few smileys

There are already issues with trolls and thin-skins

so, no, I wouldn't want a facility to rate ...

No no no no no - for all of the very good reasons already stated.

If posters can't be bothered to post on a thread, why give them the option of cluttering it up?

And why restrict ourselves to like and dislike, when we have such gems availble to us as YABU and FTFOTFOSM?

So a definite NO from me.

No.

That kind of thing is only for the lazy.

Let me fine that: too Lazy or too stupid to post.

We use words on MN. It works well.

Maybe I should add that I don't want the like/dislike option, I just offered a space to check if other people did so I could tell them they were wrong

No no no. Encourages inanity, and discourages all but the hardened troll from disagreeing with a post that has 500 likes.

'Like' - it's childish!

I also don't do Facebook.

god no, the first hun like thing to invade here and im off - start with a like, we'll end up with quote, tickers, glitter, the inane moving smileys and those bloody colours!!

hmm i too am a facebook rejector.. i despise it and all its worth plus the hassle it can bring.

I quite like the idea. It would save the thread with 100s of 'I agree with whatserface'. Which is very tedious.

[dislike] honeypablo

Wow, that felt rude

Oh boy. Yet another (perhaps the fourth of fifth) discussion of this.

Shame that MNHQ cannot seem to consider it more seriously. The last most recent thread about it had very similar comments from those who hate the idea, but plenty of other comments in favour, and while I personally don't use FaceBook, so would not suggest this be called a 'like' or 'dislike' approach, the 'thumbs up' / 'thumbs down' icons seem quite reasonable and does not prevent anyone posting comments too.

One problem with non-threaded discussion boards is that when you post your "I agree with " comment, unless you either quote part of it or show the date and time of it, you could be mistakenly supporting someone for one post when another later on offends you.

I have seen suggestions of it being for the lazy, and on the lines of dumbing down, plus the idea that it would lead to big ego problems, but have yet to see any firm comments from MNHQ about whether they would even consider it!

How can one prove there is/ is not a decrease in discussion ? Only by trying it out, something I'd really like MNHQ to do. They already have Facebook and Twitter buttons (now moved to the top of each page) and add features (which can be ignored if one wishes, for example, whether one uses 'bookmarks' or not).

Anyway, I'm not going over old ground again on this thread... plenty of arguments against it are forthcoming, but few are based on much more than levels of distaste about other websites...

Threads simply don't get clogged with hundreds of "I agree with"s th

though. They just don't. The odd one, yes, which is harmless enough. It's a non-problem.

"How can one prove there is/ is not a decrease in discussion ? Only by trying it out"

Another forum I used noticed a decline in actual posts when they introduced a "like" button

I'm not really in favour of the 'like' button or the 'thumbs up/down' - it's a bit Daily Mail. I think it could stop discussion and deter people with a minority viewpoint from posting - knowing they'll get a load of 'thumbs down'.

I like MN the way it is - just posts, no bells, no whistles.

Absolute NO. MN is a place for discussion, not stickering others writing with a like/dislike about their opinion because you can't find the words to express yourself.