Can we have the "thumbs down" button back?

Raffoon

You know... the forums have been a lot more negative lately. There are a lot of reasons for that, including design decisions, lack of communication, and more, but there's one thing in particular that doesn't see any discussion any more.

The forums used to have a "thumbs down" button that you could use to express your dislike of a topic.

When that went away, people lost the ability to express a dislike of an idea through a button press, and instead had to make a post to express those negative sentiments. This directly increased the number of negative posts on the forum.

Can we have this feature back?

What do people think about it?

wymtime

Not having a thumbs down button is a way to keep things more positive compared to just disagreeing with someone. I know there were some times I would take a dislike a little too personal when someone disagreed with my opinion and down voted me. It was not that they did not see my side or felt that I was out of line they just disagreed. People take their reputation seriously and getting down voted because someone disagrees compared to saying something offensive can be challenging to manage. I think a report button is more appropriate and the thumbs up is the way to go. If the down vote did not effect reputation then I would be willing to reconsider my position

fight4thedream

Although personally I don't care if we have the button or not, considering my mod duties I voted dislike because it opens up another avenue for user harassment. We had situations where people were down voting everything a member poster, even going through their past posts just to give them a "thumbs down". We also had some users privately express that they were not comfortable posting their thoughts out of fear that they would get down voted since their opinion went against the forum tide. Sure, you could argue such people could learn to develop some thicker skin, this is the internet after all, but by the same token what is a down vote really worth?

This is a forum. If you find something stated to be reprehensible, one would hope you would take the time to engage the poster in a healthy discussion about what you find atrocious in the presentation of their thinking. Or, if you judge a post to be of such poor quality that it is unworthy of any further thought that you immediately dismiss its presence from your mind and continue to search for something worthy of your time. It amazes me time and time again, how some good, insightful people get ensnared in the claws of attention seeking trolls.

The secret to their defeat my friends, is to not acknowledge their existence at all.

As for the negativity of the forums, you only have to look deep within yourself to understand where that darkness comes from and how you can overcome it. They say misery loves company but my old friend Heraclitus put it best: "Your integrity is your destiny--it is the light that guides your way." While you have every right to complain about what you find "wrong" with the game or other extending issues it is also important to remember at the end of the day, that this is just a game, the people making it are human beings, too, and ask yourself "Is it really worth all the gnawing, gnashing and clenching of teeth?"

And finally, if you really think the forum is a negative place, ask yourself "What actions have I taken to make it more positive? (not directed at you specifically Raffoon)

tl;dr - Instead of a down vote bottom, Fight recommends 1. Healthy debate over topics worthy of your time or 2. ignoring posts that you find uninspired or attention seeking. Finally, self-reflection. What is it you come here to do? What positive contributions have you made to the community?

Druss

Problem with the thumbs down thinggie was the retaliatory thumbs down from anyone you chose to thumbs-down, regardless of topic. etc

Was quite common to see disagreements between 2 parties with all posts downvoted by both parties throughout a thread.

Hardly constructive.

firethorne

I say no to the thumbs down. If you don't like it, either just move on, or add your own opinion to the conversation. Express a point of view that may not have been considered.

Buret0

Yeah, I never liked the thumbs down button. And I'm free to express this opinion because it is immune to childish downvoting from those who disagree.

Dayv

I voted "like" because I personally miss the function, but at the same time I totally see why it had to be removed. So yeah, I like dislikes, but no, I think they should stay gone.

Raffoon

A common sentiment seems to be that hurting someone's reputation points because you don't agree with their ideas is a bad thing. I tend to agree. Although that reputation number means little to me personally, I can understand that for some it may mean more.

Would it help then, if dislikes were not counted against a person's reputation, and were just a way to show that you disagreed with a post?

In addition to the tally for thumbs up on every post, there could be a separate tally for thumbs down that was not gathered onto a person's profile in any way, but just showed up on each individual post. Then the thumbs down would simply be a way to vote on the content of posts.

Yes, in an ideal world, everyone would take the time to post the specific reasons for their disagreement. In the real world, there are time constraints, and sometimes the ability to vote something up or down in a quick manner is useful.

Imagine how useful this would be for announcements around changes. You'd have an instant gauge of the community reaction without having to sift through all the comments. Yes, you'd hope that the developers or at least the community managers might still read the comments, but they surely don't read them all at the moment, anyway.

Dragon_Nexus

wymtime wrote:

I know there were some times I would take a dislike a little too personal when someone disagreed with my opinion and down voted me.

Same. Though it was kinda rare for me...one time I totally deserved it though ¬¬.

Now I just make a comment and get no votes at all and think "No-one thought my post was good ;.;"

morph3us

Apart from the retaliatory "thumbs down war" issue that been raised already, my main issue with the dislike button is that it seems like a bit of a lazy way of disagreeing with something/someone that's non-constructive. It's not an issue with the "like" button; if you agree with someone, a lot of time you don't need to vocalise the reason why. If you disagree with me or someone else, I'd rather actually hear your reasons why. At least that way, I get some constructive feedback, and a differing opinion, not just a litany of red negative numbers.

Dauthi

fight4thedream wrote:

Although personally I don't care if we have the button or not, considering my mod duties I voted dislike because it opens up another avenue for user harassment. We had situations where people were down voting everything a member poster, even going through their past posts just to give them a "thumbs down". We also had some users privately express that they were not comfortable posting their thoughts out of fear that they would get down voted since their opinion went against the forum tide. Sure, you could argue such people could learn to develop some thicker skin, this is the internet after all, but by the same token what is a down vote really worth?

This. I can see the merit of upvotes, but I see way too many reasons down votes cause problems.