"Dislike This" Button

[DT.]

I saw @@minilogoguy18 post about this in another thread and thought I'd formally request it.

[Raz0r]

Better idea - post rating system for topics with questions where you crowd-source the best/most correct answer ala stackoverflow.com

[Ping]

I'd rather see the liking feature removed entirely instead of adding to it. It's completely useless at best and detrimental to discussions at worst. It is useless because it does not add anything to a discussion, given that the agreement of someone is neither an argument for any given point nor is it argumentatively supporting any given arguments. And it can be detrimental to discussions insofar as the widespread agreement with a certain point discourages people from speaking against that point and gives others a false sense of authority. There are many more issues like easy group polarization and slacktivism, but the like button amounts to nothing more than the internet's version of clapping after someone said something on a talkshow.

 

EDIT: As an alternative, as I mentioned previously, I'd actually find it a good idea to give admins the option of publicly announcing underneath a user's post that they have been warned or banned for making said post.

[Boothand]

The like button is a good way to acknowledge/appreciate someone's presence in your thread without making a response to each person, though. That's nice. A dislike button sounds a bit harsh, or could lead to some unwanted interaction..

After all, if someone said A New Hope was lame, the disapproval could already be felt through the force.

 

A stackoverflow style of "best answer" would be nice though, given the amount of request threads/questions. And it's already half way there since the OP can choose the best answer him-/herself.

 

Edit: One of the positive outcomes of a dislike button is sort of a quality assurance on answers, as in.. you wouldn't trust a youtube video with more dislikes than likes. But having it here sounds a bit violent to me, actually. It's not exactly a big community.

[Ping]

And yet the presence of a person in your thread is evaluated on the basis of their contribution to it. If someone just posts something stupid, you will hardly like it solely because of their presence. And indeed, if someone posts something you vehemently disagree with (even if what they write is not stupid), you will also be hard pressed to like it as well. Given that merely stating agreement with a position contributes nothing to a discussion, a like button therefore contributes nothing to a discussion. Given that threads are supposed to foster discussion, the like button has no place on the forums.

[Boothand]

But it's not only a discussion forum, so the decision would depend on whether you wanted social interaction or not (which I think suits this forum quite well). And the social aspect will always have some sort of possible drawbacks, since popularity comes into play. But judging by my own perspective in this forum, the like button is mostly harmless and just like a polite little tribute. But I would understand if other people felt the opposite, it's already clear that there are cases with quite contrasting perceptions of how someone's post is directed.

But I have to admit it's been quite a while since I've read a lot of posts here. I might be missing something.

[hleV]

This is never a good idea.

[z3filus]

yea and @@minilogoguy18 thought of it because of my joke about JJ. Abrams picking CGi role for Lupita *(cuz she's black?)
 

 

[IrocJeff]

Instead of a dislike button how about a " button of neutrality"  It could be a smiley face making and either/or gesture with his hand.

[redsaurus]

There's already the "Report" button if you really don't like something.

[Circa]

Or better yet, ignore it.

[eezstreet]

I wish we had a system like Razor mentioned, that way some useless crap could get buried like it's supposed to.

But we are switching to XenForo at some point in the future, so a massive overhaul is probably not wise.

[Xycaleth]

But we are switching to XenForo at some point in the future

We are? O.o

 

Is this part of the website revamp I remember hearing about half a year ago?

[Didz]

So we switched from XenForo to IP.Board, and now we're switching back?

[eezstreet]

So we switched from XenForo to IP.Board, and now we're switching back?

Yes.

 

This is the Cael's wish.

[Circa]

So we switched from XenForo to IP.Board, and now we're switching back?

We'll be switching to XF once the new version comes out. The reason IPB was chosen was because of features that XF promised weren't available at the time. But now they will be soon.

[Botdra]

I'd like to avoid a "dislike" button, personally. As stated early by several people there's no point to it, it adds nothing to a conversation. I think it would be fairly easy to argue that it would be detrimental.

The "like" feature is one I'm indifferent about. Although it also adds nothing to a conversation, it is a nice and easy way to say "good job" or acknowledge a post without having to quote a bunch of them etc. I don't much care either way to be honest, but a dislike button would just be a bad idea.

[hleV]

Like button is pretty much like "^ This" or "I agree" or "My thoughts exactly". Well, also expressing that you like the post, in case it's a content or other sort of contribution. Dislike button doesn't make sense. How can you dislike a post? If you disagree, you should always provide a reason why, so simply pressing a button doesn't work.

[Ping]

You can dislike something without finding it false and you can like something without finding it true. Most of our statements are not trivially true or false, so if you find something true or false, you do so for a reason. If you have a reason but you don't say it, then you are not contributing to the discussion. If you don't have a reason and merely like or dislike what was said, then expressing this does not contribute to the discussion either (because you could have just as well typed 'yay!' or 'blergh!') In both cases a like/dislike button does not add anything to the discussion, but it has many significant drawbacks that I mentioned previously.

 

EDIT: Boothand made the only good point in favour of the like button so far, namely that the forum (here) is not just about discussions. I would add to this by saying that this is a forum heavily populated by modders, so people show off work and whatnot to share it with others and get feedback on it. Feedback involves constructive criticism (at best), so the like button is out of place in that regard, but sharing does not involve any of that - and if someone shares their work with me, I find it perfectly fine to congratulate them on it without giving feedback, or state my appreciation for being able to use whatever they have made, or encourage them to continue doing it with a few nice words etc. This is where the like button fits in and why a dislike button would be out of place.