The "Like" method of showing approval

[EricB]

 

 

 

 

 

[vtsteam]

I don't like likes. I like comments. I like making comments. Given the choice I'd prefer an emoji to a like. Likes listed by a username are like votes, and they can start to look like a popularity contest. Emojis disappear after use. Comments are memorable if substantial.

If there are no comments on something I write, that's life. But that isn't a big problem here, anyway.

Views used to be interesting, but they mean nothing now with AI scrapers flooding the forums.
 

[BillTodd]

I follow a lot of the build threads here with interest.  If there was a "like" feature, I'd use it.  I know it only takes a moment to pen a positive comment - even less to post a string of emojis.

But I feel a bit let down when I see there are maybe eight updated threads, only to find that there's nothing new to see.  Just a comment on each one - maybe the same comment, or just a string of emojis, by the same person, just repeated on every thread.

So a way of showing approval to the writer of a thread, without it flagging up for everyone as new content would suit me. 

Until that happens - just assume that I like it.

 

Wilf

Like

[BillTodd]

If you don't want a p****** contest, don't count or display the count.

[CI]

Why are the number of posts and status displayed under/over each member's avatar ?

.

[Jo]

The number of posts indicates how involved the member is and the status tells you if they are deceased, a member, currently banned, a moderator or an Admin. A couple of the member types are highly unlikely to respond to your posts or PM's I will let you guess which

Jo

[CI]

The entire question about likes seems a bit trivial, and a distraction from the hobby in my opinion.
If it were a question about adding advertisements to this forum, then that would be a serious thing.
I have seen one forum get sold without warning, and that too was a very serious problem in my opinion since that caused it to become commercialized.

Edit:
I just scrolled through the membership, and I recognize many of the screen names, and lament that many use to post quite a bit of material, but are no longer active, for whatever reason.
Declining activity across the hobby, forums, shows, etc. is what concerns me.
How do we increase membership and activity in the hobby ?

.

[AdeV]

'spose I'd better wade in here too...

SMF doesn't have any good "Like" add-ons. I know Eric over at MadModder put one in a few years back, it kinda worked for a bit, then it caused all kinds of hassle (technical hassle), so he had to remove it.  MEM is a pretty busy forum, so the risk of breakage if we try to add one is high.

Personally, I'm less against the idea than Jo - I think "likes" are useful for drive-by approval of a project or whatever - e.g. if you don't have time to add a reply - or you're on a gadget that is hopeless to type on, then having a "like" button can be useful. But honestly, I can also live without it. I can certainly live without the technical hassle, and the moderators can almost certainly do without some of the animosity that these things seem to inevitably trigger. Heck, it's bad enough having a stack of emojis - some people REALLY hate those things! So, just for them, here's a gratuitous one:    (oops, that's two!)

Some quick answers about other questions that have arisen:

1) The forum ownership structure is deliberately arranged to make it extremely difficult to sell. Yes, I started it (and I have no intention of selling it, like ever for any reason at all) - but to make sure I invited four others in to be co-owners. There's no legalese or contract, it's kind of a spit-and-a-handshake deal; but with 5 co-owners, it would take 3 "aye" votes to even countenance selling... It also means the forum should survive the death of up to four of us (and hopefully, we can recruit new owners as old owners move away/pass on). But anyway, rest assured, this forum will neither be sold, nor commercialise, as long as I have any say in the matter.

2) Advertising - also no plans to have any kind of advertising. Nor do I need financial donations (yet, anyway!). This forum is remarkably cheap to run, all things considered; my total hosting bill is around US$100/month, but that's 2 forums, a dozen websites, an email server, a VPN server, and some sundry other bits & pieces. Disk space used to be a problem, but not so much these days, and bandwidth has never been an issue. Even when we've been absolutely hammered by bots (both forums), we've not even gone above 10% of the monthly bandwidth allowance. So money isn't an issue - therefore we don't need to solicit donations, or adverts. So we won't.  That MIGHT change when I retire in  around 15 years time, assuming my pension is basically worthless... at that point I may get the begging bowl out... But on the other hand, I've got some side hustles I'm working on which might keep me in the manner to which I have become accustomed.... I'll let you know in 15 years.

3) Can we exclude "bot" views? Sadly, not. About the best I could do about that would be to limit the ability of non-members to read posts, i.e. make the forum a much more private place. That has some advantages (bot control, for example), but also some disadvantages (it reduces the audience for your projects down to people who are already members; and your projects are essentially our "shop window" for attracting new members. If they can't see anything, why would they join?

