Remove the 'Dislike' Button?

[WannabeOwner]

I too think that a "Disagree" function is better than a "Dislike" one. I also would not have the Like and Dislike buttons next to each other - I expect that some Dislikes are just sloppy-finger-syndrome.

I doubt the forum can force people to create a post if they use "dislike", but if that is possible that would be my preference. That offers a crowd-sourced solution - if every time anyone sees a "Dislike" and no corresponding post/explanation, then ask the user why they haven't posted one.

There may be a function / add-on for Admins that will identify systematic Dislike (or Like for that matter) posts by one user on another user's posts. Sites that have "Badges" for various things suffer from bogus registrations being used to Game the system ...

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

Personally I like the dislike button, and this entire thing happened only because someone was being extremely petty with how they were using it. Where they searched through someones entire post history and marked them all down. That takes a special kind of obsessiveness.

When the dislike is used properly it does give a good indication as to the split a topic has.

I'm not much a giver of dislikes. You can't exactly say "Sorry, honey. Someone is wrong on the internet" and then only give a person a dislike. It just doesn't work that way.

 

[GoTslaGo]

My 2 cents.

I never liked the "dislike" button, day one. And said so, day one (or day two, and immediately got a "dislike" for it).

I agree with @Canuck, changing the like/dislike to agree/disagree would make it more palatable. It makes it more neutral. Converting it to agree/disagree would also provide the "split" a topic provides. Let's spell out how it sounds:

"I like you" vs. "I agree with you".

"I dislike you" vs. "I disagree with you".

We may choose to modify the like/dislike button in our minds to agree/disagree, but ultimately it is still the former two sentences. Let's formalize it to the latter and keep it civil.

If one REALLY dislikes a post, one should post a rebuttal. This is a forum where we should all be exchanging ideas and opinions. I felt that the dislike button made it too easy to just click a button and go. There have been occasions where a poster called out folks who "disliked" and ultimately they posted their rebuttals and a good discussion ensued. This is what I feel the "dislike" takes away from this forum.

Now we see another, more malicious aspect of "dislike". People using it to troll other posters. We can all argue about thin/thick skin, but a forum's utility is the free exchange of ideas among different people. Many of the older posters have been slowly going silent, and gone are their experiences and wisdom. Now we add "dislike" trolling, and we may see a greater number of learned members going away as well.

my 2 cents.

While we're at it. Maybe we can add a "sad face" button too for those posts that are too sad for words... like this:

Rare fatal accident in a Tesla Model S rear-ended by a large SUV in California

 

[deonb]

No. A dislike is if someone disagrees with the opinion expressed in your post, not if you describe bad behavior by others!

Though I hold to that philosophy myself, it does make the Dislike button asymmetrical to Like.

If someone merely reported on good behavior by others, nobody here would bat an eyelid if that post gets a dozen Likes, even though the poster may not have contributed anything to it.

 

[NikeWings]

But you're not really expressing your opinion when you simply click on "Dislike" and add nothing else. As pointed out above, the meaning of "Dislike" is ambiguous, so no one really knows what your opinion is with that "Dislike".

Oh fooey, it is an opinion and every bit here is ambiguous. We are just biased & conditioned to feel flattered with 'agree, like or love' icons with no more insight to a poster's personal reasoning than when they select 'disagree, dislike or hate' icons. If it didn't feel so good, then we'd be claiming the same ambiguity, which it is.

So which of these ambiguous rascals should we hijack next? Because that's the insidious direction this is heading when individual need to adapt, learn and navigate personal differences is replaced with big brother rules on how to express, and what constitutes, a personal opinion.

 

[Doug_G]

One post moved to snippiness

 

[Doug_G]

I use dislike when I dislike the situation (like the keyed car). I think it is unlikely we can all come to consensus of what it should be used for. I reject the notion that I can only use it to dislike what someone says, or to dislike the person.

Uh, no. "Dislike" means you dislike the POST, which is the exact opposite of what you are doing.

 

[glhs272]

I don't like the dislike button or at least I find that it discourages me from posting... Perhaps that was the intent.

 

[Canuck]

Uh, no. "Dislike" means you dislike the POST, which is the exact opposite of what you are doing.

But people use it when they dislike the person posting, hence those who go around targeting people and disliking everything they post, regardless of the content of the post, which caused this forum to recently lose a valuable member and contributor. I'm sorry, but you can't have a button that says "Dislike" and claim that it does not apply to the poster but only the content. Perception is reality. How people perceive slights against them is what matters and no matter what people are told, nothing changes that.

I don't like the dislike button or at least I find that it discourages me from posting... Perhaps that was the intent.

Me too. I have typed posts that I think add to the conversation but I end up not posting them. I don't really care about getting "Dislikes" but it really irks me that I'm giving pleasure to those adolescent posters who always seem to dislike my posts. So rather than give them that pleasure, I end up exiting out of this forum and going somewhere else.

 

[CmdrThor]

But people use it when they dislike the person posting, hence those who go around targeting people and disliking everything they post, regardless of the content of the post, which caused this forum to recently lose a valuable member and contributor. I'm sorry, but you can't have a button that says "Dislike" and claim that it does not apply to the poster but only the content. Perception is reality. How people perceive slights against them is what matters and no matter what people are told, nothing changes that.

Me too. I have typed posts that I think add to the conversation but I end up not posting them. I don't really care about getting "Dislikes" but it really irks me that I'm giving pleasure to those adolescent posters who always seem to dislike my posts. So rather than give them that pleasure, I end up exiting out of this forum and going somewhere else.

The "valuable member and contributor" was not lost because of the dislike button. He left because he didn't have thick enough skin to post on an internet forum. He felt slighted by a user disliking his posts and publicly called for that user to be BANNED! And when he didn't like the result of that public request he asked that his account and posts be deleted (never going to happen), changed his location from Sebastian, FL to "Somewhere", limited access to his profile page, and set his signature to indicate that he wanted his account deleted. Seems rather childish to me.

