"Like" button on the BOI.
 

Would anyone like to see a "Like" button (à la Facebook) on the BOI? I've talked to Rich about this, and he said he'd consider it if it generated enough interest from other members. There've been numerous times I find myself wanting to acknowledge (publicly) a particular post but have nothing worth saying that would be of any benefit to the majority of other members/lurkers.

Been there also. Quoting the post and throwing in an :iagree: reply doesn't add to the discussion either.

Usually I just settle for giving the person karma.

I just sent you Karma, now if I didn't mention that only you and I would know. In addition, I'm not a contributing member (yet):o, there's no way of telling who sent me Karma unless they leave their name, which only happened once.

I would like the Like Button.

Like Button would be nice.

If there's also a "Dislike" button, I'd be all for it. I think depicting the reality of the situation - showing both positive and negative reactions - would be much more interesting.

Ha! I tried to send some back and got the message I had to give it to others first - I forgot I gave you some recently!

I've visited forums that have that feature; and, frankly, I find it annoying and obtrusive. I also think it would encourage posts that merit infractions; which creates its own issues (not to mention a piss poor argument ala Why did you give me an infraction, that post got 15 likes).
Maybe it's because I'm not an avid facebooker, but I'm not hung up on that level of reinforcement (though, like most, I do appreciate a little karma from time to time. That acknowledged, I certainly dont want/need it on display for all to see).

What's wrong with that?
Of what benefit is it for others to see that you gave somebody karma?

Lol, this is why we need that button. Thanks anyway.;)

Nothing, IMO a 'like' button is just a quicker and better way to acknowledge someone's post. It also allows others to know where you stand and or support in a conversation. Tbh, when I send Karma I feel like I did nothing - plus there's no way of knowing if it was even received.

Why is it better, though? Because other people can see it?

What are you supposed to feel when you give karma? You haven't actually done anything, other than acknowledge a post. The same is true for liking it...except you show as part of a number. What if the like button didn't make your name visible/accessible? Would it still be better? If so, why?

I don't want like or dislike buttons. It too often devolves into Romper Room behaviors. If I wanted all that drama I'd be on Facebook, which I'm not.

It ain't broke, so why "fix" it? This is not FB so if you want to give kudos to a post, leave karma or post a thumbs up, agreement, etc to a particular post in a thread you wish to acknowledge.

Personally, I see no reason to add a "like" button when there are already options in place to give credit if credit is due.

As Darlene has pointed out, a "like" and/or "dislike" button can only add to juvenile behavior and petty crap that is already displayed too often on Farcebook ... in MWO.

If Fauna is too old-school, oh well. So be it. It ain't broke. No need to "fix".

How does a person give karma?

I don't see how it would work very well in the BOI. IMHO I think it would reward good comebacks more than resolutions of conflict.

See attached.

Unfortunately, old-school don't cut it on the web. Fb pretty much wiped out the discussion forums here and on Kingsnake, it'll be the buying and selling next. I never said this site was broken or needed fixing, just saying it could use some upgrading.

That could also stand as a reasonably accurate description of how karma works on here. It's entirely subjective, why people choose to give/take karma for certain posts. Sometimes, what you say isn't even nearly as important as who you happen to say it to. Aside from having a different name and being publicly viewable, the proposed "like" system wouldn't really be appreciably different than the karma system that's already in place.

Posts made purely to acknowledge another post tend to irritate me. When I see people bump a thread to add little more than ":iagree:," I generally just roll my eyes. While it may possibly feed into a certain kind of person's ideas that might somehow makes right - might being measured in amount of public thumbs-up received - I personally don't see any reason to do anything that would make this site any more like Fakebook than it already is - thankfully, very little.

