I know this isn't Facebook, but I do love the idea of the 'like' button. For when I want to acknowledge my approval of what someone has contributed, without having anything valid to add.
...just a thought...
We had a karma system before... That may lead to some people feeling undervalued or even frozen out though.
I don't like these things, they can become an objective in themselves, some people give their friends kudos for utterly mundane posts.
I agree with Asmodean and The Magic Pudding. When Whitney changed the software for the forum, the default settings included a peer-rating function. It was removed because it didn't add anything really useful. Quite the contrary in fact.
When Whitney has time to install some custom smileys, maybe you could lobby to have some sort of approval smiley added, like (https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rationalskepticism.org%2Fimages%2Fsmilies%2Ficon_this.gif&hash=d3a191166c237e8b6dbe468c307751343d460837) or (https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg717.imageshack.us%2Fimg717%2F2339%2Fbluethumbup.gif&hash=5fe03c6701607da88624dfc89a3acd7df124c467).
Quote from: Recusant on September 16, 2011, 08:25:25 PM
I agree with Asmodean and The Magic Pudding. When Whitney changed the software for the forum, the default settings included a peer-rating function. It was removed because it didn't add anything really useful. Quite the contrary in fact.
When Whitney has time to install some custom smileys, maybe you could lobby to have some sort of approval smiley added, like (https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rationalskepticism.org%2Fimages%2Fsmilies%2Ficon_this.gif&hash=d3a191166c237e8b6dbe468c307751343d460837) or (https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg717.imageshack.us%2Fimg717%2F2339%2Fbluethumbup.gif&hash=5fe03c6701607da88624dfc89a3acd7df124c467).
(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rationalskepticism.org%2Fimages%2Fsmilies%2Ficon_this.gif&hash=d3a191166c237e8b6dbe468c307751343d460837)
Yep, works for me...!
When my forum was still up (and still had members) I added a peer rating mod that rewarded highly ranked members with little icons that I could choose (little medals, or coins) that would display under their username. It was a more of a behavioral experiment to me than anything of value to the site. I was intrigued by how people would form cliques, argue over the points like they were money, and even call someone out for clicking like on a post of a rival right in the thread the post was in. Then I began to "award" certain members with points for general good behavior and if I felt sorry for them, and human nature strikes again. Perhaps using my forum as a social experiment is why it went bye-bye.....
It was cool nonetheless. But this is a serious forum, so I wouldn't lol.
Quote from: Xjeepguy on September 16, 2011, 11:46:01 PM
When my forum was still up (and still had members) I added a peer rating mod that rewarded highly ranked members with little icons that I could choose (little medals, or coins) that would display under their username. It was a more of a behavioral experiment to me than anything of value to the site. I was intrigued by how people would form cliques, argue over the points like they were money, and even call someone out for clicking like on a post of a rival right in the thread the post was in. Then I began to "award" certain members with points for general good behavior and if I felt sorry for them, and human nature strikes again. Perhaps using my forum as a social experiment is why it went bye-bye.....
That's what we were starting to get a taste of just with having positive and negative karma. It seemed best to just turn off the feature than to have it cause issues.
Quote from: RunFromMyLife on September 17, 2011, 10:09:22 PM
This may seem like a foolish tangential suggestion, but I'll throw it out there anyway.
I post on a forum that has a Thanks button rather than a Like button. Do you think a Thanks button would be beneficial or would it end up turning into a karma system similar to the Like button?
I think we'd still have a problem with people complaining if they don't get a lot of thanks.
I think that any system that can bee seen as some sort of badge of honour (number of kudos, for instance) can cause the sorts of problems that were mentioned so far. A 'thanks' button with a displayed number of 'thanks' each poster has received aren't any different.
Would it be considered a junk post to just say something like This ^ or What he/she said.?
Quote from: Whitney on September 17, 2011, 10:27:35 PM
I think we'd still have a problem with people complaining if they don't get a lot of thanks.
Do some people really complain about not being appreciated?
Why don't they sit and quietly seethe like normal folk?
Weirdoes, no wonder no one likes them.
Quote from: The Magic Pudding on September 18, 2011, 03:40:44 AM
Quote from: Whitney on September 17, 2011, 10:27:35 PM
I think we'd still have a problem with people complaining if they don't get a lot of thanks.
Do some people really complain about not being appreciated?
Why don't they sit and quietly seethe like normal folk?
Weirdoes, no wonder no one likes them.
The real problem is people rarely complain, they just leave and as a forum is sum of its members loseing members is not good. If we want more content then we need to respond in a positive manner to the posts of other members.
Quote from: The Magic Pudding on September 16, 2011, 03:42:55 PM
I don't like these things, they can become an objective in themselves, some people give their friends kudos for utterly mundane posts.
*LIKE*
The meaning of life is to collect rep points on internet forums.