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Thanks button added

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Thanks button added

Unread post by Saul »

I have added the ability to "thank" someone for their post as a way of showing appreciation even if you have no reply to make.

You will see the thumbs up button at the top right of each post. Please make use of it. We have members who put an awful lot of effort into posting on the forum and I personally think this is a great way to reward those efforts.
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Re: Thanks button added

Unread post by Derek »

Personally, I think if people can't be arsed to write a short note of thanks, given the effort we put in, then why are we bothering to help them?

So, the thumbs up gets my thumbs down - that's a Facebook symptom creeping onto the forums. Just my opinion for what it is worth.
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Re: Thanks button added

Unread post by Saul »

It's moving with the times Derek. Facebook has a very successful "thanks" system for a reason, it works. Running a forum is not just about the usual suspects i.e us lot posting stuff. Forums don't survive unless you constantly attract new members and part of that is getting on-board with social media and using some of the tools available to that platform, hence the options to share posts across Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and so on. This means your posts are not just seen by people on this forum but also everyone on people's social media accounts.

For example, if you have a gripe about Yamaha...and we all know I do ;) If you post that here then just the forum visitors see it. If I then share that to my LinkedIn account it also goes in front of over 500 music industry contacts including the director of Yamaha UK and the Directors of Korg and Roland. It's also in front of the product managers and the engineers back in Japan. That probably doesn't make me popular of course but they are the ones who need to know this stuff. Useful? I don't know but sure makes me feel better ;)

There are plenty of people viewing this forum who appreciate the content but don't themselves have anything to add. Giving them an opportunity to click a button to register their thanks for your efforts is definitely worth doing, especially as the content of a post may not directly have anything to do with them. That doesn't stop them registering appreciation for what your doing in helping others.
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Re: Thanks button added

Unread post by Derek »

I can see your side of the argument, but I think it is a double edged sword, as on the one hand, people who would not bother replying have the option to react, but on the other hand, it might stop people who might have spent the time to type a reply from doing so. I would prefer the latter. The whole reason d'etre of forums is to converse and share info with people you would not normally meet in your social circles.

That said perhaps I am just a luddite. It is true that forums are dying compared to their hey day. You can see it here - usually always the same old people who contribute the bulk of the traffic, or people who ask a question and you never hear from them again. EX5Tech was probably the same as well - it had diminished to a wilderness with tumbleweed blowing through it before the website died, and now it is gone it is missed - but probably just mainly for the download (and maybe why Ski is not in a rush to resurrect it when he is maxed out on other things)

So you are probably right to try and adapt and give people choice. I will remain an old stick in the mud and say something when I have something to say. :)
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Re: Thanks button added

Unread post by Saul »

Well you definitely have a point there Derek but seeing as that situation re participation is not looking like it's going to change any time soon, some participation, even if it is clicking a button is definitely better than none at all.

I know from chatting with people who have been registered for ages but not posted that many of them feel like they have nothing worthwhile to contribute and they are also...as odd as it may seem...nervous about posting! Not sure why because we are a very friendly bunch around here, at least I hope we are. That's the impression I have anyway but perhaps I'm missing something?
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Re: Thanks button added

Unread post by Derek »

The only reason why I can think about posting nerves is the reaction you get on other forums if you have the audacity to even slightly show that you are a newbie, but that has never been the case on any forum that I contribute to. I avoid the worst contenders (forums that is) and won't waste my time on them.

You are probably right in the long run, it is probably best to try and adapt, but I fear in general for the forum concept in general unless more people do contribute. If it's all reduced to the music equivalent of "liking" facebook cat videos, then we are doomed......
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Re: Thanks button added

Unread post by Buzzard »

I agree with Derek on most counts.

Some forum users might take it as a personal insult if they don't receive thanks for their effort,
and then some may measure their success or popularity simply by the number of "likes".

This could turn out to be a facebook-like competition, removing focus from what we are all about.

Since this feature arrived, I have given "thanks" to a few, without thinking much about it.
Problem is that this may look as if I appreciate the work and participation of only some of our members,
and not really caring for the opinion of others. THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT THE CASE.

On the other other hand, I could spend a lot of time just clicking away to make sure to thank everyone for good posting.

If it stays, I might use it to thank members for what I consider outstanding topics and posts,
but that sets a bar for what is appreciated, making other posts look as if we would rather not have them around.

It could backfire BIG TIME and turn the forum into a popularity contest.

Not my decision really, but I'm generally not in favour of rating.

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Re: Thanks button added

Unread post by Saul »

I could anonymise the thanks which would offset concerns a little and also not display the top 10 in the thanks list?
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Re: Thanks button added

Unread post by Buzzard »

In all fairness, if we start using the "thank you" feature regulary, some old posts deserve the same attention,
but may be hard to find, and thanking for good postings may be a very time consuming task.

Not that I mind doing a job on the forums, but I'd much rather write about and disguss instruments.

Personally, I appreciate if someone takes the time and effort to write: Thanks , cool or even if they disagree,
at least this is a response from someone willing to participate actively.