 

[Odebek]

I support keeping Like/Dislike and adding Agree/Disagree and another option.

 

[deonb]

Uh, no. "Dislike" means you dislike the POST, which is the exact opposite of what you are doing.

Double standards. If a Dislike applies to a POST instead of a Situation, then a Like should similarly apply.


And then OP in this thread is worthy of a like because the POST is very disrespectful to the situation, even though the situation sucks (but that shouldn't have anything to do with it, right?):
Very sad... Fatality in a Model S on the 405

Who's going to be the first to "Like" that post?


Another example - has the OP on this thread really made a comment that is worthy of 31 funny's and 2 likes - or did he just link to content worthy of that?
The M3 terrifies BMW

 

[Drivin]

Another example - has the OP on this thread really made a comment that is worthy of 31 funny's and 2 likes - \

Absolutely!

I am not sure where has happened to our culture that we got to the point that anonymous people care about whether some other anonymous people like what they posted. Sad.

Honey, how was work today?
-- Terrible.
What happened? Problems with the project? Oh no, you didn't get demoted or anything?
-- No, worse.
Oh no, were you fired?
-- No, worse.
What happened?
-- Do you remember Fred, from accounting?
Yes, did he die? Have cancer?
-- No. We were talking and he told me he didn't like a comment I made.
Oh no! Are you okay?!?!
-- Hold me.

 

[scaesare]

Most of the dislikes I've had seem to be those who simply disagree with my point of view, or seem to be unable to make cogent argument or rebuttal to a point of view I've expressed.

I wear those dislikes as a badge of honor.

 

[Canuck]

The "valuable member and contributor" was not lost because of the dislike button. He left because he didn't have thick enough skin to post on an internet forum.

"But for" the dislike button he would still be here. That's the test for causation. If you say he would still be gone if there was no dislike button, then I would say you're clearly wrong. If you disagree that the "but for" test is the proper test for causation, then you need to tell me your test for causation, and why you disagree with the vast majority of people who have determined this is the proper test. I'm all ears but we all know that it's easier to insult than make cogent arguments.

Oh, and by the way, it's really big of you, and other people here, to act so tough, and high and mighty, from behind your keyboards, while actually offering to others far, far less than Mike. So what if he's sensitive and the harassment of a member following him around and disliking everything he posted got to him? That sensitivity caused him to go way out his way to help another member at a time of need. What have you done for another member here?

And to @Eclectic who dislikes any post of mine he reads, I checked out your 89 likes received and 161 dislikes you have handed out. Nice ratio. But then again, that's no surprise for someone whose motto reads:

"If your argument consists of "the science is settled", you're just telling me that you're afraid of being challenged and have a closed mind. Just like religious zealots."

Seriously? Religion is based on "faith" whereas science is based on the "scientific method". Comparing one to the other is absurd. But denying global warming gives you pleasure, like handing out all those dislikes, right? Keep them coming, it adds to your ratio... and my skin is as thick as an alligator's... ha!

 

[CmdrThor]

"But for" the dislike button he would still be here. That's the test for causation. If you say he would still be gone if there was no dislike button, then I would say you're clearly wrong. If you disagree that the "but for" test is the proper test for causation, then you need to tell me your test for causation, and why you disagree with the vast majority of people who have determined this is the proper test. I'm all ears but we all know that it's easier to insult than make cogent arguments.

Oh, and by the way, it's really big of you, and other people here, to act so tough, and high and mighty, from behind your keyboards, while actually offering to others far, far less than Mike. So what if he's sensitive and the harassment of a member following him around and disliking everything he posted got to him? That sensitivity caused him to go way out his way to help another member at a time of need. What have you done for another member here?

Without the dislike button someone still would have done something to make him mad and he would have received the same response like he did in the thread that led to his exit.

It is also real big of you to stoop to attacking my participation in the forum. I don't have to justify my contributions to you or anyone else. You are free to look the count of like/informative/helpful posts if you want, but to be honest I don't care what you think of me and no one else does either so I don't see why you felt the need to bring that up.

 

[markb1]

The number of dislikes that you receive (in addition to likes, etc.) are tallied on your user profile, so it's a lot like the reputation points that we had with the old forum software. So I think likes and dislikes should really be used to reward and punish good and bad behavior. It doesn't seem appropriate if you simply disagree with someone's opinion. Or worse, if you use it to express sympathy, as in the car keying post mentioned above, someone could end up with a whole bunch of dislikes on their user profile for just one post.

Maybe the solution is to just remove the tallies from the user profiles. That way, the dislikes really apply to just the post, not the user.

 

[Jeff N]

The number of dislikes that you receive (in addition to likes, etc.) are tallied on your user profile, so it's a lot like the reputation points that we had with the old forum software. So I think likes and dislikes should really be used to reward and punish good and bad behavior. It doesn't seem appropriate if you simply disagree with someone's opinion. Or worse, if you use it to express sympathy, as in the car keying post mentioned above, someone could end up with a whole bunch of dislikes on their user profile for just one post.

I'll just note here that I've now received 21 dislikes on my original thread post here.

All that for creating a poll in the Site Feedback category asking opinions on whether the forum software should remove or retain the dislike button.

I'm such a terrible person! Maybe I should be banned?

 

[lolachampcar]

Jeff,
That is the first time I've used the dislike button. The child in me just could not resist using the dislike button on a post about the dislike button. I'll try to never ever use it again if that helps.

 

[deonb]

See, you don't need a dislike button to get dissed

(All in good fun - this whole thing is ridiculous. Or shall I say dislikeful...).