You've been here for year...
The discussion forums were faltering badly 10 yrs ago. I recall some of the efforts to bolster them. Some people were using Facebook back then; but it wasn't the draw that it is now. There's no denying that Facebook and Instagram have taken a lot of traffic from forum based sites...but there's no easy solution to that problem. Maybe trying to be like Facebook would help pull in some people; but at what cost? While nobody can deny what social media has become; not everybody wants to immerse themselves in it.
Is the addition of a Like button going to drive people away? No. Is it going to be a draw? Probably not. Look at the social groups section - that never really took off, despite the drive that brought it here. Friends? Some people use that feature - I see that you have A friend - but many could care less. I've chosen not to utilize it. I'm okay with the site imposed statement that I don't have any friends. (Heck, I don't collect friends on Facebook - when I had a business page, I accepted every request....one pretty much has to...but when I deleted that page, I dumped the majority of the reptile people without regret.)

Realistically, if the Like system can be kept unobtrusive, there aren't many negatives....but, then, it would lose appeal.

The other day I wanted to say 'thanks' to two members on a BOI thread for answering a question I'd asked; however, at the time I had nothing worth saying but 'thanks'. I knew subscribers to that thread would be notified and scamper back to the conversation only to be annoyed by my post.

I don't get the mentality that suggests appreciation is devalued if it isn't on display. As Dan mentioned, that's what the karma system is for; and its just a click away. Not personal enough? Add a message. If you really appreciate their effort to respond to you - send them a PM.

The idea of people getting notified and scampering to read your post is amusing...I turned off email notifications as soon as I found out I could; and would never allow such notifications via cell. I know people that are so "connected" that they get notified of everything - it just seems sad, to me.

One man's opinon. Old-school may just be the one thing that outlasts all others, lol. Sometimes progress is not progress at all, but rather a gathering of sheeple who fall for the BS and techno "progress", intrusion and brain washing.

Uh, so since you have nothing to say but "thanks", then say "thanks", via Karma or the PM system. If users wish to subscribe to new posts, then that that is the choice of that user. If they should be annoyed by your post(s), that is THEIR choice. Personally, I do not subscribe or scamper.. I may log in here every or every other day, but not so obsessed that I need to be notified of every new post. Nor do I need public recognition if I leave positive karma or an agreement with a particular post.

Yeah, it ain't broke. We're good :)

So Fauna is perfect as is and is in no need for an upgrade, ever? Yeah, we're good for now. :)

The site isn't perfect - I don't think anybody would make a claim that it is...but trying to make it more Facebook-ish isn't an appealing thought to everybody. Some would love it, others would hate it (just like every other change made around here, lol).

Rich is pretty tolerant of constructive criticism, and willing to listen to ideas for the betterment of the site. <shrug> Doesn't even have to be for the betterment, necessarily, if the ideas are for what people want and it won't be detrimental to the site. Of course, depending on what those wants are, and what they entail, he may consider long and hard whether they are worth doing. (ie whether it's a feature already available in vBulletin, an easy one time add on, custom programming, etc....the greater the long term cost/hassle, the more return would be demanded.)

My mistake was using the 'f' word. Me personally, I hate fb most of the time, wishing happy birthday to total strangers and getting into heated arguments about topics that I couldn't care less about. IMO, this site is too heavily policed to come anywhere close to what fb has become and I mean that in a good way.

If there was a like button this post would get one.;)

I see I'm outnumbered here lol, oh well, I tried. Anyway, thanks to all who participated.

