Thread: I dislike "Likes"!

I was tempted to "like" this post...

I agree with with your comments. I really appreciate the people who take time to create well-documented posts, and yours are a standout. I would find it difficult to add value to your WIP posts, because they are so well done. I learn so much from them.

cheers,

ajw

I am one those frequent "like pushers"
But you do bring up an interesting point Derek.
I'm lazy and should comment more even with my bogun grammar.
A like really only contributes a an attempt to say you like a particular thread or write up.
But unfortunately as a society we are becoming lazy with an attention span of road kill.

Cheers matt
Promising to not be lazy
Even if I have the ability to crash spell checks

I hope Sam was tongue in cheek there......(cant do smiling emojis - they don't work for me)

I agree with what your saying Derek, as there doesn't seem to be many discussions that happen in build threads, but I look at a 'like' in a different view. If I'm enjoying what I am reading but don't have anything to add to the conversation I press the like to let the authors know that people are reading what's going out there.

Originally Posted by derekcohen

A Like is a nice gesture of appreciation

I was tempted to give you a Like as well.

I use them and also appreciate them but I agree that a well thought out post would be much better. However they come into their own when nothing more can be said when others have posted the same and often more eloquently or knowledgeably then I can.

Peter.

I agree that not everyone is able to contribute in writing. I understand and accept this. Most readers are being educated, and those who are newbies may feel intimidated to offer anything. Some do not know what to look for to comment, and some believe that others have already stated what they would have said. However there are also others who could have commented something to build on the thread, but they move on with a quite Like that takes little effort. Hey, I'm guilt of that as well!

I guess I am trying to raise awareness here that, if you can, do please add something by way of a comment. It will encourage others to do the same. It all adds value.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by Gabriel

I look at a 'like' in a different view. If I'm enjoying what I am reading but don't have anything to add to the conversation I press the like to let the authors know that people are reading what's going out there.

I agree. If one has nothing to add to the topic why clutter the thread? I tend to post "likes" if I've learned something interesting to me from the contribution.

The whole "likes" topic is useful to explore but I don't think it should cast a perjorative shadow over those who may only be showing their appreciation in a succinct manner.

I do like your threads and posts and hope you will continue.

mick

Good idea to raise this question Derek.

All forms of social media have their limitations which is one reason why folks are always on the look out for the next "better" thing and is why physical gatherings like clubs/associations are still popular. However, even in clubs and associations the amount, quality and type of feedback provided seems to vary widely and one never knows what aspect of a product/item/process/project will tickle other members fancies. I'm also not talking about just what is said but all other sorts of body language as well. Sometimes the simplest thing evokes a myriad of responses while at other times there is stunned or disinterested silence.

While I'd prefer to see 6 "likes" rather than half a dozen one word or short phase posts effectively saying they like it which just end up cluttering up threads, "likes" do encourage "response laziness". I'm possibly as guilty of this as anyone but rather than posting a project as a self contained and completed item, maybe our posts should contain or even emphasise some self criticism that might provoke discussion. What are the better features, what are you not happy with, what alternatives could have been used etc. The craftier (and I mean that in the best sense) the person is the more they have to offer in terms of self criticism.

What would be a really interesting proposal for bulletin board software developers would be to allow Forum owners to set a switch to permit the OP to optionally select whether they wanted the likes feature available in that thread. This would be an interesting social experiment since leaving likes "switched on" might be seen in a range of different ways. Would you give a like to someone who left likes switched on?

No likes for this comment - please discuss.

Completely agree and it's a behaviour I've noticed in myself. Often I think I'll like the post and then come back and comment later but then later never comes. If I had a vote on it I'd say pull them, they don't really add much value and hurt conversation more than they help.

Hi Derek,

I think that there's a place for likes in that they show appreciation for the effort and work that goes into a post. However, they can be over-used.
Lately I have noticed a decline in the number of written responses to posts. I don't know why and it may just be my faulty perception as I've been too busy to participate much here lately.

In addition it seems that the number of posts in threads I follow have declined somewhat. I can't fathom why, weather?

I've also noted an increasing number of, for want of a better term, contentious threads. Sociological research has shown that on-line unpleasantness tends to drive users away from websites that host such.

As I've written before here I really like this site and I'm sorry to see the strife. Perhaps some are using likes as a way of showing appreciation and simultaneously avoiding confrontation?

Cheers,
Rob

P.S. I participated in the University of Michigan study - interesting conversation.

I like the like. 10,000 page long discussion threads which are filled with "oh mah gawd bro, dat's awesome!" type replies gets old pretty damn fast. If the OP is creating a thread for the purposes of discussion rather than "this is what I did and how I did it", then wouldn't the common sense solution to this first world problem be to start a thread stating that he cares not for praise so don't bother saying you like or offer any thanks and rather tell me what you actually think about what I did and how I did it. But then you end up with a thread full of "yep, I would have put a mortice and tenon there, and a housing joint there, and I also would have cut that piece square also". Which is also another different type of ridiculous long winded likes/thanks/agree type thread. And so to get any real depth in the discussion, it would have to be along either two lines "should I use mortice and tenon or pocketholes?" or "is my design correct?" and I truly hate that second option because design is neither correct or incorrect, it can only be liked or disliked....back to square one

Just to be clear, I do appreciate the Like button, and that I'd rather have someone Like a post that just move on. Also, I dislike seeing threads that run for pages with posts such as "great", "nice one", "I like it", etc. It is meaningless and a waste of space. I'd rather see the Like button being used. My point at the start was (and remains) that we must be aware that this button makes it too easy to be tardy about responding/contributing when we are capable of doing so. Forums are for discussion ... just like we are having

Regards from Perth

Derek

It is interesting the impact it has though. I know on other forums I used to frequent I would try and avoid the two word posts (some even had minimum character counts for posting) so I would often try and think of a question about the work or some way to drive conversation if I was going to post. I haven't thought of that here, I tend to just mash the like button and move on. That's my laziness though, after making that realisation I'm going to make more effort to engage other posters.

Some time ago I suggested to the admins a wider range of potential responses. That went nowhere fast. I have no standing.

People want to show appreciation for the work, but one and two word responses just turn the thread into a mess.

Perhaps consideration should be given for various new tags of appreciation, approval, kudos, etc....

There will never be enough response descriptor to cope with the way folks see each post. Id rather see the ones we have than 20 different response descriptors under every post. I'd even like to see the 4 we already have under a drop down menu. Then I guess we could have a few more.

I'm interested in Robs response of there being strife on the forums. Where? Am I missing something.