Originally Posted by
goalie
Bolding mine: Agreed ^ and how does the like/helpful button stay honest? Or in other words, what's to stop someone from liking/helfulling a post "just because they wanted to (or even if the post content is flat out wrong and thus not helpful). What does that do for folks who see a post marked as liked/helpful where it's obviously not helpful?
Assuming members actually participate in the poll and read this (and the "informative button" threads" as opposed to posting "hey, I just noticed this button thingy! When did that happen"
Bolding mine: What I have trouble with is a proposal which folks are hellbent on pushing thru and then lo and behold, there's a lot of opposition to it so let's take the easy way out and try and sneak it in via a back/side or lower traffic door as imho, THAT is taking the easy way out. Now for sake of argument, let's say the trial gets moved, seconded voted on and passed-is there a time limit as to "the trial"*, how do you propose closing the trial because it didn't work, how do you prose to roll it out if the trial succeeds? I personally think that hoemwork should be done by the folks who want to see this happen and not put F/t'ers in as the beta testers**. And as I posed above, how does the like/helpful button stay honest? Or in other words, what's to stop someone from liking/helfulling a post "just because they wanted to (or even if the post content is flat out wrong and thus not helpful). What does that do for folks who see a post marked as liked/helpful where it's obviously not helpful?
Agree.
CMK10 I intend to poll TalkBoard members on each feature and put the most favored features together before voting on anything.
By the way regardless of whether anything happens on this idea I hope this thread serves as a good example of how to take our time developing the best available consensus. That's a large part of why I'm doing this on the public forum almost exclusively. What you see here is very nearly exactly what normally happens in the private forum.
I'm assuming the first poll would be, is this something we should even consider doing, since approximately 50% of the FTers posting are against it.
Also it should be noted that those who frequent MP think the Like function no longer holds much value, so not sure that's something FT should be emulating.
Originally Posted by
kipper
So, you don't have an idea of what qualifies as a success or a failure, nor do you have a metric that will define either? Speaking for the entire TalkBoard about approving or vetoing expansion is a little far-reaching, isn't it?
Again, so you don't have a plan for any of this?
It does raise concerns, especially since it's not the norm for TB to close something down (which
nsx knows).
Originally Posted by
jackal
A TalkBoard member can't even throw out some draft ideas without being accused of trying to force his agenda on the TalkBoard?
...and people wonder why there's a private TalkBoard forum. No wonder some TalkBoard members prefer to hash out the rough ideas in there and then come out here with something more cohesive. It's less painful.
It's one thing to hold your representatives accountable. It's another to pointlessly assail them with pointed arrows.
Oh puhleeze - as a former TB member, getting arrows slung goes with the territory. And even phrased a bit harshly, the points/questions are valid.
If this was to be a we'll do what we want without input, IB/CD wouldn't need a TB. So support & non-support of ideas is a valid thing for FTers to post when TB (or
nsx as least
) asks for input. Berating FTers for providing input just because they don't agree with you isn't very cool.
It's also fair (and has been done) in the private forum to question whether something is a good idea/makes sense for all of FT vs. one TB member having something s/he really wanted to see implemented & other TB members saying, hey, wait a second.
Originally Posted by
aBroadAbroad
Even if TB decides that a trial would be worthwhile, i don't think IB has yet indicated whether such functionality can be practically provided, and whether development and implementation would divert resources from other higher priority projects, such as a new mobile app.
This.
When I contacted IB re: this before going off TB, the response was basically they can do anything, it's just a question of priority, if enough FTers want it (so far the answer is split 50/50, which they also noted), and then TB & the CD signing off on it & make it a higher priority and that it would be a major change to the site.
I didn't ask about trial runs because normally TB doesn't recommend trial runs. Images is, I believe, the only time & that was something that did not require a major change to the site.
As a former TB member & as a current FTer, I seriously question whether this is important enough/will make FT even better for FTers & is enough to justify making a major change to the site. I also wonder how happy IB would be about doing a major change to the site on a 'trial basis'.
And speaking for myself and some other FTers that I've discussed the topic with, we'd all much rather see IB development priority given to a good mobile app than a Like function.
Originally Posted by
kipper
It seems the posts are split roughly 50-50, yet we've now seen a revised proposal, pushing this, even though there's not been a large clamoring for it.
Agree. So the logical question is Why?
Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
I made a similar point--but less eloquently--in the private TalkBoard forum earlier today. It's also not obvious to me (as I said there) that even if the like button is easily feasible, it can be restricted to just a single forum easily.
Besides that, the bigger question is whether IB wants to do a major change for a "trial run".
At this point I have to 'fess up that I have some inside information to indicate that I am not totally wasting your time here. That's about all I can say right now. In addition, I continue to believe that IB can implement almost anything we think up. That's why I don't want our discussion to be constrained to what features might be available off the shelf, as it were.
IB can do anything (well, anything within the constraints of the software). It's whether it's a high enough priority & whether FTers are clamoring for it. I would say they're not, given the topic was raised a year ago (at which time FTers were 50/50 on it) & was dormant for a year until you decided to bump it up (& response is still 50/50).
Originally Posted by
CMK10
Look, I'm not much interested in the button either but your stubbornness is surprising to me. What's the harm in trying it in one forum just to see what it's like? I see this as a situation where there's nothing to lose but maybe something to gain.
If it was something as easy as images, perhaps not. However, if it requires a major change to the site, do you make that change on a trial basis for one handpicked forum? Also, I think it's irresponsible to create a trial run without having criteria set in advance on what makes the trial a success or failure.
Originally Posted by [B
intuition[/B];]
I'd like to ask something completely different. What need is meant to be satisfied with this function? I mean beyond making it easier for expressing "like".
I am asking to find out how far this idea goes. Is there any thoughts beyond the apparent change of the forum by adding this button? When you have gathered the likes of the community, what are your thoughts on how to use that data?
Is the result supposed to merely be subtle guide to certain posts?
Is the result meant to be used in another way? Sort comments by popularity, make top-lists of "most liked posts", diploma of "most liked poster of the year"? Or is it just intended as a instant gratification system to posters?
Valid questions.
Originally Posted by
kipper
It seems like we're asking IB to do a lot of work for a trial, when there are other, more pressing wants/wishes, like a good mobile app.
Agree.
Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
Yesterday I posted the following in the private TalkBoard forum:
I'm not sure what we will be justified in inferring from the results of a single trial in a special handpicked forum that we don't think is very typical of FT forums. It sounds to me like the evidence would basically be a single data point that we wouldn't even believe is a representative case.
Agree.
Cheers.