'like', 'dislike' or 'laugh' at posts

[hairyunicorn]

Another forum that i use allows you to 'like', 'dislike' or 'laugh' at posts as well as being able to reply.

I really like this format as it allows you to interact with post/comments without having to post a full reply (esp. good if someone else has already said what you wanted to post).

This doesn't seem to cut down on the number of replies on the other forum just allows another way to interact.

Would you enjoy this feature, is this something MN have ever thought of implementing ?

This is often debated on MN and is usually a big fat no.

That's a shame, I think its a really great feature.

Thanks for letting me know!

It can end up with an echo chamber where whatever views are most popular get considered the "correct" POV. What's true has nothing to do with whether its popular or not.

'thumbs down'

No thank you. Here, we use our words. Old fashioned maybe; quirky, some might say; others might find us dinosaurs. But still we say no, no thank you.

No! It's a subject that's been debated/discussed many times here, and the overwhelming view is that it isn't something that's seen as desirable. The belief is that it doesn't encourage participation and debate.

So many people become ridiculously outraged at the very thought of a like button on MN 😂

But I think the tide is turning a bit, as every thread like this shows slightly more people in favour than the last thread.

I'd love a like button because sometimes I just want to acknowledge a poster who has replied to me way up thread, without quoting them which is often pointless later on.

I don't believe for a second it would stifle conversation, which is the main fear of some posters.

I did actual snurk at this

Who are you speaking for when you say 'we' though?

No everyone is against a like button.

OP, why don't you start this thread in AIBU so you can get a vote going? It'd be interesting to see the split.

oh darling, the Royal we was used there. [pats head]

No

I really like it that those functions do not exist here. You don't just click, you post and say something.

Many times debated, even voted upon, and it's been a pretty solid 'no'

No thanks.

This is a discussion forum. I come here to engage with other people’s thoughts and ideas - which they express through words.

And yes, the popularity contest aspect has been more than adequately adumbrated countless times.

But it’s good that people have a choice of where they feel most at home on the Internet …

Yes. I'd prefer it. 👍

I've always thought this would be a good feature and I have to say I thought it was just an oversight from an incompetent dev team 😂 It's good to know it's an actual strategic decision.

No thanks. I find liking a post as quite dismissive. And could also just be a slip of the finger rather than actually like, the amount of times I've clicked advanced search inserted of bookmark since the update, aarrrggghhh. If you like something enough then speak out, add your voice to the topic, add extra ideas that others haven't thought of. Let the discussion evolve and weave. Other SM sites aren't as alive as this one imo.

As for moving this to AIBU for votes. I never voted even if I post.

Nope. If I wanted that I'd be on Facebook.

No, never a popular suggestion on here. I agree. Imagine the rows it could produce, individual posts being disliked, especially if it was anonymous.

Well, I'm going to swim against the tide and say I think something of this sort could improve some long threads. I would like to see the option to click on something that would look like a cancelled cheque (although I imagine younger posters might need training in what a cheque was) which could be used to tell the OP to do something blindingly obvious. This would save several hundred people from saying it over and over again in words, often years later, because they hadn't RTFT. (Actually, RTFT would be an exceptionally useful button.)

Yuck no thanks. The pile-ons would be even worse, like on YouTube 5 years ago.

Personally I’m not a fan of this. MN can a cliquey echo-chamber at the best of times and a dislike button wouldn’t help things. I also don’t think it would add anything to the experience. It’s not like Reddit where posts are sorted by up and downvotes.

And it will annoy me if we get this and still don't have an edit button.

If it’s the forum I’m thinking if, the amount of angsty posts complaining that someone disliked a previous post of theirs gets old pretty quickly. (And any post complaining about disagree clicks, gets a bajillion disagree clicks).
It can derail a discussion into “how bad disagreeing is”instead of the subject at hand.

If you like something enough then speak out, add your voice to the topic, add extra ideas that others haven't thought of.

You're an optimist! There are indeed some threads on MN where there is a genuine conversation but they're few and far between. Most long threads are very repetitive.

I am more and more of the opinion that 1000 posts is far too many. I also can't see why threads have to remain open to new posts for the rest of time.

No.. the rest of internet is a popularity fest, I like that here is free of it.

No - I like to see posters expressing their views through the medium of the written word (with varying success). Thumbs up/down/laughing doesn't encourage that - there are plenty of other places I can go to put my wee thumb if I cba to do much more than that.