I would weigh in on this but there isn’t a like/dislike button.
If you like someone's profile or commentary can't you just tell them using words? I liked @DarrenWalker remarks about originality, personality and a little bit of thought. I really find the button idea very immature, lazy and childish.
I will weigh in now. The like/dislike button has been used on other websites to great success. It can give site owners a great deal of information without being limited to the usual handful of regulars weighing in. For example, this whole thread is skewed to a rejection of the idea of a button because you are receiving feedback from people who articulate what they like and dislike. Most people do not participate in the forum but many do read it on occasion. One major reason they do not engage I have been told by some is due to drama, people wanting to be right all the time (competition right there), and mostly the sheer fear that if you say something innocuous like saying hello it will be ridiculed because one of the regulars had a bad experience once from someone saying hello. If they just clicked like or dislike the site owner might have a more accurate picture of what a community wants.
The mistake, in my opinion, is the dismissal of the idea as “immature, lazy and childish” or lacking originality and personality when you do not even know if that is even true of the silent masses on this site. At best, that is an elitist mentality. At worst it is a dismissal of the goal of inclusiveness the site administrators strive for. I am sure there are tons of extremely charming, intelligent, mature adults on here who just do not have the time to sit on a forum and pontificate for hours. It can give them a voice and perhaps draw them in more when they see several people agree with them. No one desires to be rejected and that is a hurdle any public forum faces. People do ponder if their idea is stupid. Wouldn’t it be great if they found out that no, not everyone thinks it is stupid. A button can provide valuable metrics for the site owner and instill confidence in lurkers or the hesitant to actually engage in the forum because their anxiety has been ameliorated to a degree by seeing there is a “community” with voices that do agree with some of their thoughts.
Just my worthless two cents.
@FunCartel - BWAHA!
It's a hard No for me on likes/dislikes. Fully agreeing with @DarkLordChungus - it's lazy. Use your words. Communicate. This instant gratification and illusion of participation does not add value.
But if it's ever deemed to bring likes/dislikes/whatnot forward, these are my category suggestions, based on 1) my view as a moderator, and 2) what I see here on a daily basis.
💔 : CC is not a dating site. Get yourself over to Tinder, ASAP. ☮ or 🛐 : Make love, not religious wars. 🌮 or 🍕 : Don't take it personally, you can't please everyone, you're not a taco. Or pizza. 😷 or 👩⚕️ : You read/heard about Covid/vaccines on Facebook or Fox news and now you're an expert. 💪 : You work out! You're ripped! Getting swole! Great! Put your shirt on. 📚 or 📖: The only thing "Platonic" and your penis has in common is that they start with the same letter.
Why POLL then ?
Isn’t a poll a collection of anonymous likes and dislikes ? Ok then .. participate in the poll , just check the box (yes) or leave it unchecked ( no) , and don’t say a thing.. don’t post anything ... be lazy
I guess I don’t see the need to label someone who doesn’t currently post as lazy. So it’s a hard no on lazy people? Not trying to start an argument but how do you know those who are silent are lazy? Voting in a political election is essentially an exercise in anonymous like/dislike balloting. Those who choose not to are labeled apathetic. I don’t think that is fair to call someone apathetic either, because many people don’t vote because the product sucks. I don’t think anyone can absolutely ascertain why any individual does not participate in something, but does that mean we shouldn’t try an idea that might offer the opportunity that cracks a door for them to participate? You can always remove it if it goes south.
I have spent many years and dollars in therapy learning to express my emotions and feelings using my own words. I don't think I am the only male that has had this issue. Using a button to express your feelings does not contribute to growth in this area.
@Mmart I agree, BUT, that is not my point. Rejection is a very real hurdle for any gender and I would not be surprised if there aren’t a few hesitant members of this site who fear wholesale rejection of their opinions on a forum. I know of two females that have expressed that to me that do not post here although they read the forum. I am merely saying like/dislike can be a gateway to expressing their feelings in print if they see something similar to their opinion be given merit from a few likes. And that is the other thing...WHY does it have to be like/dislike? On goodreads.com they only use a like button.
