Lack of interest Add "like" comments for shout outs

[Jake Bunce]

Rationale:
I personally don't like it when threads have lots of brief "shout out" replies for the purpose of acknowledgment or expressing approval. Short replies like:

cool
lol
woot
etc...

I prefer replies to be more substantial.

It occurred to me that the "like" system in XF serves a similar purpose as these kinds of posts. But "liking" a post is not expressive enough for most people so they still post a shout out.

Suggestion:
Add a very brief comment field for "likes" (maybe 20 characters). Then display the likes and their comments inline with the liked post. The likes would have to be fully expanded and immediately viewable in the post in order to be expressive enough to serve their purpose.

edit - Enigma has a very good similar suggestion in this post:
http://xenforo.com/community/thread...omments-for-shout-outs.1657/page-2#post-23080

Intended result:
Hopefully that would result in threads like this:

post 1 - substantial content

liked by user a - cool
liked by user b - lol
liked by user c - woot​

post 2 - substantial content
post 3 - substantial content​

As opposed to this:

post 1 - substantial content
post 2 - cool
post 3 - lol
post 4 - woot
post 5 - substantial content
post 6 - substantial content​

Basically you would be channeling these brief shout outs into the like system where they would be better organized under the target post. They would also detract less from the entire thread because they wouldn't be presented as full replies.

 

[Shamil]

Sounds like a better system. This may drastically remove some crappy content.

 

[Forsaken]

Sounds like a better system. This may drastically remove some crappy content.

Wishful thinking!

 

[Paul B]

I suspect a lot of the "cool", "I like it", "lol" comments, etc. are related to post count and trophies...

I have already decided I won't implement trophies for post numbers, instead it will be for things such as "likes" or other items.

Regarding the OP, I wouldn't like different classes of likes.
The "Likes" system works because it is so simple and quick to use.

 

[Disjunto]

I suspect a lot of the "cool", "I like it", "lol" comments, etc. are related to post count and trophies...

Most likely, people post useless posts like that simply because they want a higher post count

 

[Floris]

The beautiful thing about the current like is "click" and you're done.
What you're suggesting is adding more content to the page, a click extra, and time to support it. Which I think, is something you could also do with a quote of the post (with or without the like); where you can go a bit more indepth.

That said, I think like (pun intended) the navigation bar at the top you can click on members directly, OR, when you hover over it, you can get a arrow that drops down. This *approach* might be nice to consider for likes, no drama, no extra clutter, just a very small clean arrow that when hovered will actually slide down an input box. Users can directly type something in to add a comment up to 24 characters to the like. Or .. just click on like directly (which when liked, wont show the arrow obviously).

 

[James]

It can still be simple. You click 'like', a comment box appends to the bottom of the post "Any additional comments?" and it displays. The only problem that could occur is people using the 'like' comments to have a conversation.

 

[gordy]

Cool points

 

[Brandon_R]

I would have to agree on this one as it solves alot of the problems like one word replies etc and i don't really agree on most suggestions

 

[Shelley]

This in my opinion educes "lol" "nice work" "I'm in love with you" "so, I don't like" comments/responses. But the question I'll add here is what is wrong with those type of responses? Burying them inside a comment sub system takes away the flow of the conversation, the spirit of the thread making it more robotic/generic/formal. The whole point of a community is to interact anyway possible (positively I'll add). Another thought, some people are not technically minded. Take me for example saying I'm as dumb as two short planks of wood would be paying me a compliment. The point I'm making here is challenging people would be alienated to the point where your responses are not good enough for the main thread/posting system but we can throw you deeper and bury your comments within a sub comment system. Sorry, I don't agree with this at all, It alienates people imo and I for one hope this feature never gets implemented. For an add-on maybe but not here. Just so folks know, I prefer substantial, informative posting but taking away the 1,2,3 worded comments takes the soul out of the thread.

