Linux Mint Forums

Many forums that I use support a LIKE button, so that users can show that they appreciate a user's post,
without HiJacking the thread just to put a "Hey, I like, much appreciated" useless post...


Many times, I pick up on extremely helpful tips, but don't want to sidetrack the thread by commenting on that fact.

has there been any thought to implementing that on this forum?

AZgl1500 wrote: ⤴Mon May 14, 2018 1:06 pm Many forums that I use support a LIKE button, so that users can show that they appreciate a user's post,
without HiJacking the thread just to put a "Hey, I like, much appreciated" useless post...


Many times, I pick up on extremely helpful tips, but don't want to sidetrack the thread by commenting on that fact.

has there been any thought to implementing that on this forum?

-1

I think that implementing a like button in phpbb requires an add-on. I don't know if xenopeek would be up for that, but you never know.

That has been discussed around here a time or two, and there doesn't seem to be much enthusiasm for it. I have seen on some forums you can give a poster kudos for their answer some way or other, but I never really paid much attention to it. Doesn't matter much to me one way or the other, and as catweazel noted, that would be up to xenopeek.

I like the concept of the button, It would make it far easier to get to the crux of an issue rather than having to filter 40 million posts of "Thanks my 'xyz' system with ultimate wizzbangs, blah blah......." just to find the nuggets.

OK, so as not to lose some old posts on the same requests and so as not to have to repeat the same old arguments again,
here is a thread from 2013 about the suggestion of Adding a like post button to forum posts.

Please, folks, keep in mind: this is not Facebook.
We are primarily talking about technical questions and problems.
As a consequence, answers are either correct or incorrect, helpful or not helpful, or somewhere inbetween.

Whether a reader likes an answer or dislikes it is pretty irrelevant.
As a consequence I fail to see how a [Like] button would add much value to the forum and how it could help find solutions more quickly.

on some other forum's, they have stars or even birds,
but the end result is just a measurement of an forum member's activity.
- which is similar to what is done on LinuxMint membership level . . .

karlchen wrote: ⤴Tue May 15, 2018 7:51 am Whether a reader likes an answer or dislikes it is pretty irrelevant.
As a consequence I fail to see how a [Like] button would add much value to the forum and how it could help find solutions more quickly.

I think a Helpful, thanks! button would be more to the point here.

I can't see any use for a Like button here, but a "Solved by"with a summary and a link to the post that solved it might help if appended to the first post. Certain forums do this already, and it means it takes just one click to get the solution, rather than scrolling through pages of sometimes useless info.

Example:

Hi, I can't turn my desktop computer on - pressing the button does nothing

Help

Solved by @smartypants in post #6 (link to the post in case it's a long reply)

"Have you plugged it into the mains?"

I have little use for the [Like] button in the other forums I frequent. I never use them, I ignore the tally, and I consider the Likes I get to be a temporary, but totally irrelevant ego-boost.

I find Moem's suggestion for [Helpful, Thanks] to be interesting. There are times when I would like to recognize a helpful post, but I do not want to clutter the thread with a Me Too![/AOL] from me.

I do like chrisuk's suggestion for a [Solved By] button, but it really is not necessary. The OP could edit the original post and identify which solution(s) were helpful.

The Android forum that I watch has a "Best Answer" button for each post.

The OP selects the post that fixed his problem and then later future readers can search for a topic, and if it has a 'best Answer" they click on that and go straight to the resolution....

as we all know, some problems can involve many pages of different suggestions before the OP gets his/her problem resolved.

One of the very first problem threads that I started ended up that way, it turned into a tutorial of sorts before it was done.

chrisuk's suggestion reads very interesting. Such a button might really add value to readers.
Only I cannot judge whether a similar functionality is available in our forum software.

BenTrabetere wrote: ⤴Tue May 15, 2018 2:32 pm

I do like chrisuk's suggestion for a [Solved By] button, but it really is not necessary. The OP could edit the original post and identify which solution(s) were helpful.

from 10 years of moderating a forum, I know how precious few people even come back to the thread and say "hey thanks, it if fixed, much less actually go to the first post and edit it say what fixed it?
that will never happen.

I would hazard that 90% of the "new members" make a single post as a 'new member' and ask a question at the same time,
they get 1400 replies and one of those fixes their problem, and they are gone.
we never, ever see them again. 1 post and they are done.

The "This fixed it" button would be neat.

I found one extension that looks to do something like that, allowing OP to mark a topic as solved and which post gave them the solution: https://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/exte ... pic_solved. Even if we would be open to such an extension, that one is outdated and won't work with our phpBB version and it's not the most elegant implementation of what chrisuk described. Even if there is a button for it most users make less than a handful of posts and aren't here long enough to figure such things out.

In my experience it just ends up being used by the regulars as clique liking each other posts regardless if the information is accurate.

Plus mint doesn't get involved in politics and the LIKE button is used as a form of voting.

Rick likes this ^.
Agree, on a couple other different type of forums I frequent that have a like button I notice that some users like everything, whether is is useful or even relevant !
Other users rarely, or never like anything, hence there is no "real value" in the info. Yep, just useless politics.

Yes it would be helpful when the OP added "SOLVED" they also edited post to reflect "best answer". I know most probably won't bother to do that, but even if some did would be some help esp. in longer threads.

I see a few signatures saying something like;
"if your question has been answered please mark as "SOLVED""
Maybe change to;
"if your question has been answered please mark "SOLVED" and maybe post best answer in reply # XX"