@FunCartel I totally appreciate your thoughts and contributions to this and other threads you have participated in. I remain opposed to the use of buttons. I feel it contributes to the dumbing down of society. This thread is enjoyable because people are contributing thoughts with words not buttons.
@Mmart I get that, but the people that contribute are minuscule compared to the number of people actually on the site. So much so that I find myself contributing less and less because it is an echo chamber with predictable, yet unique, responses from the usual suspects. I would rather see an effort to reach out to the silent majority on this site by trying something other than a hearty welcome to the forum if they do get up the nerve to post.
I personally always appreciate positive feedback in my messages. But i get what your saying. @Starlost .
Isn’t there a “ mute” feature for women ? So if they just have to put in words instead of a anonymously “ like “ that defeats the purpose of the mute feature . The profile becomes publically viewed along with the comment .
Or am I mistaken about the mute feature it does not exist ?
I don't know about the profile likes but for forum posts it's a good idea. However, I don't fully agree with everyone on having thumbs up and thumbs down. I am also on another forum and they only use thumbs up. So if anyone likes a post they can do a thumbs up. There's not a thumbs down option that way no one attacks someone for some reason and just goes to thumb down all their posts. It's like if you don't have something nice to say to someone's posts there's no need to hate on it and just not say nothing at all. If there is a problem with a post then a moderator can take care of it.
What about an "eh" button
gives your reply a 🤎 I'm sorry you checked New Forum Replies only the see the reply was me typing a 🤎
I was thinking a decline button would be good for for the purpose of a quick private reply when not interested in the person seeking contact with you. For the seeker it would be nice to know or even avoid repeatedly messaging someone who isn't interested but doesn't want to be bothered with writing a reply. To be clear, not for the forum, just messages.
I've already voiced my views on having "like" and "dislike" buttons.
Even worse than that system, I think, would be having only a "like" button—which a couple of people have mentioned already.
For starters, it would lend credence to crazy posts. Imagine, if you will, that an individual decides to make a post about how "the vaccine" turns people into violent mutants with a predilection for ocular penetration. Many forum-goers would scoff and move on; perhaps a couple would engage with the lunatic. However, I assure you dear reader, there would be a number that agree with the post. Before the thread was removed by a moderator, the OP would see some support, and feel validated. Other like-minded persons would see the "likes" and say to themselves "I'm not alone. There's something to be said here, and it's worth it to say it."
This needn't apply to only extreme ridiculousness. What of posts complaining about pros? What about threads written by women-hating troglodytes who feel that they are owed physical affection?
Again, moderators would deal with these freaks, but for every "like" similar freaks would feel supported, emboldened, etc. I'd guarantee that we'd see more of their lot.
Even the alleged benefits of only having a "like" button are unconvincing to me. Does there need to be more of a giggling echo chamber for mawkishness and thoughtless happy posts here? Despite any number of likes, how truly worthwhile is a post such as "Am I the only one who loves hugging friends lol??"—as an example. Furthermore, if you support someone, why not put in the extra effort to voice your support in an attempt to touch them on a personal level? I mean, it's easier to hit a button, but what does that say of an individual's support, of their ability to be sympathetic or empathetic? And this applies to lighter subject matter, too. If someone decided to discuss their enjoyment of a piece of media, and you agree, why not share your perspective—perhaps the two of you could come to appreciate the enjoyed thing on a deeper level? In this case, simply smashing that like button is just the same as utterly silent mutual stimulation—no eye contact, no words of encouragement, only mechanical flicks of the wrist. It's lazy and cheapens the intent of a forum.
Some folks might sit in front of a computer screen all day long ( eye strain ) and type messages all day long ( carpel tunnel ) then go home tired , want to send a few messages on cuddle comfort and then just check the forum and ... want to like or dislike and can’t because someone else thinks that if they are willing to type forum messages everyone else must . No short cuts
@cuddlerforu24: Oh, the poor women who don't realize that they don't have to respond to any message at all, particularly not to say "no thanks."
