Have you ever thought about having Like/Dislike Approve/Disapprove buttons?

[said]

Sometimes someone writes a really great post that encapsulates everything you were thinking. Rather than write "Agree with x" post what about 'Agree/Disagree' etc?

Cos no one 'likes' them
Its MN not FB.

I know but the Guardian has them so it must be ok

I'd be happy with a cat's bum emoticon for when I really disapprove.

Actually, thinking about this a bit more, maybe I only want a 'Like' option . Imagine 250,000 'Dislike/Talkimg Bollocks Love' votes?

No one would ever reply to anything, it would just be the OP and a thousand 'Shut up you dozy mare' votes!

Someone else suggested this here

Can't see it happening tbh.

I consider it a great idea, as it offers a chance to 'at a glance' see whether there are lots of views for/ against the comments, without 'requiring' lots of explanation.

Where someone wants to back-up their voting choice with explanation, a follow-up post can be made

However, it might require a fair amount of programming work (so you can only vote once per posting), and while the forum section is perhaps the most-used, it may be that relatively few people submit a choice (adds work for the web server[s] so if things are slow, it would be crippling for MN if the load doubled or trebled to capture these votes).

Also, while it is one thing to see a few negative remarks critical of a comment, if one saw a couple of thousand votes 'against' one's view, it may frighten off some portion of posters, and have a negative effect if it was seen by some (media, for example) as being 'bullying' of an individual.

dislike

sorry, meant to keep 'low voting numbers' and 'server load' as completely separate aspects...

I think I should write 100 lines of "I must remember to preview my posts!"

But why do you need to see "voting choices" anyway?

Nooooooo! I said it before and I'll say it again, there's no need for all that crap on here.

I think we should a button that sounds like Family Fortunes 'UHH-UUHHH' X

when we disagree

"there's no need for all that crap on here"

It is far from 'crap' in my view. There are some threads running to 2 dozen pages of comments. If half of them are simply 'supportive' of previous comments, rather than putting forward different opinions and explaining them, then a good chunk of the posts would be reduced, and one could so much more easily get a view on the concensus, rather than wading through maybe 1000 posts to try to see what MN members feel.

But that's very black and white - most posts don't just say "I agree" or "I disagree" - there are examples, subtle variations and nuances which are what lead to interesting discussion. Who's trying to see what MN members feel anyway - is it for parents by parents, or for pollsters by parents? Most MNers aren't here to see what the consensus is, but to talk.

Why not just get rid of the topics altogether and just make mn one big 'like'/'dislike' button? That way noone would ever have to read a thread or engage their brain at any point.

Why not just get rid of the topics altogether and just make mn one big 'like'/'dislike' button? That way noone would ever have to read a thread or engage their brain at any point.

I would like a "nod head" button for when I am nodding my head at sage advice given by someone.

And instead of OPs to threads we can have updates like- "Fairy Armadillo is wondering if she is being unreasonable to drink Fruit Shoots."

We could have a red tick or a 'good work' button. Or a 'see me' if it's not up to scratch.

While I can see the objections, there's no suggestion that discussion be sidelined, just that where some comment draws simple agree/disagree opinion, that could be marked.

That "nod head" suggestion is pretty much the same as an "agree" mark or a "thank you" that some other boards have (Money Saving Expert, for example).

I guess F.A. is suggesting a FaceBook style, just for fun, since one or two people have moved to thinking this is a "block discussion" or think I want a binary "yes/no" style "marking" system, which isn't what I'd be looking for anyway...

By the way I wasn't being serious!

I like Facebook and I like Mumsnet. Just the way they are.