It doesn’t hurt you or damage your profile to like someones post. I feel like I am seeing people who are almost afraid to like some peoples posts. (I don’t want to put anyone on the spot here, but I’ve seen some damn good laughs with 0 likes because its a ‘nobody’.) It should never matter who the person is, its the content that you are liking.
When you see a post you like or laugh at, just click the heart. Chances are they will appreciate it.
Don’t be afraid to like someones post because of who they are. If you laughed at their post, you pretty much owe them a heart. If you avoiding liking someones post because of who they are, that is a personal issue. The “Us vs Them” mentality is not healthy and will alienate yourself. Work together, not against one another. We are all connected and we all want the same thing.
I think people just have different standards for what can be a “liked” post. What one person might see as likable another might not find worthy enough. There isn’t a Board for Like Standardization and Etiquette, so we each decide what’s worth a like ourselves. If others have higher standards than others, so be it. It doesn’t do any harm to like a post, nor does it do any harm to refrain from liking a post. I do agree that it should be based on post content alone, but that is technically an opinion and not a fact. That’s just my opinion, anyways.
Exactly! I believe that’s what the devs were hoping for as well and I couldn’t agree more.
I can totally understand this viewpoint and there is nothing wrong with that. We all have different standards. If you didn’t find their post funny, by all means move on to the next post. We all get our own like vote so that’s why this system works so well. I’m not saying you have to like someones post when they are trying to be funny. If you didn’t like the post, there’s really no reason why you should have to click the like button. Just move on to the next post/thread.
My point is… If you liked someones post but then decided not to click the ‘like’ button because of the person who posted it… You’re doing it wrong. The only thing stopping you from clicking the ‘like’ button is your ego. And from my personal experience, your ego will just hold you back. If you think an ego is good, then meditate on it for a while and get back to me. Being humble > having an ego.
Not necessarily, no. But I can see why you would say that. I brought it up because it is more incentive to like others posts, yes. But that doesn’t mean you should only like peoples posts with the intent of getting a like back. By saying that I am hoping that people realize it is in their best interest to like the posts of other people. Literally the worst thing that could happen is you just don’t get a like back.
You probably won’t get 1:1 likes back, but it’s human nature to like the people who like you. It probably won’t pay off immediately either, but you may even make some friends along the way. (And friends are wayy better than a like imho) Some people will (and probably already are) do it expecting likes back, but like I mentioned earlier in this post, this is just their ego. If someone truly liked your post, they should have clicked the like button.
One of the best things one can do for themselves, is to have an open mind.
I could understand encouraging other people to like more if it still was the defacto voting system like it was before we got the actual voting system. But nowadays I see only one objective reason to like a post: Highlighting great threads and good posts so the forum software can improve at guessing which posts contribute to the discussion and belong into the thread summary. Sometimes this can help reduce spam if the reason a post was liked is that an opinion close enough to the liked post was had and the like replaces the unnecessary “I think the same, you take the words from my mouth!” post.
A subjective reason as listed in the PM you got when you registered:
I don’t see that not happening in the forums. Make one fitting meme post and the likes will come.
The worst thing that could happen - this line is going to sound really depressing - is nothing and the like just literally being only a memory of what you once liked.
You still sound a lot like you want to promote some kind of Like4Like.
I mean… this sounds to me like you expect the Like4Like to happen subconsciously. And I really hope the friends part refers to meeting likeminded people (pun not intended) who you identify by their online content and not some kind of “Like-Buddies”.
I can’t really give an example without singling some people out, so I won’t. But like I said in the first post…
I’m not saying we’re all doing it wrong. But there are some people who seem to only like a small group of peoples posts. (Pretty much the ‘like-buddies’ situation you are talking about later in your post) That approach makes the voting system useless. In addition to that, some new members get no likes just because they are new. It’s not going to hurt you to like another persons post. A biased opinion on people is counter intuitive to progress. We are all connected and we all want the same thing.
Are you saying it’s actually painful for you to like someones post and not ever receive anything in return? Was clicking your mouse one time on an icon really that hard? Thats extremely petty. If you’re the type of person who expects people to do things for you just because you did things for them… There’s so much that can be said about how wrong that is. That’s just plain greedy and selfish.
I am not trying to promote Like4Like at all. In fact I believe this mentality completely ruins voting. The ‘like-buddies’ are part of the reason I even made this post. They too are part of the problem. People that like someones post just because they think they are hot or think they are going to get with them ruin this system. I was simply trying to point out a fact about human nature. Please don’t make assumptions like that.
In no way shape or form do I condone going around liking every post you see just to get more votes on your own. Nor do I want you to have a group of people who like every post that you guys post. As Mac said, when you read a post you like, show some appreciation by clicking the like button. I too want people to act with an unbiased opinion. However, things don’t appear to be going that way. And it seems we have a few ‘like-buddies’ groups that have appeared. (Again, I do not condone their actions in any way shape or form. Nor do I participate in the said ‘like-buddies’ ritual.)
