I think it's VERY IMPORTANT to consider carefully how any question(s) in a poll will be worded and what alternatative responses will be offered. Carelessly worded polls can give very misleading conclusions.

Agreed. I'd like to compile a list of alternatives for a poll so we don't exclude anyone's preferred option. Here is a partial list of iterms:

I don't think it's practical to explore opinions on features and functions (e.g., I think we have to set aside any "dislike" button for this poll). But I want to make sure that the poll is complete to maximize its usefulness to TalkBoard.

/Mod hat off, merely asking for consideration on a broader basis

There's the other thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/talkb...-feedback.html), which I'd refer people to, which moots about a somewhat similar feature: a "Helpful post" or like feedback counter, as opposed to what in my opinion is a much more ambiguous and broadly interpreted "Like".

Just what does it imply when I "Like" a post? Good, useful information, clearly presented? Great humor? Is this post fun or clever? Do I like this poster? Am I merely "Liking" another's "like" whilst attempting to give further "likeness" to another post?

How does a feedback mechanism reflect the purpose and values of FlyerTalk? MP is, IMO, a good reference point for what "Like" might bring.

I don't normally get into this part of Flyertalk but punched the 'new posts' button, saw this thread and thought I'd share my experiences as a moderator of another forum (different content but on vBulletin) that has used the 'like' button for a couple years.

1. I haven't seen it cut down dramatically, or even a little, on '^^^^^ this!' type responses under full quotes of another post.

2. Our system shows the members who liked a post in a list at the bottom of the post and I've noted this to have become a method where often cliques exert political pressure on postings or threads, where one member of the clique posts up a missile at a fellow member and the others chime in with likes. A system which only shows number of likes and doesn't identify members visibly to other members could mitigate the politics of that somewhat, but not completely.

3. The use of the ignore list, in our software iteration and settings by the site owner, disallows a member from liking the post of another member they have on ignore but allows the ignored member to like their post. This arrangement has also been used to harass members, especially those who have like notifications turned on in their profile.


The subject matter is quite different than that of Flyertalk, and perhaps more potentially contentious or inflammatory but, if I had a button to take the like system off our forum today, I'd do it right now. I don't own the site so that won't happen.

Good luck in your choices.

Thanks for weighing in with your experiences and views, carmachinist.

I thought it cannot be implemented in only one forum? If that's true, then why would give people the idea that it could be?

I'd limit the scope of the poll to:
Nothing
Trial for 1 month (or whatever amount of time), and then reevaluate

I intend this week to check out IB's ability and willingness to implement a restriction of the feature to selected forums. To me, a limited time sitewide test would be a distant second choice compared to a test forum or two. If implementing that change is a small job, and if TalkBoard wants to do a limited scope trial, I'd press IB to write the necessary code for us.

In short, I don't regard the limited scope trial as off the table just because some coding is needed. If it's the right answer we should pursue it.

Thank you so much for your informative post, camachinist! Now if I only had an "I found this post Informative" button... :D

Your experience on abuse of the visible identities of voters is especially helpful. I never would have imagined that one. Apparently even simple reader feedback can be complicated.

Bolding is mine:
If IB has to do much work, other than basically turning on a feature, then why ask them to do this, when there are other items that more people want?

I would hope that any proposal or poll would make very clear that we absolutely will NOT add a DISLIKE button. FT tried that in the early days and apparently the effects were horrible. In fact, I'd like that commitment before any further consideration.

"Dislike" is sufficiently disliked (even by me) that I'm happy to drop further consideration of it. I mentioned its exclusion as an example of how the poll would not be able to accommodate opinions on all facets of reader feedback.

And right there you just demostrated the potential negative skewing effects of a like system.

Gather a clique of suporters and have them like your statements. Since most members won't use the feature, a small clique can upvote selected posts to stand out. If my posts all have 50 likes and your posts have just a few, it looks like my opinion is "the right one" and discussion will die down. Even though 50 likes are less than 0,01% of the member base.

I have found most posts in this thread to be informative or otherwise interesting. Would FT benefit more from me clicking like on everything I like, or from me engaging in debate on my own credentials?

Huh? That post shot several holes in the idea. That's why it was informative!

But I do understand your point. We don't want upvotes to become a game rather than merely encouraging valuable posts.

Glad to get the point through even though my logic was severely reversed! :)

I didn't read the whole thread so am unclear on the exact system being suggested here; our system only allows a member to like a post, and later unlike (take their like away) a post. Posts cannot be 'voted down', meaning 'dislikes' being tallied publicly. Members on moderation (postings reviewed by moderation) can still access the like system. Members on temporary or permanent suspension (access to the site as a posting member removed) cannot access the like system.

There is a 'like tally' which floats at the top right of each thread, showing the number of likes that posts in a particular thread have received. What I find interesting is, generally like FT, hardly anyone uses the "Rate this thread" feature (the star system).

In our case we didn't have a debate period prior to the system starting. It simply showed up one day. We have a much smaller forum, only about .38MM members and about 5.2MM posts, and don't have the large management structure that FT has. IMO, input and discussion can be helpful in such matters.

If FT were to implement such a system, my vote would be for an anonymous " ^:td:" type system similar to that of youtube and other sites.