Mod+ WHAT HAPPENED TO THE FORUM

It's an astounding level of laziness to want to not to have to key a few sentences.
A "like" can often mean something like "I was just about to type exactly the same thing, but you put it better than I would have". Shall I start pasting that phrase in response from now on - do you really thing it would enhance the debate?
 
I think they encouraged even more vagueness than usual. If you care enough to agree/disagree than make a post stating why/what you agree or disagree with. That helps foster better discussion. It's an astounding level of laziness to want to not to have to key a few sentences. I'd like to see the [Like] be shelved too.
I could not agree more with this...
 
A "like" can often mean something like "I was just about to type exactly the same thing, but you put it better than I would have". Shall I start pasting that phrase in response from now on - do you really thing it would enhance the debate?

Yeah, I think the "like" is useful to express agreement without cluttering up the forum with "I agree" posts.

I actually liked the varied options. "Well Researched" was a good one as I used it even when someone was arguing the alternative position so long as they actually went and found some supportive info.
 
I think the voting systems are a distraction. Ultimately the forum should be about language and about expressing one's thoughts.
 
There several advantages in using a minimal voting system:

1) The thread doesn't get cluttered by "+1", "I agree", "Good point" type of posts. Instead the posts themselves get highlighted by the number of positive/negative votes. That seems a pretty convenient way to identify what may look like the most interesting, or at least "agreed upon", messages. (and their opposites)

2) It's a convenient tool for admins / moderators to keep an eye on malicious posters. Yes, the negative votes can be abused, no doubt. But moderators don't depend on those for their decisions. They are simply an indication.

3) Not all posts are necessarily created for long discussions. When someone points out an interesting article or video people can simply add a like to signal that they have enjoyed the material.

4) I don't think that keeping score of the "thumbs up" / "thumbs down" for each user is very useful and I find it distracting too.

my 2c
 
AVForums 15th Jan 2014:

Luke the post ratings addon is killing our server

It's adding 13 subqueries to the main thread query. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please can you optimise this? ASAP?
(We checked that it's not our editorial element, and it's not. The query took 18 seconds to run without it).

----
Luke:

Set 'Minimum ratings for thread list top rating' to 0 if you want to avoid that query

I'd also recommend checking that you have enough RAM allocated to the innodb buffer pool, because there's no way the query could be that slow unless the index isn't being held in memory
thx... for this good info. yea, I think I need to streamline things until I figure out what's going on. so, I'm going to leave that add-on off for a while.
 
Just because some conversations are erased doesn't erase the merit of having had the conversation in the first place.

agreed! I see the old river analogy applying here... i.e. neither the person or the river is every the same. I've read many things on the forum that have changed me... I'll never be the same... even if I can't dig up the original post.
 
There several advantages in using a minimal voting system:

1) The thread doesn't get cluttered by "+1", "I agree", "Good point" type of posts. Instead the posts themselves get highlighted by the number of positive/negative votes. That seems a pretty convenient way to identify what may look like the most interesting, or at least "agreed upon", messages. (and their opposites)

2) It's a convenient tool for admins / moderators to keep an eye on malicious posters. Yes, the negative votes can be abused, no doubt. But moderators don't depend on those for their decisions. They are simply an indication.

3) Not all posts are necessarily created for long discussions. When someone points out an interesting article or video people can simply add a like to signal that they have enjoyed the material.

4) I don't think that keeping score of the "thumbs up" / "thumbs down" for each user is very useful and I find it distracting too.

my 2c

1 - I find that most posters will flush out their "I agree" with a sentence or two.
- Discussion of the topics here suffers if it becomes a popularity contset. Personally I couldn't care less about which posts are the most popular

2 - Malicious posts should be reported and there's a button for that.

3 - Okay. I see that point as valid. But it also supports my contention that the buttons can help limit discussion.
 
A "like" can often mean something like "I was just about to type exactly the same thing, but you put it better than I would have". Shall I start pasting that phrase in response from now on - do you really thing it would enhance the debate?
Yes. It does enhance the discussion. Because without seeing that phrase no one knows what your [like] really means. Especially when there's an [agree] button as well.
 
