Originally Posted by
N639DL
I don't think a "helpful" button would be useful.
Maybe a "like" button like Facebook would be nice. You can only "like" a post, but it is not a numerical rating of the post. What would be different is that it doesn't display who liked it.
In theory it would say "4 users have liked this post"... instead of on facebook: "ABC, DEF, and 4 other people like this"
It would be that way to not copy the way that other sites have their system and make it be more about whether you like it or not versus a numerical rating (which could be negative).
The trial underway is installing a scoring/rating of FTers rather than just a rating of any given post. That may well be the intention of this proposal and trial, no less so when given the software has by default done what it is designed to do: include the member's rating/reputation scores in the member profiles.
This seems set to be just what I said it would be: an opportunity for popularity contests and cliques to play games. Could be fun for a while but it's not going to add to my idea of an improved user experience but perhaps for its fleeting entertainment value and to see who is more popular than whom on FT.