To wish that everybody could see the total number of ‘Thanks’

[Starlingexpress]

On thread comments rather than just the author of the comment?

I’m not sure why this is not viewable to everybody but reckon it could be really useful.

Never in the history of AIBU have I seen an OP or a particularly rude or argumentative poster EVER admit they are BU but I sometimes wish a comment which gets loads of thanks might just sow a seed 😆

Why do you need to be told that another poster has made a really good point?

When the recent thanks button was added, there was much gnashing and wailing from people who'd convinced themselves it would stem conversation, and that 'lazy' posters would just click it instead of commenting.

Hasn't made a blind bit of difference as far as I can see 🤷‍♂️

Disagree

That kind of thing fuels popularity contests

MN one of the few forums I use without it and I think it's better for it

I prefer the private nature of it. It works well with humorous comments that don't need a quote and 'haha'. I use it to express agreement, enjoyment, actual helpfulness - a real range. I like the cultural Britishness of naming it 'thanks' rather than upvoting (and I'm foreign).

I got a fair few likes on something recently for the first time, and realised that posting early on a potentially popular thread is a very easy way to farm likes. That's not the gamification I'd want to see here - there's no USP to MN if it's just like Reddit.

Yes, my most-thanked comments have been where I happened to get in first to express a sentiment that proved to be common throughout a popular thread.

It's not really reflective of effort; long, detailed answers don't garner more thanks in my experience.

I think I prefer them hidden, though I have definitely had moments when someone's trying to argue with me about something and I want to shout "I have 30 thanks for my comment, I know I'm right!". But of course for all I know they have 50...!

Yeah this – it would distort conversations as people would start posting for likes. I also prefer that each poster and opinion has equal weighting – a ‘likes’ system could cultivate more of the pile-on mentality that you sometimes see.

I have thought this myself before OP then realised I actually don’t want it to be like facebook or whatever.

Being unkind to people because they disagree with you doesn't make you right. If people want Likes and all that, there are websites that do it. This one doesn't.

<awaits avalanche of Thanks>

...

I agree with this...

God no. I hate any form of upvote / downvote system on forums. The "thanks" button is a good compromise.

I think you're wrong about name changing. Maybe on AIBU? But the boards I'm on have posters who keep the same name and who you get to know, and who greet you when you bump into them on a different board.

It makes me feel happy when I get that daily post "you have been thanked", but I wouldn't like it to turn into a Daily Mail like popularity contest.

I think it’s also good that you can ‘thank’ people privately. Making this publicly visible might change or inhibit what people respond to.

I’d rather read what people actually have to say.

😂😂

I rarely recognise usernames anymore. I don't just stick to AIBU either. I'm not on any of the long running cliques threads, so maybe that's why I don't see names I recognise.

I think it works fine as it is, as a way of showing agreement/appreciation. Public "likes" is one small step from a downvote button and I think that really would change the nature of MN for the worse.

Though I have noticed the daily post regurgitates old thanks if you haven't received any in the last 24 hours.

I think it's to stop people clout chasing/obsessing over getting thanks. It also stops people from thanking posts just bc they are popular with others.
I would prefer if they did show them but I can see why they don't.

I got into a disagreement with a poster over an issue . It actually got a little personal as the other poster was vehemently arguing their viewpoint . I took a different view but just wanted to agree to disagree. The amount of thanks reminded me that my point was valid and others shared it .

I agree I was posting on a thread recently and multiple people where telling me nobody agrees with me and how I should stop posting and go away etc but at the same time multiple people where pressing the thanks button. For context all I was saying is a person's mental health is more important then any job and a page full of teachers disagreed with me and lost their shit, I still stand by my comments.

The posters mentioning about making a comment early on in a thread meaning you are more likely to get thanks is so true. It’s the same on the Guardian & I find myself thinking there’s no point posting if it’s gone for a few pages as less people will see & I won’t get any likes. Whereas with mumsnet I will still comment.
Its funny though as sometimes I feel like I’ve put a really eloquent & thoughtful post on here & think I’m guaranteed to get thanks & actually I get zilch! Then I make a throwaway comment & am surprised to see I get likes for that!

How do you know that 'very few posters keep the same username'?

I mean, if that were true, almost by definition you wouldn't know. Unless, of course, you're going by people saying that they've changed their name. And then you'd have to count up all the people who haven't said they had, just to see which was 'most'. Not that that would tell you anything, because ten instances of people saying they'd changed their name might be ten name-changers or just one person changing ten times.

So..yes...anyway...how do you know?

I forget the thanks button exists most of the time as it seems strange to me to thank someone because you agree with their opinion. A 'like' button or an 'agreed' button would make more sense to me. It's only if you're the OP really that it makes sense to thank people for helping you with their answers IMO.

I like the private nature of it, and that you can take whatever you like from it: validation, comfort etc.

I offer “thanks” on different posts for different reasons, sometimes it’s an agreement, sometimes it’s a way of letting someone know they’ve been heard, other times it’s just an acknowledgment that they’ve taken time and you appreciate them.

I hadn’t appreciated the “gamification” issue but it makes sense. I appreciate MN because of the nuanced engagement.

Doesn't the same apply to the voting system? If you are hiding one, but everyone can see the other, what's the point?