4) Why does the post count/view count show all over the place? Because the team who wrote SMF (the forum software we use) decided it should be so... and it's not a configuration option one can turn on or off.  Now... I probably have enough PHP skills to remove it; but why bother? As Jo says, it IS an indication of the popularity of any given build; or a measure of how much time someone spends here contributing, depending on which number you're talking about.  Sadly, as someone mentions, the view count is now essentially worthless, given the number of bots we're seeing. I am working on a piece of software which will hopefully help - but sadly, the damage to existing stats has already been done.

That's all from me for now, it's waaay past my bedtime, and I've still got stuff to do...

[crueby]

Great information Ade, and again THANK YOU for all your efforts in making this place!!  Huge hats-off to you!
Chris

[JackPick]

'spose I'd better wade in here too...

SMF doesn't have any good "Like" add-ons. I know Eric over at MadModder put one in a few years back, it kinda worked for a bit, then it caused all kinds of hassle (technical hassle), so he had to remove it.  MEM is a pretty busy forum, so the risk of breakage if we try to add one is high.

Personally, I'm less against the idea than Jo - I think "likes" are useful for drive-by approval of a project or whatever - e.g. if you don't have time to add a reply - or you're on a gadget that is hopeless to type on, then having a "like" button can be useful. But honestly, I can also live without it. I can certainly live without the technical hassle, and the moderators can almost certainly do without some of the animosity that these things seem to inevitably trigger. Heck, it's bad enough having a stack of emojis - some people REALLY hate those things! So, just for them, here's a gratuitous one:    (oops, that's two!)

Some quick answers about other questions that have arisen:

1) The forum ownership structure is deliberately arranged to make it extremely difficult to sell. Yes, I started it (and I have no intention of selling it, like ever for any reason at all) - but to make sure I invited four others in to be co-owners. There's no legalese or contract, it's kind of a spit-and-a-handshake deal; but with 5 co-owners, it would take 3 "aye" votes to even countenance selling... It also means the forum should survive the death of up to four of us (and hopefully, we can recruit new owners as old owners move away/pass on). But anyway, rest assured, this forum will neither be sold, nor commercialise, as long as I have any say in the matter.

2) Advertising - also no plans to have any kind of advertising. Nor do I need financial donations (yet, anyway!). This forum is remarkably cheap to run, all things considered; my total hosting bill is around US$100/month, but that's 2 forums, a dozen websites, an email server, a VPN server, and some sundry other bits & pieces. Disk space used to be a problem, but not so much these days, and bandwidth has never been an issue. Even when we've been absolutely hammered by bots (both forums), we've not even gone above 10% of the monthly bandwidth allowance. So money isn't an issue - therefore we don't need to solicit donations, or adverts. So we won't.  That MIGHT change when I retire in  around 15 years time, assuming my pension is basically worthless... at that point I may get the begging bowl out... But on the other hand, I've got some side hustles I'm working on which might keep me in the manner to which I have become accustomed.... I'll let you know in 15 years.

3) Can we exclude "bot" views? Sadly, not. About the best I could do about that would be to limit the ability of non-members to read posts, i.e. make the forum a much more private place. That has some advantages (bot control, for example), but also some disadvantages (it reduces the audience for your projects down to people who are already members; and your projects are essentially our "shop window" for attracting new members. If they can't see anything, why would they join?

4) Why does the post count/view count show all over the place? Because the team who wrote SMF (the forum software we use) decided it should be so... and it's not a configuration option one can turn on or off.  Now... I probably have enough PHP skills to remove it; but why bother? As Jo says, it IS an indication of the popularity of any given build; or a measure of how much time someone spends here contributing, depending on which number you're talking about.  Sadly, as someone mentions, the view count is now essentially worthless, given the number of bots we're seeing. I am working on a piece of software which will hopefully help - but sadly, the damage to existing stats has already been done.

That's all from me for now, it's waaay past my bedtime, and I've still got stuff to do...

LIKE!

[steam guy willy]

I usually put the WOW emoji on comments as this may confuse the algorithm that is running our viewing experiences ??!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[uuu]

And I'll add my thanks too.

Wilf

[springcrocus]

Many thanks, Ade, for taking the time to provide such a comprehensive explanation of the forum workings, and I think that might just put this thread  to bed.
I will have to learn how to choose the correct emoji to show approval without embarrassing myself. 
Best regards, Steve

[uuu]

Most of us can embarrass ourselves without need of emojis.

"The moving finger writes; and having writ, moves on: nor all thy piety nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line, nor all thy tears wash out a word of it."

Wilf

[vtsteam]

In Vermont, we say "wicked decent."