A "like" button

[Tolan]

Hello.
I am a member of many different forums, some Pokemon related and some not. And something I noticed is that a good amount of other forums, that also run vBulletin, have a button to "Like" a post, if it's something you find interesting, helpful, insightful, etcetera.
I think that would be great for Smogon to implement. I'm not sure if other sites are running a different version of vB, and it might not be possible to be implemented, but it's a small thing that could be nice.

 

[alkinesthetase]

there is a luvdisc button in the top right corner at the top of the thread

 

[Tolan]

I don't mean liking a thread; I mean liking a post.

 

[Jukain]

this has been proposed many times before and not implemented because it's seen as a waste, I believe. it doesn't accomplish that much; it's one of those things you want until it exists.

 

[Tolan]

Yeah, I know that it has been. But I was hoping they'd reconsider. Some may think it'd be a waste, but it's not like having it would cause trouble to those who don't use it.

 

[Woodchuck]

I think the issue has been that "like" buttons end up causing people to scan posts for how many people have clicked the like button (which is not necessarily an adequate measure of post quality; see: youtube comments) as a substitute for reading the posts for intelligence themselves. While "likes" are useful in forums for purposes such as troubleshooting or other help--in which they can serve as a "This worked for me!" button that helps readers know what is most likely to work--the concept of a like button is less favorable in forums like Smogon where the focus is more on generating intelligent and responsive discussion. Having like buttons detracts from this focus: reading and responding to posts. People should focus less on getting likes / liking individual posts and should instead think more about how they can contribute to the discussion.

DTC likes this post.

 

[Princess Bubblegum]

I have been on a forum that fully uses likes and I prefer it a lot. Mainly because it greatly reduces forum clutter as instead of everyone chiming in on the same response, they an just like what they agree with. Liking on real forums also does increase posting quality, as opposed to youtube and such because forums are for real discussion, not chat like youtube.

 

[Homeslice]

Like buttons aren't needed, they most likely won't reconsider. As Pokemon and Woodchuck both stated, it doesn't get much done and doesn't really provide that much upside. Luvdisc's are easy enough to use and be happy with. Like buttons would probably be too much coding and work for the forum to add in, and with the amount of trolling that happens on smogon, people can just go into closed/old threads and like every single post. Most like buttons come with notifications, so it'd just be a hassle.

 

[Tobes]

this has been proposed many times before and not implemented because it's seen as a waste, I believe. it doesn't accomplish that much; it's one of those things you want until it exists.

I'm pretty sure there has been plenty of support for it, but vBulletin is simply incapable of handling it.

 

[RBG]

Clearly vBulletin is capable of handling it, because Pokegym has an extension that allows for it.

 

[Zracknel]

While I feel like I understand the counter arguments, I see this type of feature as being all-upside. It's just a question of whether or not someone with the skills wants to implement it.

I would argue that "like" feature actually encourages posting for a few reasons-- I see it it is a fine incentive for contribution.

Because our forums have, on the whole, an emphasis on post content, users are not exactly encouraged to post solely to voice appreciation of other posts. I know there have been about a million times I've read something awesome (in a thread I wouldn't luvdisc) that I wanted to express appreciation for. Do I send creepfest PM/VM messages instead? Sometimes, sure, but not everyone is willing to do that. A "like" button promotes that kind of behavior without forcing users to go out of their way.

Threads which have people quoting entire posts and then adding "I agree!" would become a thing of the past, de-cluttering threads and making more room for posts with actual content.

A "like" feature has the potential to send good messages to new users about what kinds of posts we care about. Lurking users who are scared to post can get some help by perusing posts that lots of others have liked-- sure, there would be terrible posts that get tons of "likes" which will cloud that message, and people who caustically oppose "new things" will try to abuse the feature to remove it. I still think it's a step in the right direction overall. The good outweighs the bad.

I find it pretty fascinating how many of our contributors, themselves, had difficulty finding a foothold in the community ("I was too scared to post", "had no idea how to contribute", etc) and stuff like this would only make it easier, not harder, to figure out what's going on around here.

Plus, how awesome will you feel when you spend hours writing a good post that hundreds of people take the time to "like"? Answer: pretty awesome.

Plus if it backfires, it gets removed. We tried. There is nothing to lose here.

As I said before, though, while I think this lines up 100% with something we want to be doing as a forum, it all hinges on whether or not someone on staff who knows how to do it will do it. I don't know if that's the case or not.

 

[Birkal]

We were actually just talking about this a week or two ago in a CAP PR thread (I am of the opinion that CAP is always a few steps ahead ;D). I chatted with chaos and we definitely have the technology to do this. We can use this mod to accomplish this purpose, and it doesn't look too difficult to install. We can even get specific enough to turn off the feature in different forums if they elect not to have upvotes.

In terms of my personal opinion, I'm for it. Zracknel summed up my thoughts quite nicely on the issue.

 

[Steamroll]

This can also remove posts of similar wording and arguments, making some threads a lot more bearable to read and acquire information from. It may take a little bit of moderation, but other forums I frequent employ this tactic and it works beautifully.

 

[Birkal]

I've duplicated this thread to our badgeholder's private forum (it's here for those of you that can see it). We'll discuss there whether or not this is something we want to pursue as a community here on Smogon. Thanks for the suggestion Tolan; it's a good one =)