Enable "Reaction" feature on forums

[TJ09]

The forum software has the ability to "react" to posts (https://invisioncommunity.com/news/product-updates/new-reactions-r1016/). I saw someone that someone wished they could heart a post, etc, so I'm interested in seeing if others would find value in turning this feature on.

 

The set of available reactions is configurable, though the defaults are:

 

• Like
• Thanks
• Haha
• Confused
• Sad

[DragonLady86]

Personally, I'm neutral.  Facebook has a bunch of different emotes but I rarely if ever use anything but "Like" to acknowledge I saw a post.   So, I wouldn't use it much, if ever, but I know people have asked for similar features off and on for a while now and it wouldn't bother me if it was implemented for those that want it.

[Dragon_Arbock]

I don't know how much I like the idea of social media things like this. Encourages people to speak only with emotes instead of their words.

[HeatherMarie]

There's a very big debate about this on another site I'm on, a very vocal minority want lots of emoticon-type things and a lot of others are very against it. For that particular site I think it would detract from things and push the site into something it's not... But for this forum I see no problem with it. The only reason I'd see against it on here is the old rule (is it still a rule?) against "+1" and "support" posts in suggestions. That rule makes it seem like just pushing a reaction thing without posting would be frowned on. I could see a potential issue with people just using the reactions in suggestion threads and not actually posting or contributing to the discussion.

[The Dragoness]

I agree with the above. I would rather see in-depth discussion than a bunch of reactions. I'm mostly neutral though.

[DarkEternity]

I'd want that.

[Xasora]

In the interest of avoiding drama, if these are implemented, I think it'd be better to do only positive-style emoticons. 

[LadyLyzar]

Positive only please if this is implemented.  I would do a "thumbs up" reaction and leave it at that.  It would be the equivalent of a "+1" post.  However, the forums aren't social media really so I don't find emoticon reactions to be necessary whatsoever.

[Dragon_Arbock]

^ I don't use social media for a reason. All the 'likes' and 'upvotes' and whatnot usually lead to bad things. Either people get upset with negative reception, or use the positive reception for validation.

[Whirlaway]

Personally, I don't like this idea. Reactions seem to be curtailed more for social media and I do not believe the setting and use of the forums is really the right place for reactions to posts. But that is just my opinion.

[andromedae]

I dislike this idea as well. I prefer it when opinions are expressed in a fully articulated manner rather than for them to be condensed into emotes, especially since I don't personally view the forums as social media and drama might be more susceptible to arise with both negative and positive reactions present. If it has to be done, I agree with Ladylyzar, for only positive emotes to be implemented.

[purplehaze]

Where would these "reactions" appear? Is it like a regular post? Or is it like on Facebook?

I use a few emoticons in my posts but I really don't see the point of using these reactions. If you care enough to respond to something you should be able to take the time to write a few words. I guess I am an old fogey, but it strikes me as "dumbing down" responses. I see all kinds of "likes" on Facebook that leave me shaking my head. @DragonLady86 is that what it means? To just acknowledge that you have seen something? I see it used in places that "liking" the post doesn't really seem appropriate. Things like "My grandmother died this morning" get "likes" and that just seems totally wrong to me.

[LibbyLishly]

I've often wanted a like button here, but I also know how things go when a "popular" user is posting and people knee-jerk upvote them. There's a weird tendency in humans to want to upvote something that's already been upvoted and a viewpoint perceived as unpopular could be detrimental to people's willingness to post. It would also be an unmitigated disaster to have such a button in the Suggestions forum.

 

A thank-you button might be nice.

 

I'd use the tar out of the laughter one, and probably the sad one when people are talking about bad luck. I could see the confused one routinely being taken the wrong way, though, and would probably be dishearteningly used on ESL posters.

Edited December 22, 2017 by LibbyLishly
Predictive text gone mad.

[Confused Cat]

A quick way to say "thank you for this useful information", "lol, that was a funny dream you had about DC!" or "oh no, so sad your egg died" would be nice sometimes.

I often write, delete and re-write sentences a dozen times to say the simplest things, and in the end I decide my post wouldn't really contribute that much anyway because I really just wanted to say "haha" or "oh no" or something... So maybe this would be useful to tell a user their post was seen and appreciated without adding an otherwise unnecessary reply to a thread.

