Forum "Like" button oddness

[CarlJ]

I just ran across a comment that has a wide variety of reactions:

Like (49), Love (7), Disagree (3), Sad (2), Angry (1), Haha (1)

If I hover over the Like button, I'm offered these choices:

(Like) (Love) (Haha) (Wow) (Sad) (Angry)

I notice that Disagree is missing from the list of choices offered, even though 3 people have already chosen Disagree. Offhand, that seems broken somehow.

(Browsing from Safari version 15.4 on macOS 12.3.1.)
[edit to add browser name]

 

[arn]

My initial guess is that thread was originally in News and then got moved to Politics where disagree isn't offered.

 

[CarlJ]

Thanks, that makes sense. It's a shame that so many stories end up in Politics or with comments disabled, these days, but I understand the strain on the moderators.

 

[iStorm]

My initial guess is that thread was originally in News and then got moved to Politics where disagree isn't offered.

I can see why Disagree isn't offered in Politics, but is there a reason why it's not available in the other forums in general? It only seems to be available for news articles.

I'll often see responses to posters seeking help, but has incorrect information. For example, someone may have a borked M1 Mac and seeking to restore it. Some replies may say to use Internet Recovery (which isn't possible on M1 Macs). There's really no way to react to indicate it's not helpful. The Angry one isn't quite the same.

 

[chown33]

I'll often see responses to posters seeking help, but has incorrect information. For example, someone may have a borked M1 Mac and seeking to restore it. Some replies may say to use Internet Recovery (which isn't possible on M1 Macs). There's really no way to react to indicate it's not helpful. The Angry one isn't quite the same.

Personally, I wouldn't use a reaction in that situation. Instead, I'd post a short reply using the words you gave between parentheses. Sometimes words are clearer than pictograms.

 

[iStorm]

Personally, I wouldn't use a reaction in that situation. Instead, I'd post a short reply using the words you gave between parentheses. Sometimes words are clearer than pictograms.

Oh, I do. I'll quote them and correct them, but they usually don't go back to fix their post to avoid confusion.

I'm just thinking about future readers that come across the post. They could see that it has some Disagrees and can know something must be wrong/incorrect, rather than having to read the whole thread to get the full picture.

 

[MacNerd01]

For some reason, there’s no dislike option here or on several other threads… is this on purpose?

 

[chown33]

Oh, I do. I'll quote them and correct them, but they usually don't go back to fix their post to avoid confusion.

I'm just thinking about future readers that come across the post. They could see that it has some Disagrees and can know something must be wrong/incorrect, rather than having to read the whole thread to get the full picture.

The problem I see with that is a "Disagree" reaction is vague. To me, it doesn't signal there's an error in the post it's attached to. It only tells me someone disagrees, not why they disagree, nor that a post is incorrect, nor that I should read further for a correction.


If a future reader happened on a thread that might have incorrect information , and they didn't want to read through it to find an answer, a couple alternative strategies might be:
- click the "sort by reaction score" control below the thread title
- start reading on the last page and work backwards

The first presumes they know how to use the forum software well enough to click that control. It also presumes that the best (most correct) reply has sufficient positive reactions (Like, Love, Haha, Wow) that it sorts near the top. That's a pretty significant assumption about reactions, though. It's kind of like relying on Disagree to signal incorrectness: people post reactions for various reasons, which may not match how a reader interprets them.

The second is based more on practical experience. It presumes that once a correct answer is posted, there won't be a lot more replies. Or if there are replies after a correct answer, they're likely to be "Thanks, that worked" or perhaps added detail. If those quote the correct post, as they often do, then a single click takes you there. Also, if there are corrections for wrong answers, those would be after the incorrect post, so you'd see any correction.

Obviously, any strategy one uses will make certain assumptions about the kinds of things posted (replies or reactions), and the quality and correctness of those. I think the important thing is to have several strategies at hand, not just one.

 

[chown33]

For some reason, there’s no dislike option here or on several other threads… is this on purpose?

It is.

Here's a post from @arn about it:

Disagree / Dislike reaction needed! :)

Yes, it was very specifically named "disagree". There is a budget of "Disagree"s. So you can't spam the disagree button. Um... I suppose we could let you block it? I'm not sure that solves much. Just a little background on why there is a Disagree button. The Likes are used in news...

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