And what does this have to do with a "like" button for profiles and/or forum comments, anyway? You're not seriously suggesting that women have to wear themselves out so greatly turning people down in messages that they no longer have anything to say in the forum but "like," are you?
@DarrenWalker of course someone can say “ no thanks “ short and sweet or nothing at all at the cuddle proposals , but can they say “ no thanks “ to the workload at their day job ? Probably not if they want the paycheck
People with self esteem issues will post items to receive a higher "Like" count. It's an addictive process to increase eyeball time on a site for advertising purposes such as Youtube or FB. You can still "Like" with an emoji or a comment.
Ok I have a great idea ! The 💡 just lit
Let’s NOT have a convenience item like a button
We don’t want to get lazy do we ?
Wait .... why have a website where it’s convenient to find a cuddle buddie .. hmm ?
Wait while we are at it ... let’s not have frozen food section at the supermarket , let’s make our own bread and churn our own butter
Heck , why have computer anyway that makes a paperless society ...
Heck why go back to paper cutting down those trees we should have Never advanced to paper and should have stayed with the Flintstones method of swinging a hammer against a chisel on a piece of granite ..
Why did we even invent fire ?
Huh. You know, maybe having like/dislike buttons would cut down on the occasional streams of insane word vomit that pop up here.
Probably not.
@DarkLordChungus 👍
Or could do as so many have suggested and accept the simple fact that you aren't entitled a response every time you write someone online , the pro cuddlers are not employees of the site, this is likely their second or third side hustle, and the fact that you might or might not be waving the potential of cash in their face doesn't make you special nor give you power over them....only thing worse than hearing so many whines about not responding is hearing the tired reasons why they believe they are entitled to one
Okay I'm saying this for the benefit of the debate. How about you have to earn forum likes? For example, make one actual post and you earn one point, which allows you to click one like. Reading four threads gives you one point. One point for each day you visit the forum. One point for replying to a first message, or receiving a reply to a first message. One point for writing a profile text longer than 200 words, and one point a month if you edit it. Your like-click bank is capped at, say, eight.
In other words, clicking the like button is not free. Like-clicks are earned by displaying behaviour that we want to encourage.
(By 'like' I mean whatever system of likes/dislikes/emojis is adopted.)
What of posts complaining about pros? What about threads written by women-hating troglodytes who feel that they are owed physical affection?
@DarkLordChungus I mean... it would be nice if moderators could see who agreed with these kind of posts, even if they hadn't said it themselves For reasons.
@CuddleDuncan That is a really fun idea!
@cuddlerforu24: So, if I'm understanding you correctly, you want to take
Hey, I like your profile! It's really well-written.
and
I like your pictures, especially the use of color. I like the way the light fades from orange to blue in the third picture, the one with the tree.
You like Final Fantasy 14? I love that game!
and turn it into
👍🏻(3)
That's certainly convenient!
I can see how that'd be a lot easier on the forum, too. Rather than writing a thoughtful reply to a comment, or speaking up in support of a certain point, you could just click a button.
Why do we have fully developed written languages, anyway? Simple hieroglyphs are so much easier, and in no way reduce the impact of what's being expressed—"I agree with So-And-So in this area for this reason" is exactly equivalent to "I like the way So-And-So phrased their point, though I don't entirely agree with it," and so on—we don't need anything more complicated than a picture of a raised thumb.
All our feelings of liking are the same, felt in the same ways for the same reasons, so it makes sense to express them all with the same simple image. Why not?
@squeakytoy
That's the only potential benefit to such a system that I can think of. In my mind, it would result in unsavory persons having their posts in the forum branded; "Science denier", "Misogynist", "Hates Pros", etc.
That's moderately unrealistic, however. Seems like a fair amount of work.