Originally Posted by
joshwex90
The award or reward is knowing that you've helped people.
THIS. So totally this.
I think you've identified the nugget of why I've been in favor of this proposal for a very long time.
Why do people post things? Why do they give back to the community? Because people like to know that they're helping people. The people who post helpful answers on FlyerTalk are doing it for the satisfaction of knowing that they are helping people and the reputation in the community that brings.
I think this proposal has the potential to substantially increase the amount of helpful content posted. It has the potential to motivate some of those knowledgeable travelers who have sat on the sidelines of FT to actually take the time to post helpful answers, because now instead of a nebulous "I think I'm helping people," people can actually easily get acknowledgment of their helpful posts and a concrete and specific "thanks" for that content.
I know for sure receiving "helpful" votes would motivate me to make sure I'm posting the best, most comprehensive answers I can and taking the time to post where I might otherwise be lazy and say, "I'll leave it for someone else to answer."
Why do I post on Facebook? I don't actually post very much--an occasional comment on someone's status and a relatively rare status update of my own. But when I do, it feels good to get a lot of "likes." I'm a bit disappointed when something I post that I think is interesting or profound or noteworthy ends up not generating much discussion or many "likes." If something I post goes semi-viral (among my few hundred friends, at least), it feels really good and makes me want to engage even more with them and continue to post interesting content. The same concept applies here.
On a separate note, I just have to chuckle to myself and make the observation that of the several people involved in this debate whom I know personally and are friends with on Facebook, I find it interesting that two who oppose it consist of one person who liberally "likes" literally everything I (and everyone else) posts, even if that person disagrees with it, and one other person who almost never "likes" things I post, even if I think that person agrees with my post or finds its interesting, and the lack of a response from that person sometimes disappoints me (I make it a point to "like" things I find interesting or engaging as a way of showing appreciation for the time they took to post something of interest). I find it a bit odd that the former person is so against this concept considering the use of "likes" on Facebook; the second person's position is less surprising to me although a bit disappointing.