It should, but I think that will be a nightmare!

No. That's part of why I don't expect anything more than a brief test to occur until Autumn or later. The mobile app comes first. Maybe other things too.

I agree that having OMNI/PR as part of a short trial would be informative as a worst case (i.e. the "if you can make it here you can make it anywhere" idea), although the trial might be disruptive to members who use that forum.

So the trial would include OMNI until sometime in September 2015 with no aborting the trial for the OMNI forum while having it run elsewhere on FT?

Again, speaking just for me, I would want any sitewide trial to be limited in time to about 4 weeks. It would end and we could discuss what we learned extensively before deciding anything.

I voted NO, wouldn't like it, then I'll have to think of something intelligent to say and that would hurt my head. :p so no no no no and NO.

"Like/helpful", to avoid a headache.

Now how about you "like/helpful" my post in kind? Or don't you like me/my post even as this post is an example of liking yours/helping to draw attention to it and/or you? See what I've done? If I point to your post in my signature encouraging people to "like"/"helpful" vote for it, would that get a "like"/,helpful" for me too? See what I've done. :D

Seriously, I don't think FT needs this feature enabled unless the idea is to have more grade school-like popularity contests and ego-stroking games going on across FT.

I voted NO, as I think it is a bad idea to turn Flyertalk into a clone of Facebook. That site is already pathetic enough as it is. No need to start copying it.

I voted NO, as I said on my previous post in OMNI/PR, the likes button would only serve as stroking one ego.

The only material benefit I can see for a "Like/Helpful" feature is to eliminate the occasional (and usually short) series of "+1" posts we see. I don't see it as enough of an upside to counterbalance the ego-stroking downside, though.

There is no benefit to adding a like button in my opinion. FT does not need to try to become facebook. Anyone who wants social media bs can find it elsewhere

On social media, likes are used as filters. If you "like" an entity, it is placed higher in your individual like-rank. Entities you never like are therfore lower in rank. The software will then filter what is shown to you, so you will see more of what you like and less of other stuff.

On some news sites, likes and dislikes are used to rate comments. The rating is later used to sort comments (so most liked comments are shown first)
Some sites use the rating as auto-moderation - when the like/dislike quotation falls below a certain number, the post is automatically hidden.

Neither of these usages would be a benefit to FT. Filtering and/or sorting the forum would be a disaster. And for moderation we have moderators.


Exactly this.

And even when you agree with someone, there often is something more to add. So that also drives FT forward, because posts will be added as long as there is anything more to be said (excep in OMNI then, perhaps).

Those who are pro the like have been very vague how it is supposed to work, where it is supposed to be and what benefits the community is getting.
I do want to understand the pro-arguments, and I have tried hard to find situations on FT where a like would really be a benefit. And IMHO it is difficult to find. (except the ^ as you say)

Perhaps in trip-reports, where likes would encourage a poster to keep on doing the hard work of writing. Especially for someone writing their first trip report, or trying out a new writing style. It takes many hours of thinking and writing to do a good trip report, and here I truly think getting likes will help posters to keep on. Also, as a report is a personal view, there is less to debate and a like system wouldn't compete with / kill any discussion.

But that is about it, I can't see any other positive usage of the like button.

Well, it seems that the majority of folks agree with you.

Please, no.

Remember the reputation feature? Anything with a potential to be abused will be, and even without a dislike feature , I suspect someone will figure out a way to abuse this. There are way too many clever people, as well as trolls, around here. I do not consider both remotely similar though there is an overlap.

notifications definitely need to be able to be disabled

but if notifications for PMs cant be disabled...