As some alert readers have noticed, we’ve recently added the ability to provide a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” on threads and comments here. Not everyone is going to like it but I hope it provides an added way for readers to engage with the conversations here, including the large number of folks who visit this site but rarely, if ever, comment.
We’ll likely try this out for a couple of weeks and see how it works….or doesn’t.
Of course, you’ll find your chance to give this idea your own “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” at the top of this thread.
May I suggest moving the location of the thumbs to below the comment itself? That’s where they’re located on most forums I know, and they’re much less distracting when they’re down there.
I agree with mgwa. Having them at the end of the comment presumes that it has been read. though that may not be the case.
Is there an guiding principle for the ratings? Is it a simple “thumbs up = agree, thumbs down = disagree”, or a reddit-style “thumbs up = useful comment that adds to the discussion whether I agree or not, thumbs down = comment that brings nothing to the party.”
Keep the thumbs just where they are. This a a great addition. It is far easier and more efficient to click a downward pointing thumb than provide a rational argument to the absurd views expressed by so many of the posters here.
I despise it. It’s along the lines of why I don’t post on Yelp, Yop, Poop, or whatever those review sites for products/restaurants are. The other day on another thread I asked a question and someone anonymously clicked thumbs down. What does that even mean? I don’t care personally, but how useless. It’s a lazy, almost cowardly way of “commenting” without putting any effort into it. The only place I’ve seen it work is on Facebook and I always thought that Village 14 was more about actual engagement and discussion.
See ya!
FYI: I’m unable to rate comments using Firefox 53.0.3 on Windows 10. It only lets me rate the main post. Using Chrome or (God forbid) Edge, it works fine for both posts and comments.
The thumbs have been moved down on the threads and comments.
and a little CSS love… there, that’s better.
@Greg — What’s your privacy policy on the thumbs?
@Newtoner – I’m doing fine with FF on Windows 10. You might check any add-ons you have. I’ve found that when things work in other browsers but not FF, it’s almost always due to one of my otherwise-useful add-ons blocking something from happening.
Another feature I think you should consider if possible is replies to individual comments.
I agree with Mark Marderosian. I think the thumbs really cheapen V-14, which is already a wonderful forum to express actual opinions. A good middleground might be to eliminate the thumbs-down feature, but leave the thumbs-up. That way people can express support for a comment they agree with, while minimizing repetitive comments. Comments with a lot of thumbs-up would likely grab more attention. It would also eliminate manipulation of thumb “scores” for nefarious reasons.
I would suggest stripping out the “Rate this” text. It just adds visual noise. At this point, people know what the thumbs mean.
I also note for point of comparison that Universal Hub only has “thumbs up”, which I think accomplishes 80% of what you want with ratings with less risk of weaponizing them.
I second both Mikes’ suggestions. No need to say “Rate this” and having just thumbs up accomplishes the most important purpose, which is to allow people to express simple agreement. As Mike Halle says, this is what Universal Hub does and that’s a site that IMO works well.