PMJ said:
People have left me messages on my profile for posts they've liked. I see no reason why others can't do the same. The proposed "like" button or its equivalent is really just being lazy.
I disagree. I think that a message on someone's profile does not accomplish the same thing as a "like" button. For example, if somebody made a comment on Facebook that I liked, it would be silly to post "Hey, good comment" on their profile as opposed to liking it. For one, it does indeed take longer, and I honestly don't see it as a sign of laziness at all. In addition, posting on someone's profile with regards to a post you liked means that the information is not right there with the post. A third party could not look at the post and immediately know how agreeable it was. With a "like" system, the information would already be there.
omahanime said:
Potential issues:
1) Members would tip just ones they found amusing, and not good posts.
2) You tip me, I tip you. (PokéBeach had something similar 3 years ago with grammar)
3) Members would continue to post spammy messages just to try for tips.
4) The number of members that would care about tips. (You can take that either way)
I am not against the idea, I just need a good sound argument for it.
1) That is true. I will say, however, that I think only a select group of people would do that, whereas the overwhelming majority would just "tip" posts that they actually thought were good.
2) Unfortunately, I don't think that this can be prevented. People will misuse any functionality, and you're right, I don't see this as an exception. That said, I don't think that it is the worst thing that could happen.
3) As I said with the first point, I think that the majority of members would not "tip" spammy posts. In addition, the system would still get rid of a different type of spam, the type that only exists because members post in order to show what posts they like. The only other way I would see to get rid of this type of spam is warning for it, but I think that it is always better to add functionality as opposed to preventing people from doing something.
4) If too many people cared about tips: I don't really see the problem. They would try to get "tips" and they would make good posts. If too few people cared about tips: I don't see this happening so long as the "tips" you have received are prominently displayed. However, if nobody cared about "tips," you could just get rid of them! It would be a failed experiment and there would be no harm done at the end of the day.
My basic idea is that I think a "tip" or "like" functionality would increase the quality of the forums. People would make good posts in an attempt to get "tips," and spam would be reduced because people would not need to post (or post to others' profiles) about a god post.
Vulpix Yolk tells me that a program called "grains of sand" ran in the TCG section but has been discontinued. I really feel that the reason for its popularity (or lack thereof) was because "grains of sand" did not equal bragging rights. If somebody could not see that you had a lot of them at a glance, then what's the point?
I see your points regarding member abuse of the system, however. Therefore, I think that at the very least, a "grains of sand"-esque program should be adopted in every forum, and that the number of decidedly good posts you had made should appear with your profile. Although this would not reduce spam like I think that a "tip" or "like" system would, it would at least increase post quality by enticing members with bragging rights that were available at a glance.
Though you guys might do this now, I'm not sure.