I liked the set of symbols previously . Particularly the like and dislike thumbs up and down. Reading some posts from certain members (mentioning no names) makes me fume ..and it makes me feel better to give them a good "thumbs downing"......"take that you so and so" :-) It's possibly childish I know but it's human nature and ultimately it doesn't hurt them, does it ?
 
I guess each to his own. I for one really enjoyed the ratings system, as it meant I could convey more broad feelings about a topic or statement without being obliged to write a response, and also get some instant feedback from the community regarding my own opinions, beliefs, and understandings. The abilty to hear whether the community agrees, and disagree's made it MORE of a community and a FORUM for me, than less of one.
 
I guess each to his own. I for one really enjoyed the ratings system, as it meant I could convey more broad feelings about a topic or statement without being obliged to write a response, and also get some instant feedback from the community regarding my own opinions, beliefs, and understandings. The abilty to hear whether the community agrees, and disagree's made it MORE of a community and a FORUM for me, than less of one.
- You're not "obligated" to write a response. If you don't want to - don't.

- Your last point doesn't wash. Not having a button doesn't dissuade anyone from letting you know if they agree or disagree. Beyond that, using others agreement as a measure of your opinions is not doing yourself any favors. It's one thing to want to discuss one's opinions, quite another to want people to vote on them. Truth is not a democracy and voting systems are for polls.
 
If nothing else the "like" system is good because it allows people to show appreciation for posts that say something interesting or have a good deal of information to back them up.

Some people write very detailed, descriptive posts explaining a concept or finding multiple links on a subject and I think it's good to show appreciation to them for doing so.

The other buttons were nice but if they are the cause of the crashes then they aren't worth it.
 
I guess each to his own. I for one really enjoyed the ratings system, as it meant I could convey more broad feelings about a topic or statement without being obliged to write a response, and also get some instant feedback from the community regarding my own opinions, beliefs, and understandings. The abilty to hear whether the community agrees, and disagree's made it MORE of a community and a FORUM for me, than less of one.
I agree thumbs UP
 
I liked the set of symbols previously . Particularly the like and dislike thumbs up and down. Reading some posts from certain members (mentioning no names) makes me fume ..and it makes me feel better to give them a good "thumbs downing"......"take that you so and so" :) It's possibly childish I know but it's human nature and ultimately it doesn't hurt them, does it ?

This is the reason to get rid of it. People like you do it to deliberately cause hurt feelings in the recipient.
 
I liked the set of symbols previously . Particularly the like and dislike thumbs up and down. Reading some posts from certain members (mentioning no names) makes me fume ..and it makes me feel better to give them a good "thumbs downing"......"take that you so and so" :) It's possibly childish I know but it's human nature and ultimately it doesn't hurt them, does it ?

Thank you for a great example of how the buttons provide a handy way to hinder discourse. There are, as Arouet noted, likely others with such an approach. There are also likely cases where posters tend to give a thumbs-up to posts made by those they feel an affinity with. And both those actions probably also happen in less intentional ways.

The bottom line is still that the popularity of an opinion or idea is not a sign of it's value. Yet some seem to approach knowledge and self-expansion in a manner akin to political campaigning.

"Human nature"? I disagree. The litany of things that are excused and/or validated by that term is arbitrary.
 
Thank you for a great example of how the buttons provide a handy way to hinder discourse.
The use of the word "hinder" here is an arbitrary judgement. Though I don't favour the "dislike" button, I'd much rather see that used than some of the sarcastic, demeaning or insulting comments which might otherwise be used. Those things can really hinder a discourse.
 
Thank you for a great example of how the buttons provide a handy way to hinder discourse. There are, as Arouet noted, likely others with such an approach. There are also likely cases where posters tend to give a thumbs-up to posts made by those they feel an affinity with. And both those actions probably also happen in less intentional ways.

The bottom line is still that the popularity of an opinion or idea is not a sign of it's value. Yet some seem to approach knowledge and self-expansion in a manner akin to political campaigning.

"Human nature"? I disagree. The litany of things that are excused and/or validated by that term is arbitrary.
Well, Saiko, you're entitled to your opinion. but I'll stick to my way of seeing things...and I liked it the way it was and I would give you a thumbs down for your rudeness. But you are entitled to be rude, it's part of the rough and tumble
 
Back
Top