Re:Ex-Reddit exec launches 'Imzy,' a warmer, fuzzier Reddit
by CM30 on Sunday April 24, 2016 @11:53AM
(#11560061)
Well, I have to say I disagree that a voting system always harms discussion. I mean, Invision Power Board, XenForo and Burning Board forums all have a built in likes system (and commonly used plugins to extend it). I haven't noticed forums running those scripts being less civil or having worse quality. Or the various vBulletin forums switching to XenForo losing their existing community feel and atmosphere.
Of course, there is a difference here when compared to platforms like Reddit and Hacker News though. Namely, the likes don't affect how comments or discussions are shown. There's a number of likes and dislikes under the post, and maybe a small icon on the topic list, but a heavily disliked post doesn't get hidden or removed for it.
It's also been a thing long before that, with various add ons. For example, vBulletin had a post thanks system mod which worked like likes/upvotes:
Did quality get hit on sites with those mods? I didn't really notice it.
On another note, it does make me want to see a study in regards to what sort of like/reputation system keeps a forum or social network a more civil place.
Does only upvotes/likes work better than having downvotes/dislikes?
How about the inverse, where you can only dislike content rather than like it?
How about a private reputation system, where only the user giving the reputation and receiving it knows they've done so? That's how vBulletin's version used to work.
Does having more possibilities for votes help more than just like/dislike? How does Facebook Reactions or XenForo Post Ratings compare to Reddit up/downvotes?
Of course, there is a difference here when compared to platforms like Reddit and Hacker News though. Namely, the likes don't affect how comments or discussions are shown. There's a number of likes and dislikes under the post, and maybe a small icon on the topic list, but a heavily disliked post doesn't get hidden or removed for it.
It's also been a thing long before that, with various add ons. For example, vBulletin had a post thanks system mod which worked like likes/upvotes:
http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=122944
And phpBB had 'karma' mods back in the early 00s.
Did quality get hit on sites with those mods? I didn't really notice it.
On another note, it does make me want to see a study in regards to what sort of like/reputation system keeps a forum or social network a more civil place.
Does only upvotes/likes work better than having downvotes/dislikes?
How about the inverse, where you can only dislike content rather than like it?
How about a private reputation system, where only the user giving the reputation and receiving it knows they've done so? That's how vBulletin's version used to work.
Does having more possibilities for votes help more than just like/dislike? How does Facebook Reactions or XenForo Post Ratings compare to Reddit up/downvotes?