Popularity contest!

exchemist said:
Well nobody should set much store by these ratios. James is a mod, so has to make a lot of interventions for which is is not thanked, including questioning suspected trolls until they give themselves away, arguing patiently with cranks and troublemakers, and so on.
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We're just going off James' rules for the ''contest.'' :wink:
 
James R said:
Me: 34088/1440 = 23.7

One thought: the "likes" system we currently have in place hasn't always been there, so we can't really compare the scores of people who joined before "likes" were a thing. Well, we can compare, but it's not that meaningful. Not that it's that meaningful in the first place....

Is my mic still on?
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OK
If the site originally did not have "likes", then they were added
questions
By whom,
Why?
 
sculptor said:
OK
If the site originally did not have "likes", then they were added
questions
By whom,
Why?
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As to why, it seems almost all discussion forums have some facility for readers to record appreciation for what they think are good posts.

It is often useful to be able to indicate agreement and support for a participant in a discussion, without having to make a response of one's own. Particularly if the respondent has just made the point you were considering making yourself, for instance.

The designers of forum software clearly recognise this and provide for it. Some in fact allow you to choose from a menu of indicators, showing: like, or informative, or useful or that it is a winner, i.e. an unassailable argument, etc.
 
exchemist said:
It is often useful to be able to indicate agreement and support for a participant in a discussion, without having to make a response of one's own. Particularly if the respondent has just made the point you were considering making yourself, for instance.
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There are several "nice" reasons, but the above is a practical reason.

A Like button indicates agreement without filling a thread full of "me too" posts.
 
Any psychological reason?
(if someone receives more likes, do they tend to post more in general amd/or of the same viewpoint?)
 
sculptor said:
Any psychological reason?
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I think the more "human" reason is that it is a widely desired feature simply due to human nature. And smart sites give the people what they want.

If people see a post that they strongly agree with, they tend to want to condone that post (and, incidentally, that member), despite not having anything additional to add to the topic.

This is a very commonly desired feature, as witnessed by Facebook's success with it.
 
DaveC426913 said:
... smart sites give the people what they want.
This is a very commonly desired feature, as witnessed by Facebook's success with it.
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This ain't a "smart site"?
and yes on facebook and google

Have you ever "Liked" stuff that you really do not like in an obvious pattern just to mess with their algorithms and see what happens?
 
sculptor said:
Any psychological reason?
(if someone receives more likes, do they tend to post more in general amd/or of the same viewpoint?)
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You make a very important point I had completely overlooked.

I have read in several different places that sites that "reward" someone for posting encourage more posting - and more checking to see if they have got any "rewards". All very Pavlovian. I have seen this even described as promoting a sort of addiction and several journalists who write about such things have admitted to falling for it, to some degree.

So, on this basis, it is strongly in the interest of forums to provide such a feature. Those that don't are missing an obvious trick of the trade, it would seem.
 
sculptor said:
Any psychological reason?
(if someone receives more likes, do they tend to post more in general amd/or of the same viewpoint?)
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Possibly they tend to avoid long protracted debates/discussions in the religion or philosophy forum. ;) If you get entwined in such debates then it is more than likely you will post a large number of posts in response to the same people, with few people engaging, and no/minimal "likes". Thus you'd end with a lower %.

With that in mind.... (*ahem*): 665 likes out of 8,649 posts. ;)
 
foghorn said:
I guess it something like the site owner setting a target for something-- number of posts or likes--
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Some other sites I know have trophies:

10,000 Post Mark (50 points) - Congrats on posting 10K messages!

2000 Reaction Score (50 points) - Members have reacted positively to your posts 2000 times. Keep writing quality posts for more positive reactions!

15 Years as a Member (35 points) - Happy 15 year anniversary!

Gold Member (15 points) - Thanks for being a Gold Member!

E Education Background Profile ducation Background Profile (3 points) - Thanks for setting your educational background in your profile!

Lifetime Achievements

The Carl Sagan Award (30 points) - You've hit all the high marks with 1500 Likes, 10,000 Posts, and 5 years a member. High praise for you!

Featured Threads - 1 Thread Featured (10 points) - One of your threads has been featured on the homepage. Keep posting interesting threads to get more featured.

There's dozens more, including another 5o or so points for each 10,000 posts you have.
 
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