'Dislike'/'thumbs down' buttons

[+ouija ouija]

I know this has been raised more than once, but please could we have a 'dislike' and/or 'thumbs down' button at the side of each post? I would have worn mine out over the last few days. It occurred to me that it would remove some of the urges to type offensive/provocative/exasperated posts ..... it would be a valve to release some of the pressure build-up, so to speak.

[XenoFish]

Hey Xeno. How many dislikes do you have. 

"Let me see....."

[XenoFish]

You do realize how such a thing can be severely abused right? 

[LightAngel]

I think both like/dislike buttons can ruin a discussion!

I have noticed how lazy we all sometimes become when all we have to do is press a button! 

I think there would be more discussion if there was NO buttons to press at all!

 

 

[Stiff]

I think there should be a heart button too. Some posts deserve more than just a 'like'.

ETA:

Doh! I mean a red heart button for 'love'

Edited December 1, 2018 by Stiff

[XenoFish]

I've seen what a karma (like/dislike) system can do to a forum. You end up with people who have grudges backtracking a members post and disliking everyone of them. Throws things out of whack. Plus you can't tell what post is or isn't quality. 

[spartan max2]

I don't think a dislike button would work out. If a post isn't getting likes then that's a clear enough indication that you don't support it.

Plus it discourages discussions because getting a dislike is insulting.

[kartikg]

Let's just say your opinion doesn't matter and there is really no need to express one either. 

[SHaYap]

I do kinda like the idea of a 'Jack in the Box' springing out of the box button though ... boing boing boing

~

[Vorg]

A LAME button would work well here too, and maybe a TRAIN DERAILING for posters who go off topic.

Edited December 1, 2018 by South Alabam

[+ouija ouija]

1 hour ago, XenoFish said:

You do realize how such a thing can be severely abused right? 

No, I don't.

1 hour ago, LightAngel said:

I think both like/dislike buttons can ruin a discussion!

I have noticed how lazy we all sometimes become when all we have to do is press a button! 

I think there would be more discussion if there was NO buttons to press at all!

 

 

I disagree. I am unaware of like/dislike buttons ruining a discussion ..... how would that work? I'm not sure people are being lazy when they 'like'; surely it's more a case of " I like this but don't have anything more to add to the discussion. If I commented, I would only be repeating what others have already said". 

Buttons are essential, in the same way emoticons are. They are an acknowledgement that someone has read your post and had a reaction to it.

58 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

I've seen what a karma (like/dislike) system can do to a forum. You end up with people who have grudges backtracking a members post and disliking everyone of them. Throws things out of whack. Plus you can't tell what post is or isn't quality. 

'Karma system'?! 'Throws things out of whack'?! I don't understand what you mean by either of these phrases. 'Can't tell what post is or isn't quality'?! Many 'likes' don't necessarily equate to quality! I think each of us can decide for ourselves what constitutes the quality of a post.

How many people are going to bother 'disliking' every post of someone they don't like? And if they did, don't you think others would notice and think badly of them for being so petty? MySpace had 'likes' and 'dislikes' and I don't remember it ever being a problem.

50 minutes ago, spartan max2 said:

I don't think a dislike button would work out. If a post isn't getting likes then that's a clear enough indication that you don't support it.

Plus it discourages discussions because getting a dislike is insulting.

'Getting a 'dislike' is insulting'?!! Good Grief, it doesn't take much for you to feel insulted, does it?! Surely one's response to dislikes should simply be "Oh, okay, so-and-so doesn't agree with what I said there". If you get a lot of 'dislikes' for one post in particular that simply shows you that you are in the minority with that particular opinion of yours. Nothing to lose sleep over. 

49 minutes ago, kartikg said:

Let's just say your opinion doesn't matter and there is really no need to express one either. 

Are you saying that this ^ ^ is what a 'dislike' button indicates? ................. I honestly hadn't realised there were so many delicate little snowflakes here at UM. 

[spartan max2]

1 minute ago, ouija ouija said:

 

'Getting a 'dislike' is insulting'?!! Good Grief, it doesn't take much for you to feel insulted, does it?! Surely one's response to dislikes should simply be "Oh, okay, so-and-so doesn't agree with what I said there". If you get a lot of 'dislikes' for one post in particular that simply shows you that you are in the minority with that particular opinion of yours. Nothing to lose sleep over. 

 

I don't see how not liking someone's post does not already accomplish this.

 

[+ouija ouija]

2 minutes ago, spartan max2 said:

I don't see how not liking someone's post does not already accomplish this.

 

It doesn't give a true picture of how many people have read the post and felt moved to express an opinion on it; 3 people may have 'liked' it, a dozen may have disagreed with what was said(but don't particularly want to type that in a post).

[spartan max2]

5 minutes ago, ouija ouija said:

It doesn't give a true picture of how many people have read the post and felt moved to express an opinion on it; 3 people may have 'liked' it, a dozen may have disagreed with what was said(but don't particularly want to type that in a post).

Here is an example,

You enter a thread and see the OP has 1 like.

You see that the first couple comments contrary to the OP had 8 likes.

