With the recent addition of the "Breaking News" alert button at the bottom of each post, I figure that Internet Brands has once again shown us that new features can be implemented if the desire is there. So I would like to reopen the "Like" topic for discussion.
Originally Posted by
Football Fan
This would be a great feature. Could also call it "Thanks" feature (instead of "Like"). It would actually save a lot of posts, and it would be a good way to reward especially useful posts. German website
http://www.vielfliegertreff.de has this system, and I have found it really, really useful. It's a friendly, positive feature with practically no potential for abuse.
Originally Posted by
HansGolden
+1
I think the place that it brings the most outsized value is when there are contradictory posts. It can be made clear to newbies or to those who don't know the answer, which of the contradictory posts is correct.
But in general, I just like positive feedback. I think it incentivizes quality content. If I receive 10 Likes for a post, it makes me more likely to take the time to contribute quality content in the future. It's just human nature that we like having our efforts appreciated. And appreciated in a way that doesn't sidetrack and clutter the thread.
I think a "Thanks" button or similar indicator of the
value of a post (whether information or amusement) would improve the reading experience on FlyerTalk.
Ideally the forum software would allow filtering on the up-rating count, so that the "Thanks" button would be in effect a "Be sure to read this post" button. Even without software filtering, people who are pressed for time could learn to visually skim a thread for highly rated posts to read.
This feature is worth at least as much as the recent News button. With a little more programming it even has the potential to identify valuable posts that are somehow not flagged as Breaking News by readers.
Folks, we have kicked this idea around ineffectually for close to a decade. That's an eternity in Internet time.
I'm all in favor of taking some time to refine the idea and get IB's advice on implementation constraints, but then:
Let's get off our butts and actually try something!