Liking Etiquette

serpantino

serpantino

Thousand Master
Firstly... just to clarify it says liking not licking, that's a whole other (arguably more interesting) topic!

Now that there's a like feature on this site I was wondering whether we should establish an etiquette for the more paranoid of us so we don't feel like we're offending people or something!

I keep forgetting about it altogether and I've never personally cared about such E-peen systems but I've seen people get irate about it elsewhere in the past and wouldn't want to offend anyone with my inconsistent liking of posts, especially helpful ones!


.....and I've probably posted this in the wrong place but I never go down so far as the website stuff unless something's wrong :p
 
I mostly Like things which are funny or when I don't know what to say in response, but I'm woefully inconsistent about it too. If you're going to reply in words or it's something that doesn't really need acknowledgement, it seems like a lot of effort to click Like just to spare someone from potentially feeling less special.

For the record I don't care if you want to Like/not Like anything I have said and will not privately think you (or anyone else) is a jerk for declining to click the option on my posts. Liking Rui's posts will not earn anyone any special site privileges :)

As for licking etiquette, I'd prefer to opt out, thanks!

R
 
Are there any guidelines on unliking etiquette? :p

(Not that it's something I've done or ever intend to do. It'd be disappointing to get an alert saying "so-and-so unliked your post in the thread...".)

How would you actually go about unliking something in real life, I wonder? o_O
 
Do you even get alerts for unlikes? I turned my like alerts off because I am a soulless automaton...

I've unliked quite a few people in the real world in my time. Though usually I just ghost them. Blocking/ignoring someone on social media is probably the most melodramatic way to do it (after turning up at their doorstep and telling them you'll never see them again, I guess).

R
 
Most platforms go without an 'unliking' feature. It would not be in their best interests to notify their users of social fallings-out...
 
There's no alerts for unliking content, and it clears any existing like alerts. So if you rescind a Like, it's like the like never happened. Like.

As for when I like stuff, I just push the button if I enjoy the content of a post or find it useful. Really, it's a pretty arbitrary system and just used for fake internet points, but it's often quite nice to see that someone liked some of your content :)
 
Buzz201 said:
What about a dislike button? I could go from looking like AUKN's pantomime villain to actually being it's pantomime villain...
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While I think you might be joking, allow me to answer seriously anyway :p

The forum software we use doesn't offer the option, and even if it did I'm not sure I'd enable it – in a forum environment, I believe that a negative sentiment should be expressed in a constructive and reasonable way, and a drive-by "I dislike this" button makes it harder to promote that.

To me, it's the exact opposite of why the like button is useful. Liking something helps people express their positivity towards something without a spammy "Thanks!" or "I like this" post, but they can still post if they have something more useful to say. On the other hand, a dislike function removes the requirement to actually sit down and articulate precisely why you don't like something. Whereas a negative forum post has the potential to be constructive, a dislike button can never be.

You might argue that we shouldn't include a like button for the same reason – after all, if someone wants to say something kind, wouldn't it be only fair to make them sit down and write out why too? For me, one of the core tenets for running a community is "bias towards kindness." In other words, make it easier to express positive sentiment than negative. Giving people the option to like content allows them to lazily express approval, but doesn't remove the ability to express that in words. Allowing the option to dislike content, however, allows people to lazily hate on a piece of content, which is not a behaviour I want to encourage. :p
 
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Buzz201 said:
What about a dislike button? I could go from looking like AUKN's pantomime villain to actually being it's pantomime villain...
Click to expand...
I think they're opting not to implement that feature because someone like me would go through every single post on the forum and dislike them just for fun.
 
Teapot said:
While I think you might be joking, allow me to answer seriously anyway :p

The forum software we use doesn't offer the option, and even if it did I'm not sure I'd enable it – in a forum environment, I believe that a negative sentiment should be expressed in a constructive and reasonable way, and a drive-by "I dislike this" button makes it harder to promote that.

To me, it's the exact opposite of why the like button is useful. Liking something helps people express their positivity towards something without a spammy "Thanks!" or "I like this" post, but they can still post if they have something more useful to say. On the other hand, a dislike function removes the requirement to actually sit down and articulate precisely why you don't like something. Whereas a negative forum post has the potential to be constructive, a dislike button can never be.

You might argue that we shouldn't include a like button for the same reason – after all, if someone wants to say something kind, wouldn't it be only fair to make them sit down and write out why too? For me, one of the core tenets for running a community is "bias towards kindness." In other words, make it easier to express positive sentiment than negative. Giving people the option to like content allows them to lazily express approval, but doesn't remove the ability to express that in words. Allowing the option to dislike content, however, allows people to lazily hate on a piece of content, which is not a behaviour I want to encourage. :p
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I like and agree with this post!
 
Buzz201 said:
What about a dislike button? I could go from looking like AUKN's pantomime villain to actually being it's pantomime villain...
Click to expand...


In that case, how about Izamura from Patema Inverted as your avatar pic? :p

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@Buzz201: Then I'll be forced to recommend it to you. :p

The BD+DVD standard edition is only £14.99 pretty much anywhere you care to look.

Patema Inverted is one of my favourite films of all time, and Izamura is one of my favourite villains of all time. He's just so... deliciously evil.
 
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