I do believe you're right on that...though my initial paragraph was solely based on experiences on other forum based sites that utilize a like/acknowledge/appreciate button. The fact that there is a space added at the bottom of any post so recognized, annoys me...and I wasn't able to find a way to turn it off. I don't care if it's there for other people to use and enjoy; I just don't want to look at it. The facebook reference did color my base reaction, though. (I almost made a comment referencing a site that was so much like facebook that you'd swear it was the real thing...you'll love it! Naturally, I would have included a disguised link to faceboook)
I like you better already ;)
Oh. My. God.
You do that stuff? :hair_on_fire:
You, sir, are part of the problem. If you don't know the people, why are you getting birthday notifications? How about screw facebook and its notifications...they aren't going to kick you off if you don't acknowledge those things, after all. If you know, and care about a person, wish them a happy birthday face to face, call or text if distance or schedules are a barrier. I don't let facebook tell people my birthday (I lied about the date when I set it up, just in case it didn't offer that option)...largely because I don't want to see a page full of posts from people that wouldn't waste the breath it took to say it if we crossed paths on that day.
And heated arguments about things you don't care about? You know what they say about arguing on the internet, right? I enjoy a little debate, even a friendly argument, from time to time...but, if I truly don't care, it's just a waste of time.

Nothing wrong with bringing up the idea, change can only happen if enough people push for it.

I don't have a problem with it but I could see it being a huge 'popularity' thing. Heck even karma is used(abused) that way sometimes; examples - people giving the same person multiple hits of positive karma (esp if that person is in the red and they want to 'help' get them back into the green) or hitting every post the person makes with negative simply for not liking that person or something they said in one post.

I also agree with Jesse:
Also noting that people use Karma the same way - giving good karma to snarky responses because they think it was a funny comment or what-not, it's just not visible to the general membership. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just illustrates what was said. Making 'likes' visible could possibly encourage some of those types of 'rude' or 'off topic' posts (maybe the karma already does) simply because the person wants more attention.

My concern with the notion of visible or publicly tallied "likes" is that it becomes more about agreement itself than the veracity of the statement or the quality of the argument put forth. While I do not dislike being agreed with, I want it to be due to thoughtful consideration instead of popularity or cult of personality type stuff. To me, the notion of public likes in an often serious setting like the BOI (with financial/material restitution sometimes being a deep factor) could end up fostering something akin to a mob mentality. More agreement does not turn something incorrect into something correct. Less agreement or a state of outright disagreement does not invalidate a well-reasoned position. If it becomes much more about emotional tides than the construction and relation of a logical perspective based on evidence and balance, I think value can easily be lost. That this could be achieved without even fully expressing oneself leads me to believe that agreement in the form of a like will be more knee-jerk and less carefully evaluated by the average person agreeing. That can happen in private with the karma system, too, but the public nature of likes is, to me, more likely to propagate a hasty collection by virtue of others seeing the aggregation of earlier "votes" and finding themselves swayed by raw volume rather than specifics.

Were it implemented, I would tolerate it, but I would not enjoy it in the context of the BOI. Giving thanks for tips and so forth in another discussion forum section when someone wants help or wants to learn is fine, but then I question why that thanking needs to be public in a tallied system. I want to thank the person who helps me, but I do not think I am doing that person any special service by advertising my thanks. I want that person to know. Others should be irrelevant to my giving thanks as I see it. Nothing wrong with it being public by incidental consequence, but wanting it to be public might be more about the display than the spirit of the sentiment.

Hey Harold, new logo for fauna?
Attachment 810116

I'm going to start giving you negative karma each time you misspell my name.

You'd ruin the polls at the bottom if you did that to everyone, every time they did that. :rofl:

and positive Karma if I spell it correctly? Thanks, Harald.:)

If you could get rid of vbulletin and go to usenet I'd be happy as a clam!

Yeah, and we can all go back to dial-up 1200 baud modems at the same time.....

Okay let's get really old school! BBS message boards!
:zomby:

Anyone remember THE SOURCE? I believe they were located in Virginia. Perhaps in the early to mid 80s if I remember correctly.

I remember connecting to them with my blazingly fast 300 baud modem. You could actually read the text scrolling across the screen in real time.

Then in the early 90s I used to spend a lot of time on NRA's BBS system.

I still use Usenet. Much quicker now though ;) Just text. No flashing, no pop up no video. Nice and quiet. Hung out back in the day in a few reptile groups, music and video and tech groups. Now I just lurk in a few computer and electronic groups.