 

Edit:

Negative aspects definitely exist though. Some I can imagine:

 

"Not even a reaction? Everybody probably hates me "

"Someone is sad because I grabbed a Gold in the cave? WAT?"

"TJ, TJ, we need an 'angry' reaction! TJ, we need a 'congrats' reaction! TJ, why isn't there a 'me too' reaction? TJ, give us a 'nope' reaction! TJ, I absolutely need a 'the first part of this post was nice because of the cat photos, but in the second part there was a Star Wars spoiler and so I didn't really like it' reaction!"

"People in some thread liked a post saying X more than a post saying Y, so the logical conclusion for this topic is..."

 

Edit 2:

I would really like to make the forum say "Confused Cat is confused" when applicable.

 

Edited December 22, 2017 by Confused Cat

[Starscream]

I am game for it. I have wanted to like a post as well.

[Lurhstaap]

I'd use it if it were a thing. I'm not pining for it, but it does seem to be something people would get useful function out of and the downsides seem pretty minor.

[HeatherMarie]

Confused Cat pretty much hit the nail on the head with those (hilarious!) examples of the negative side of this idea. The 2nd and 4th examples especially could be worrisome... People getting upset/confused/etc if someone sad-faces a post about getting something good (or even "likes" a post about something bad) would probably definitely happen at least every now and then. And it's definitely concerning to think that Suggestions may be influenced by people's "reactions"... If a post in favor of a suggestion gets 20 likes, and multiple posts against the suggestions get no likes, does that mean the suggestion is a good idea? I wouldn't want anyone, whether mod or TJ or even regular users, to feel like the number of reactions is a true indication of how the userbase feels about a suggestion.

[natli]

I would like a button, but only with positive message.

[11th]

Most other forums I'm on have a simple "like" button to show support, but not sets of emotes. I think the single button could work just fine for the forum.

 

There is one thing that I definitely don't want to be a part of it, though: Visible cumulative reputation for users. People can and do turn into a popularity contest, and people will abuse the system to give/receive more points. (One forum I'm on actually had to put a cap on daily "likes" so that people wouldn't spam it on every post for points. Spam posting was also at an all time high.)

Edited December 22, 2017 by 11th

[olympe]

I just looked at the referenced site explaining reactions - no, please no!  I don't want to get recommended replies - I prefer to read them all if the topic interests me so I get everything important, not just what plays into my own argument. (Then again, I love to take the other side's arguments apart - unless they have a truly good point.) And I most definitely don't want to see the forums cluttered with "activity streams". *shudders*

[Gluria]

I don't particularly need or want something like this, but I wouldn't mind it either.

 

What I would mind is something like "best stuff first". Posts and answers in chronologial order , please!

Edited December 22, 2017 by Gluria

[Seriva Senkalora]

The reaction-mechanism has the tendency to kill good conversations since people only press those buttons and don't reply with their opinion anymore. You may get a feeling what they think, but with less individuality. This has happened in facebook and in some german forums I know.

 

So I personally don't like them and would vote against this.

[Herk]

I'm very, VERY skeptical about this. A bunch of people go 'only like button, please' while my instinct tells me 'then it will be one sided validation, superfluous BS'. The idea of this influencing the order in which I see posts is an ABSOLUTE no-no for me.

 

Would it really hurt me if it was implemented? I'm pretty sure I wouldn't use it. But I'm very afraid it would kill meaningful discussion anyway. Actually Confused Cat made my argument for me. She's writing and rewriting and then deleting instead of posting. Having to type makes you THINK and re-evaluate your points instead of just hitting a button. You might even be convinced that a post was not-very-thought-through later in an argument but you can't take back a 'like' you've once  given (unless this functions very differently).

 

Would I stop using the forms if this gets implemented - nope.  But I'm definitely not a fan of the idea.

[Cottoncat]

The reactions have made their way onto other forums I frequent as well and I'm not really keen on them since I'd rather see actual replies instead of reactions. I wouldn't be completely opposed to the idea of the reactions though. I've just felt like that if they're needed, a simple like-button would be enough in my opinion.

[Dragon_Arbock]

Had another thought- how would adding these be any different from polls in the Suggestions? Those aren't allowed here anymore, but liking and disliking the first post of a thread would amount to the same thing.