Absolutely. I mean actual friends. Someone that you would add on steam and play games with. Someone you might talk to on occasion or add to snapchat. If you live close to one another, maybe even meeting them in real life? I don’t mean “like-buddies.” A ‘like-buddy’ is not a real friend. The moment you get off of the website your ‘like-buddy’ is meaningless to you. For example: I share snapchat pictures with some people. (If anyone wants to add me, feel free to shoot me a message. I won’t bite ) Also, some of the people on this forum have actually gone to meet each other in real life. That’s awesome and I applaud that! So long as nobody is getting hurt, this is great.
TL:DR; No I do not condone like-buddies. They are part of the problem and one of the reasons this thread was made. (If you, the one currently reading this, are part of a like-buddies circle. Please be considerate with the rest of us. Your circle just spreads the idea of separation.) I want people to act with an unbiased opinion and like the posts that deserve a like. No assumptions or inferences should be made. I said exactly what I mean.
I think we clearly are on the same page with the “Like the content, not the people” thing.
A forum helping TU grow the best it can, a friendly and welcoming community having fun and discussions leading to rational conclusions with everyone respectfully arguing according to the forum rules? At least that’s my goal here.
You mentioned the worst case scenario in your opinion would be not to get a like in return which is the Like4Like mentality. I mentioned my worst case scenario is nothing happening (and that the way I phrased this would sound depressing in my opinion), meaning the author of the liked post doesn’t appreciate it, the forum software cannot use the like to determine post quality, generally no one cares about the like given, it’s just an entry in a database, in short: Nothing happens.
So when you’re asking me if it would be painful for me to like without being liked back, that applies to the scenario you mentioned as the worst that could happen, not mine.
It might be the summer heat but for some reason in your statements that are not protesting the idea you’d support Like4Like or agreeing with me on how Like-Buddies are a problem, you sometimes sound like someone should expect something to magically happen in return for likes. Likes should only go in one direction and when everyone contributes with good posts, everyone can be on the beneficiary side.
IIRC that fact was the idea that people tend to like people they’re liked by? So you were trying to point out how this natural impulse is counterproductive for the like-system in a way I completely misinterpreted?
That’s the reason we both take about an hour to write one of these posts, isn’t it?
When you go into detail and really flesh each side of the argument out, discussions go big. And when everyone stays on track and no one starts insulting so the mods close the thread, rational conclusions are found. I’m really happy when that happens.
But sometimes something like this happens, just to name one example:
A great exchange about what an SJW is, what it stands for and how much sense it makes. Until people cry for the thread to die ironically being the sole reason the thread has to be closed.
Thank you very much for the well thought out & heart felt replies @JohannesDau! I appreciate you going out of the way to talk about this subject.
Sorry, haha. If I could answer everything with a quick 2-3 sentence response, I’d love to. But I’m afraid this situation is too complicated to just be summed up that fast. JohannesDau’s reply describes my feelings on this pretty well.
I’m the kind of guy that gets into long and in-depth philosophical conversations about all kinds of different things. (Can you tell? xD) I really like to think about things. And I really like talking to people who can also come up with different ideas and theories. Many of my friends are the same way too, and we love bouncing different ideas off of each other. It’s not like you have to accept someones viewpoint either, that’s part of the beauty of being human. You’re entitled to your own thoughts and opinions. Cognitive Miser is just about the last word I’d ever use to describe myself.
Gotcha, I guess I misunderstood you there. I am very sorry about that. It really rubs me the wrong way when I see people that feel so entitled to things.
I don’t think it’s really all that bad to not receive a like for a post though. Just because you didn’t get the visual feedback doesn’t mean nobody read it or enjoyed it. It shouldn’t upset people that some of their posts aren’t “liked”. Thats just the way it is. If there were no such thing as a bad comment, what would a good comment be? (And I’m not saying no likes means its a bad post. This is only being said to spur thought. There are many good comments with 0 likes!) It’s impossible to have everyone like all of your comments. We’re all different, nobody is perfect, and we all make mistakes.
That’s not what I was trying to say at all and I will just remove that from the OP. All I was trying to say by that is that it’s in your best interest to like other peoples posts. Because people tend to reciprocate the behavior that people give to them. Act nice, and they treat you nice. Act like a dick, and you get treated like a dick. It may just sound like common sense, but there’s a good reason people react this way. Being self-entitled to other peoples likes is just lame and selfish. Nobody should owe you anything. Be humble and approach things from different angles. Nothing is ever so black or white.
