besides no counter (on post) - a random thought : there might be way to have some kind of variable indicator rather than counts of 200/2,000/etc, in other words do those kinds of high counts really add information after a certain threshold. not sure if any of that kind of thing is possible, or even if not having counter at all is possible.

if easily done, definitely seems a way to reduce potential games

If the owner/operator of FT wants to invest money in such a feature -- not that I expect it to do me any good, given alternative investment opportunities -- and then trial it, I suggest that OMNI threads are the best place on FT to see what it yields.

I support a Like button, to the extent that it stops people from posting "+1" or "^" replies, and actually reduces clutter. But that's all a Like system should be. Not a rating. No disliking. No scores visible for users.

I think a Like, Thumbs Up, or Helpful button would be fine. Would be interesting to see if others "like" the same types of posts I like, and it would reduce the +1 type posts.

- Don't also had a "dislike" or "thumbs down" or "not helpful" button.
- I'm ok with counts (25 likes to a post), but not points for users (gobluetwo has received 125 likes vs. javabytes has received 7,240 likes) which adds to a running total.
- Don't show who likes a particular post

I enjoy reading the trip report section but don't always want to repeat myself saying the same thing, so I'd like a 'like' button so that I can acknowledge the work someone has done (and the time taken) to post a trip report.

Perhaps if its possible to do so, its on the member posting that see's how many (or not!) likes it has generated so it doesn't turn into a competition.

I think a "Helpful" button rather than a "Like" button would be more meaningful.
SS

Can someone please educate me about what having a like button would add to the experience? Most of the comments above seem to be lukewarm, and somewhat focused on what not to do. I don't have a horse in this race, but just can't fathom that the
addition of this is worth the investment in getting it added.

Like and Helpful buttons are fine with me and could help eliminate posts that just have +1, which is the only quick way members currently have of expressing their agreement with a post.

No buttons
 

I think that a "like" or "dislike" button will cause too many hasty clicks rather than a well thought out post.

It would be a validation that the post contains useful information, making it more valuable to newbies.

I like the idea of a like or helpful button. Agree that dislike is less useful, as that can be abused badly (have seen this on other boards).

Like would be really good, especially an anonymous one.

If there was a Like button I'd have clicked it on Silver Fox's original post :D

I'd definitely support a Like button, like others have said it'll cut out a lot of the +1 sort of replies. I'd be happy to see the number of likes a post has got too. I wouldn't want people's profiles having a running total of Likes tho, as that feels like it could get competitive.

I'm a long time forum admin, including vBulletin, and find FT to be one of the most useful, info-packed communities I've seen.

The value add of showing likes, helpful votes, etc. is that it can surface good content and get more views for it. If a member is scanning a long list of thread topics and one has lots of like activity, he/she may click it in preference to others. That's a good thing.

The large majority of members will find this useful and will add value by liking content they think is good. But, any such system will surely be gamed by a minority of members who want to draw attention to their own content. Friends will like each others stuff, and I can almost guarantee that groups will form to promote each other's content. Since most members won't bother liking/rating content, these self-serving clicks will have a disproportionate impact.

Making the members who liked something visible may reduce use of the feature, but it would make promotion rings more obvious.

Of course, maybe the members here are above such behavior. We won't know until it's implemented. (But, as an earlier reply noted, just about everyone here is an expert in gaming systems - miles, points, etc. Often, the accumulation and maximization of these miles/points is more interesting than actually using them. It's not a stretch to assume that at least a few members will take on the challenge of getting their content lots of upvotes.)

Personally, I think the benefits make it worth trying. These features can be turned on easily enough, and turned off if they are getting abused. The admin team could monitor the activity to discourage obvious manipulation.

YES, I think there should be such a thing.

In the trip reports, a "like" or "rating" should absolutely be included.

As a test, add a series of buttons [for example those used to rate a thread] could be added to trip reports section of the forum. For each report, via a drop down menu, users would have the option of rating each review.

You could do another test, by choosing a forum and move the "rate thread" buttons to each post.

This can also be used to help determine which members are the most knowledgeable within a forum topic loyalty program and/or group of forums within a category. People like to know that their contributions are valued. This could be a way to provide content quality over number of post a user makes.

An example !
 

I would have 'liked' or 'helpful posted' this post with good suggestions without clogging up the thread with what I feel is unnecessary space to just agree with the original comment.

I feel it would make the forums easier to find great input from other members without too much of the surrounding posts that agree, +1 or sometimes dislike (no button for that please)

there are many times I have stopped myself from making a few word reply based on my opinion of the relative value, but the original poster has little idea of how well his/her post/comments are received by many people - just my thoughts !