It's pretty obvious to everyone that the OP is on the minority of opinions. Adding a dislike button would just make it redundant because this OP would now have an additoinal 8 dislikes. A dislike is just addiotnial salt on a wound and adds no information.

If you disagree with someone statement enough just make a post, and do a discussion lol. Or as with what normally happens just like post that you agree with.

Edit: your statement also kind of supports what angel said, that having like and dislike buttons makes people lazy and not want to post lol

Edited December 1, 2018 by spartan max2

[+ouija ouija]

 Currently(I think I'm right in saying this), only 'likes' are recorded for each UM member ..... not the other buttons ..... I had assumed that 'dislikes' wouldn't be recorded either. Would this make a difference to whether or not people approve of a 'dislike' button? An individual member could receive 'dislikes' during a discussion of a particular subject, but this wouldn't translate into a total that was shown under their avatar(the way that 'likes' are).  

[XenoFish]

So from what I gather is that you want a dislike button just so you can dislike post.

[+ouija ouija]

Erm ...... yes! If one can express one's approval of a post, why not balance that up with a means to express disapproval/disagreement? Do you think there shouldn't be any buttons at all?

[XenoFish]

8 minutes ago, ouija ouija said:

Erm ...... yes! If one can express one's approval of a post, why not balance that up with a means to express disapproval/disagreement? Do you think there shouldn't be any buttons at all?

Alright. Let's play out a hypothetical situation. We are given a dislike option and out of spite I start disliking every single post you've made even the ones made when you joined. Perhaps I'm even more devilish and get help doing this. Now you have a high negative rep which would be a false indicater to the actual quality of your post.

Second situation is trolls. The dislike option would better fuel their own motives in starting flame wars and s**t posting. 

Edited December 1, 2018 by XenoFish

[XenoFish]

Since you come off as a positive person Ouija, why do you want to partake in negative reinforcement. 

As for the like system we have. I'm not in any position of authority to say it stays or goes. Ain't my job. I'm just trying to point out how flawed a dislike option would be. 

[XenoFish]

Last thing to consider is the already abundant discord among members. It would fuel such negativity further. 

Edited December 1, 2018 by XenoFish
Wrong word :p

[acute]

1 hour ago, ouija ouija said:

I think each of us can decide for ourselves what constitutes the quality of a post.

The only guarantee of a high quality post is a hoglet-on-apple avatar.

[+ouija ouija]

13 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

Alright. Let's play out a hypothetical situation. We are given a dislike option and out of spite I start disliking every single post you've made even the ones made when you joined. Perhaps I'm even more devilish and get help doing this. Now you have a high negative rep which would be a false indicater to the actual quality of your post.

Second situation is trolls. The dislike option would better fuel their own motives in starting flame wars and s**t posting. 

Firstly, I think that everyone has got better things to do with their time than clicking on the 'dislike' button on every post a particular person has ever made. I'm not saying it couldn't ever happen, but surely it would be a once-in-a-blue-moon event if it did? This is UM we're talking about here!  As I mentioned, I don't remember there being a problem with it at MySpace(when there were forums there) and that was certainly a rougher site than UM.  Plus, as I understand it, negative rep would not be recorded.

I don't see the connection between quality of post and whether or not others agree with the content.

With regard to trolls, I think it would simply make it more obvious as to what they were up to and so they could be deleted sooner.

9 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

Since you come off as a positive person Ouija, why do you want to partake in negative reinforcement. 

As for the like system we have. I'm not in any position of authority to say it stays or goes. Ain't my job. I'm just trying to point out how flawed a dislike option would be. 

I honestly don't see it as 'negative reinforcement', I see it as a tool that gives an indicator of who stands where in a debate/discussion and an indicator, to the poster, that people have read his/her post and care enough to express an opinion about it ....... just as they do when they press 'like'. LIFE consists of many, many different opinions/points of view and I find it very disturbing that some people find it insulting to be told that I have a different point of view to them. Good Heavens! It appears that some people actually feel that an expression of an opposing view to theirs is an attack on them! Where did this come from?

" I'm not in any position of authority to say it stays or goes" .... what a funny thing to say! I was just asking you what your opinion was regarding having any buttons at all/or just some/which ones?

[acute]

1 hour ago, ouija ouija said:

 Currently(I think I'm right in saying this), only 'likes' are recorded for each UM member ..... not the other buttons

I think i'm right in saying that Saru changed a 'sad' reaction into a positive, after you suggested it.

[+ouija ouija]

19 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

Last thing to consider is the already abundant discord among members. It would fuel such negativity further. 

I don't agree that there is 'abundant' discord among members, but maybe that reflects the threads each of us spend most time in ...... plus your self-confessed pessimism. Maybe I wear rose-tinted glasses, but I honestly think that by far the vast majority of posters at UM are just not that petty. I don't think that even those who are sworn adversaries would be bothered to stoop that low and even if they did, all the regulars would be very aware of what was going on and not be swayed by it. It would just be new trolls coming in specifically to cause trouble. 

[+ouija ouija]

8 minutes ago, acute said:

I think i'm right in saying that Saru changed a 'sad' reaction into a positive, after you suggested it.

I'd forgotten about that.