Exactly. There should be no self-entitlement. Just be real and like the stuff you like or find funny. It really doesn’t need to be this emotional of a subject. It can sometimes be hard to tell if someone is truly being sincere though. The “Us vs Them” mentality is a tough one to break for many people. People don’t seem to understand how truly connected we all are. People like Trump who hate on other people for things like their race and skin color just feed this terrible mentality like gasoline on a fire.
I truly believe that on one level we are all the same person(or consciousness) but split into different conscious bodies in this third dimension. I am you, and you are me. The only thing that’s really different is the bodies we currently inhabit. Elon Musk says we’re probably be living in a simulation, and its quite startling to hear his explanation. There is a lot more evidence pointing towards this theory rather than against it too. Within 40 years we already have nearly life-like videogames. Who’s to say we couldn’t be re-creating our own reality simulations in another 1000 or 2000+ years more?
Not that it’s counterproductive necessarily, but that it’s just how we are as humans (I wasn’t referring to just the forum like system alone, but the entire human race as a general rule). We tend to like the people who like us (and in turn, dislike those who dislike us).
Indeed, haha. It can take some time to think of the words. And it’s good to re-read things and think about them in different ways. This is the type of situation that we are dealing with on many different levels in our society. The favoritism and self-entitlement is hard to get past. But it’s in literally everyone’s best interest if we can do so.
Good lord, don’t let me get started on SJW’s, lmao. That mindset has been perverted and most of those people don’t even know what they are fighting for. (Please nobody turn this into a SJW war)
Haha, I can feel you on that. Especially if you don’t know the memes and/or inside jokes that people are posting (or if you really just don’t care about them, etc:). Keep doing what you do, there’s nothing wrong with that.
Lol, it’s funny because that’s the last thing on my mind. Otherwise I’d be post-whoring Off-topic all day. I’ll probably be the only person who never makes a “OMG I GOT REGULAR!!1one!!one!1” thread. I usually don’t feel the need to have everyone stroke my ego. I know my name probably makes you think otherwise, because when I made it 12 years ago I was very egotistical (ironically I have been thinking about changing my name again as well). Many years of growth and meditation have mostly destroyed that broken mindset. (Now I’m not anywhere near as insecure as I used to be. Anyone who feels the need to overcompensate with their name like that is probably just insecure.) I feel much better about myself now and don’t miss it at all.
I sincerely want people to view posts with an unbiased opinion. It should be the content of persons posts that matters; not the one who posts it.
I see your worst case scenario doesn’t apply anymore.
Personally, I see my like count as an indicator of how well I’m posting. If my post-like ratio is good that means I’ve made enough posts that are good contributions.
So basically “If you use the forum software correctly, you encourage others to do the same” in this case? I’ve read those statements again and that interpretation doesn’t stick out to me at all, still reads like Like4Like. Good thing you rephrased that now.
You’re late to the party, the linked thread was closed.
*COUGH*25d Sorry, had some muted ego in my throat, that stuff’s nasty.
If you made up your Internet Nickname in your young years, chances are you’ll find it to be embarassing as you mature. It’s like, science or something.
I have problems watching Talkshows because of that, barely ever gets anywhere. “You get that much time to talk until the commercials!” “I’m sorry we’re out of time, see you next week!” If you don’t sit in these discussions with a notepad you just seem to scratch topics. I prefer the written form as you can take your uh time finding the correct erm right uh fitting words and uh the reader can like take the input at his or her uh its I mean the own pace, can quote what is referred to, no thought gets lost, no sidetopic eventually ignored.
Yeah I feel that, I’m usually the same here. Contrary to popular belief, typing up a storm isn’t exactly my cup of soup. xD I would much rather prefer just verbally talk it out, but that’s not exactly possible on an internet forum like this. Verbal convo’s are a lot better than text because part of what someone is saying comes from their tone. If you don’t know someones tone, you might think they are mad when they are happy, or happy when they are mad, and etc: It causes all kinds of arguments and complications.
TL:DR; Text sucks, I agree. Tone is important and I would voice chat if I could.
Then why even make this post? That’s pretty rude. Just move on… Nobody is forcing you to be here.
Definitely, no problem. You can’t get rid of me that easily.
Interesting, I can see why you would say that. Does this prevent you from speaking your mind at times? I feel like that way of thinking would cause me to not want to put in my ten cents at times unless it was, as I deem, “really good.” (Or whatever you would call it, basically it has to live up to your “standards” of what is a “good” post) That way of thinking would prevent me from being able to use the forums the way I like to use them. If I feel like I have a valid point, useful information, or even just something funny to say, I just go for it. When you want to say something, you should just say it.
Please don’t take this personally, but I feel like that kind of thinking might limit you in some ways. I think one of the goals of a forum is to get everyones opinion. It’s not a contest about who is the “best poster.” (If it were, then this way of thinking would be the go to) If you’re just waiting to post a quality post, that’s definitely fine. But if there’s a standard you have to live up to, or something along those lines, it might be rooted in an insecurity? From what I’ve learned over time, people really don’t care about you (I’m not saying only you Johannes, I mean ‘you’ as in whomever is reading this). This may sound really negative, but it’s actually a positive! Bear with me for a moment.
