i think it would be nice to have an "I like" button on each post. sometimes i dont really have much to contribute but i strongly agree or just really like someones post. it would be nice to be able to express that sentiment to the poster.
im not trying to facebook the nexus but it is a decent feature. it would increase communication and amount the of activity significantly.

sometimes we put a good amount of heart and time into things like trip reports only to have maybe 1-2 reply's in a week but its read 30-40 times. if only 1 out of 20 people leave a written reply i would bet a whole lot more would at least leave a "i like" comment. it would let the poster know if his/her thoughts an ideas are being received positively, negatively, or at all.

often i find myself wanting to give a little encouraging poke to posts but dont have enough to contribute that warrants an entry, a like button would be a good way to express this.

just a thought


olympus mon

I like it.

Agreed. I actually thought of that too.

This was suggested in this and this thread.

While I understand the possible advantages of this, I actually do not think its a good idea. I see many forums out there that have this kind of feature and the quality of the posting does not necessarily improve with it. Plus in many cases people start being too focused on the ratings, while I think that the intention behind one's posts shouldnt be based on rewards.

It may also start becoming a very ego-based tool (those that have better ratings feeling superior in one way or another), which is really not what we want here in the nexus. Also maybe people will a priori start paying less attention to those with less positive ratings (or being too influenced on the opinion of others regarding a post), instead of reading first and forming an own opinion later.

This is just my opinion, though, this is of course open to debate and other views regarding the thread's idea are welcome.

True, that makes sense. I personally wasn't thinking about any kind of rating system though, just a post-by-post "like" option. But maybe even that would get distracting? Not sure.

some good points endlessness as always and i agree with them 100% however i wasn't suggesting or thinking about any type of rating system or track record. just a simple "hey i like or agree with what your saying"
it seems most of your dislikes were based on this tally system. if there's no record being kept do you still feel thumbs down?

we kind of do something similar in group conversations when face to face everyday. if a group of folks are all conversing about the same topic and one person is speaking others in agreement will use head nods, a smile, some type of gesture to let the group know they feel similar or like the speakers point. this just helps know the vibe of the room.
i dont feel this causes anyone in the group to make approval the main intention of their banter. it does allow the speaker to make adjustments to their words to better convey their points as well as allows others to feel included and heard with out having to speak out or interrupt. same goes for disagreeing.

i feel there is more to communication than just words. i guess its just a matter of wanting or not wanting to mimic face to face interaction or keep internet conversations as a model of their own.

either way i would never want to see anything hurt this special place or make a popularity contest out of the nexus.