You may think you want the short worded responses out but trust me the thread would not be the same without them.

 

[Paul B]

Take me for example saying I'm as dumb as to short planks of wood would be paying me a compliment.

I don't normally do this but LOL

 

[Disjunto]

Take me for example saying I'm as dumb as to short planks of wood would be paying me a compliment.

I know Brogan just pointed this out, but lol at the timely fail

 

[gordy]

Just so folks know, I prefer substantial, informative posting but taking away the 1,2,3 worded comments takes the soul out of the thread.

You may think you want the short worded responses out but trust me the thread would not be the same without them.

Very, true. My community was split along the same lines, to the point there started a spinoff. The "Thank-You" mod really helped in this respect, though it was modded to "Like it"

 

[Biker]

While I sympathize with Jake regarding the mutual masturbation society, it's the nature of the beast. Not sure adding comments to the "like" system would do anything other than confuse users.

 

[Lawrence]

I'm not sure about this. I know one word replies seem like a waste of space, but they confirm acknowledgement by those who read whatever the topic was stating; agreeing with a buddy, or they found it funny, or whatever. I think those replies are good for community building.

 

[Brandon_R]

I'm not sure about this. I know one word replies seem like a waste of space, but they confirm acknowledgement by those who read whatever the topic was stating; agreeing with a buddy, or they found it funny, or whatever. I think those replies are good for community building.

Agreed.

 

[Paul B]

Irony win

 

[Princeton]

here's hoping they implement the requested feature (or something similar)

adding 1-3 word comments to posts does not help or stimulate discussions...
in fact, it does the opposite ... just imagine 10's or hundreds of "lol", "nice work", "I'm in love with you", etc posts ... these type of comments bury great comments that do stimulate discussions

When was the last time you searched for a "nice work"?
When was the last time you smiled at a "great job"?
When was the last time you had to respond to a "I'm in love with you" post?

As the OP these comments are great to receive but they do not stimulate conversations which is why a feature to add a comment to Likes is a great idea. The comments can be viewed via a popup and via Alerts.

 

[jmurrayhead]

From what I've seen...a lot of people do both: a) click "Like" and b) post a comment. Sometimes "liking" a post or whatever doesn't fully represent what you want it to, so adding the additional text feels necessary.

So, I don't feel this is a bad idea, at all. I've seen it work on sites like stackoverflow.com (example: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3440755/which-web-based-language-to-learn-closed) and I don't feel it takes away from the flow of the conversation. I also feel it will help quality posts stick out over the garbage that no one cares to read.

 

[Shelley]

here's hoping they implement the requested feature (or something similar)

adding 1-3 word comments to posts does not help or stimulate discussions...
in fact, it does the opposite ... just imagine 10's or hundreds of "lol", "nice work", "I'm in love with you", etc posts ... these type of comments bury great comments that do stimulate discussions

When was the last time you searched for a "nice work"?
When was the last time you smiled at a "great job"?
When was the last time you had to respond to a "I'm in love with you" post?

As the OP these comments are great to receive but they do not stimulate conversations which is why a feature to add a comment to Likes is a great idea. The comments can be viewed via a popup and via Alerts.

They're examples Princeton. I could have went through a wider spectrum of short worded responses though I thought folks would get the general idea the point I was making.

Adding 1-3 worded responses can and does stimulate conversation, granted, not as a thread starting topic though through responses but probably not in the standard your expecting. I personally, would and blank out refuse to use any sub comment system that disrupts the flow and spirit of any given topic, forums are used to express not only dialogue but emotions and sometimes if not most emotions can only be expressed/conveyed in 2-3 words, why bloat a conversation because it doesn't meet the requirements of an individual/expectations of a intellectual conversation?. I dunno, the more I think about this feature, the more I dislike it for the fact it discriminates emotion in the way of a short abbreviated sense but condones long winded bloated conveying that also discriminates against laughing, praising in abbreviated ways.