Clicking a "like" or "thank you" button is (imo) the lazy mans back padding.

It's not gonna keep me off the forum if this feature stays, after all, it doesn't make that much of a difference to me,
but I can easily do without it, and see no reason that it will help or enhance the forum one bit.

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Re: Thanks button added

Unread post by Derek »

That's my view as well, Peter, but I acknowledge that people will have different views on this, so catering for it is understandable. I would still prefer a few words of thanks from people if you have gone to effort of helping them.

On reflection, I can see that it might be useful way of other people reading a topic that they do not have an active part in to note gratitude, but I am not convinced it adds any value, and why would they bother if they are not interested in. But then I am a Luddite who does not see the point in Twitter! ;)

Same with Facebook. If I "Like" a post, what is it really saying? Especially when somebody is expressing bad news and your "lazy option" is to "Like" it. If I wish to react to somebody's post, I do this old fashioned thing call adding a reply.....

For example, there are many topics I do not read or react in because I have no interest in them, so I am not going start adding thanks to them. It's not as if I am looking to while away spare hours in my day! I focus my precious times on the ones I can contribute to.

I'm not sure how many people understand the effort that goes into helping out (and Saul has even more of the workload) on top of all of the other things that we do in our lives.

So on balance, I see why Saul would want to introduce the feature, but I will not be a user of it or throwing my toys out the cot if there is no thanks via this mechanism - I just ask forum members to have a conversation if somebody is making the effort to help! :)
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Re: Thanks button added

Unread post by Saul »

I'll come back to this later as I am on the way out but first congrats to Derek for his 3333 posts! nice number :) Second there are other considerations at play here besides what you see on the forum but I will pm you about that. Catch up when I'm back.
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Re: Thanks button added

Unread post by parametric »

Yeah,

I think I'm largely with Derek and Peter on this. To me, it all rather smack of the "faux" cuddly, slushy "niceness" that seem to pervade everything these days.

I'm rather "old school" in this respect. The simple concept of GOOD MANNERS - suggests that a note of thanks is appropriate, if you have received some help that you have found to be useful . . . .

Leave the button if you must . . . . I may use it from time to time, but I've generally found that If I have given someone help that actually "Hits the spot" - then they are invariably vociferous in their THANKS, when they reply . . . .

On the subject of these button in FB and elsewhere . . . . WHY is there no matching HATE button?

I guess EVERYTHING is so sickly saccarine-sweet - we don't need one :x

Sorry, but I find the Phoney-balonie "bonhommie" quite sickening . . . all this caring and sharing . . .

Perhaps MS and "The Fruit" would like to SHARE their enormous profits . . . ?

Yeah Right :roll:

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Saul Ukraine
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Re: Thanks button added

Unread post by Saul »

There is actually a dislike button on most social sharing platforms and I could activate it here.

You guys do know it's 2017 right? ;)

This isn't a generation thing either. I'm 57 this year so not exactly a "millennial" Even my 84 year old neighbour had an iPhone and was on Facebook before he passed away. Seems to be a lot of intolerance for people who embrace modern tech and modern ways of communicating, yet forums themselves we new once and we all embraced those right? and what about bulletin boards before that? I had one and it was quite popular and that was way back when we still had acoustic modems!

You realise there is a whole world of musicians that only use Facebook, twitter and WhatsApp? far more in fact than use a forum for discussing things. The biggest platform by far these days is youtube.

The 'Like' button is optional, no one has to use it. It's really for people who are very familiar with a different form of social media...and by the way what do you think a 'forum' is? It was the original "social media" platform.

The same as no one needs to help us out by using the "share" button.

As I mentioned. There are more things at play here than you see on the forum. I have some very good reasons for introducing these options. Which I will pm you about now just so you know I'm not doing this on a whim.
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Re: Thanks button added

Unread post by SeaGtGruff »

I think the "Thanks" button is a good thing. I also think it's better-- more polite-- to post an actual "Thank you" in some situations. You just have to use your best judgment.

For instance, I'm a member of several other forums, and I've seen cases where someone shares a file-- say, a style they've created-- and everyone posts "Thank you," followed by the original person posting "You're welcome" to each person who thanked him or her.

That's fine at first, but eventually the "recent posts" list fills up with posts in that thread, crowding out other posts that actually have new content. And whenever the thread pops up again, you can't tell if someone posted another new style file, or if it's just another "Thank you!/You're welcome!" exchange, without viewing each new post.

After a while the thread dies down, but several months later someone new discovers the old thread and posts "Thank you!", triggering another wave of posts from newer members who have now been made aware of the style file, and sometimes even from older members who had forgotten that they'd already downloaded the style file back when it was first posted.

So I definitely think there are situations when it would be better to just indicate your thanks by clicking a button that doesn't make the thread pop up again in the "recent posts" list.
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Re: Thanks button added

Unread post by Saul »

That's a very good point Michael and actually one I had not considered. It would be especially problematic on the front part of the site because that pulls in the last 10 posts from the forum so if there was a thread with everyone just saying "thanks" then that is all you would see :(
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