FWIW, I did read the wiki before voting "yes." I didn't just join FT to vote, I wasn't lobbied, and (fortunate for FT) I'm not on the TB. And since voting, I've read the last ~200 posts or so.

I have to agree with the sentiments expressed by some that this seems a disproportionate amount of angst for what in other communities might be considered a minor, ancillary feature. I believe, though, that a large degree of that concern is because we all value FT and want it to continue to be great and even get better.

Although mentioned in the wiki, my reason for wanting a "Like" wasn't substantively mentioned in the last 200 posts - and it's from the perspective of the giver, not the recipient. Some comments here have focused on gaming and on people trying to accrue "Likes." I'm sure that's a possibility and if people feel like they want to measure their online self-worth that way, that's an issue that won't be addressed through any single discussion-forum feature.

Rather, I don't expect that I'd be accruing lots of "Likes" from my posts - I don't post very often and when I do, it's usually either asking a question or going for a cheap laugh - sadly, not usually providing content that's terribly insightful or helpful. My interest in having this feature is because almost every time I dive into a new thread across FT, I find posts that are great - they're particularly clever, they're really helpful, or (as in this thread) handle some nasty comments with tremendous patience and aplomb.

Most of the time, I'm not going to clutter a thread with a +1. The idea of a "Like" would give me a way to innocuously recognize someone's efforts on a good post. It's an electronic token of appreciation.

Someone chooses to game it and artificially get their "Like" count up on a specific post or posts? Seems like that will be self-policing pretty fast. If I see that someone's posts are always heavily Liked when their content doesn't (IMHO) warrant it, then I'll start to discount that person's posts. And in any event, the stakes on this seem pretty low.

All that having been said, in the pantheon of features that could enhance FT, this one is in the "nice-to-have" category for me. Despite its length and occasional vitriol, I do appreciate this thread and, more generally, the opportunity to provide input on the direction of FT.