I remember when I was younger I used to worry about the things people might say about me. Even if I wasn’t doing anything wrong. (This probably still rings true for some people here. It’s okay to have insecurities and it’s completely natural! Don’t worry about it, you can deal with it!) To the point where I might not even raise my hand in class to answer a question (Even when I knew I knew the right answer), or go to the bathroom when I needed to, or grab some extra food, or whatever it was. Now I understand that people don’t really care about things like that and my worrying was all for naught. If you raise your hand and get the wrong answer, so what? They didn’t even raise their hand and at least you tried. Nobody should care about what you’re doing because it’s none of their business. Don’t let other peoples views influence all of your own actions. I applaud being considerate, and I’m not saying to stop doing that. But it’s not worth bending over backwards for everybody or you’ll never be able to please yourself. If you do what you feel is right, things tend to work out for you. (Note: The key word here is ‘what you think is right.’ That doesn’t include things that hurt people. I try to look at it from both sides. Does it upset or offend you when you hear it from yourself? If it does, chances are you should just keep it to yourself.)
When you’re a kid you have to deal with all these other kids who are also insecure and they all pick on eachother thinking it’s cool. With all of the stupid cliques and groups, it separates people and really damages some kids. It takes a while to break yourself out of that mindset. Kids can be pretty mean without realizing how much pain and psychological problems they are causing for people. I had a poor kid at my middle school commit suicide because of some asshole jock who would pick on him every day when he walked to school and walked home. This kid was a really nice guy (maybe a little dorky but who wasn’t?), yet the jock would talk shit on him constantly and treat him like a loser. The jock seriously had no idea how badly he was damaging the kid up until the point he took his own life just to end it. Imo, part of being mature is accepting people for who and what they are, and not judging them for it.
Yeah, pretty much, that sounds right. I wasn’t trying to encourage like4like, that would an interpretation. Humans like people who like them. So it is literally in their best interest to like the posts of other people. It’s just a fact, nothing more.
No worries, I’m not bummed at all.
You have no clue how badly this rings true for me. The first name I picked was Homewolf, back before furries were popularized. I used to get the best nicknames. Nooo thanks, I am NOT a furry. (And no offense to all you furries out there, its just not my thing)
Doesn’t work all the time. To explain with an exagerrated example:
It prevents me from contributing with posts I’d consider spam if encountered in greater quantities. My Standards aren’t “If it’s no PSA don’t post it” but I’d rather like a post than replying “LOL”. It’s interesting how sometimes I don’t see a reason to post anything for a week and then seemingly “return” for the weekend.
If I feel like my opinion is not or underrepresented where it shouldn’t be, I change that.
I thought it was kind of obvious but my name isn’t Johannes, that’s just my Germanized version of John Doe. For why this is the case, see my Introductory Post, it’s linked in my bio.
How do you write paragraphs about insecurities and how you shouldn’t let others influence you and then talk about dropping a nickname because people read affiliation with a social group into it?
Nothing works all the time. That’s just Sheldon, lol. The writers have written him to be like a robot. Nobody is actually that oblivious to things like sarcasm. Even little children understand it far better than his character. Tone communicates how we feel about what we are saying. It is still one of the most important things about what someone says. Sarcasm itself is the perfect example. In text you might think I’m serious. The only way you would even know is if I deliberately write (/s or sarcasm) after it. But in conversation, you can pick up the tone and verbal queues (like my eyes rolling or me throwing/dropping my arms down like I’m exasperated). There are far more tells in verbal conversations than in text.
Yeah, just writing, “LOL” is spam. Those posts are definitely unnecessary. No disagreements here.
Glad to hear that
Gotcha, okay. I was just referring to you like that because it is your username. If we were in a face to face conversation I would obviously refer to your real name. But on the internet being that personal is not necessarily welcomed.
Changing my name to not be associated with furries wasn’t because of an insecurity. That’s like saying if my name was Osama Bin Laden and I wanted to change it because people repeatedly thought I was Osama Bin Laden, that it was because of an insecurity. When really its just because you don’t want to be continuously associated with that person (or group). I don’t want to be associated with something I am not. Rather than stick with it and have to answer the same questions over and over again on every server I go to, I opted to change my name and never have to deal with it again. Problem solved.
PS: I’m about to leave for 10 days. So if I suddenly stop replying don’t take it personally. I’ll get back to you when I’m back.
It’s not like you have to accept someones viewpoint either, that’s part of the beauty of being human. You’re entitled to your own thoughts and opinions. Cognitive Miser is just about the last word I’d ever use to describe myself.
