- Joined
- Jan 7, 2013
- Messages
- 8,757
- Reaction score
- 5,360
- Gender
- Undisclosed
- Political Leaning
- Independent
A prior suggestion was made about removing the 'like' system, and was rejected.
I find that the like system encourages bandwagoning, and it incentivizes users to alter their posting behavior away from what they honestly think/feel and toward something that will gain more likes from people. It has contributed to the partisan polarity on this site, IMO.
That said, I do not suggest it be eliminated because there are times when it is useful.
I have a couple of more suggestions:
1) Enabling users to opt out of the like system so they cannot like posts or receive likes from others.
2) Enabling likes to remain private, so that the user can see who liked their post in their control pannel, but no one else.
If people want to receive likes then let them, and if people don't want to take part in that system they can be free to decline. Or a user can keep their likes private, so that they can know what others find useful yet stay out of popularity contests. I believe these choices are fair and equitable to everyone, and since no other site has done it yet, DP could be the first.
Could the software handle this?
I find that the like system encourages bandwagoning, and it incentivizes users to alter their posting behavior away from what they honestly think/feel and toward something that will gain more likes from people. It has contributed to the partisan polarity on this site, IMO.
That said, I do not suggest it be eliminated because there are times when it is useful.
I have a couple of more suggestions:
1) Enabling users to opt out of the like system so they cannot like posts or receive likes from others.
2) Enabling likes to remain private, so that the user can see who liked their post in their control pannel, but no one else.
If people want to receive likes then let them, and if people don't want to take part in that system they can be free to decline. Or a user can keep their likes private, so that they can know what others find useful yet stay out of popularity contests. I believe these choices are fair and equitable to everyone, and since no other site has done it yet, DP could be the first.
Could the software handle this?