# Reactions: Agree and Thank You in most forums



## mkellogg

Hi everybody,

After a number of months testing Reactions in a few places, we have decided to allow them in a nearly all forums. The exceptions are mainly the Spanish-English and Spanish-French forums.

We have been quite hesitant to allow emoji-style reactions here, as many of you know. A simple "Like" wouldn't work well here, since it could mean either "that is the right translation" or "that was funny". With the ability for use "Thank You" *🙏* and "Agree"  in this version of the Xenforo software, we shouldn't have many problems. You will see the word "Reactions" or its translation in the bottom right corner of posts.

I hope this works well! My main goal is that the threads are more useful to people viewing them later when looking for a good translation. These people often do not have the time to read through 10 posts to find the right answer and a few Agree votes might help them know which translations are preferred.

Mike


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## Masood

Thanks for the update.
Any particular reason for the Spanish-English and Spanish-French forums being excluded?


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## swift

Masood said:


> Thanks for the update.
> Any particular reason for the Spanish-English and Spanish-French forums being excluded?


Yes, that seems odd, given how active those forums are and the quality of the answers provided, especially in Spanish-French.

I’m happy to see this has been implemented in the forum for Dictionary errors & suggestions as well! This way, people can up-vote suggestions and feedback they agree with.

Thanks, Mike!


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## suzi br

I am so pleased to see this - the ability to AGREE will be really helpful in some threads


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## mkellogg

Masood said:


> Thanks for the update.
> Any particular reason for the Spanish-English and Spanish-French forums being excluded?


The moderators of those forums are not comfortable with the concept (yet), so we let them exclude their forums. Different forums are different, so I'm letting the moderators decide.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

But then again, we still have the 'thumbs up' icon in "Smilies" where I thought it means "I approve of/agree with this", since we also have the smiling face emoji for "I think that's funny!", no?


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## elroy

Yes, the smilies still exist.  I’m not sure what you’re getting at.


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## SwissPete

Once you have "reacted", can you "un-react"?


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## elroy

SwissPete said:


> Once you have "reacted", can you "un-react"?


 Yes.  Just click the same button (which will say “Agree” or “Thank you!” rather than “Reactions”).


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## SwissPete

Great. I just tried it on your response.

*Just because I erased my initial reaction does not mean I don't like your answer...*


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## Myridon

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> But then again, we still have the 'thumbs up' icon in "Smilies" where I thought it means "I approve of/agree with this", since we also have the smiling face emoji for "I think that's funny!", no?


The reaction doesn't create an entire post just to say Me, too!  (It would be nice if it didn't bump the thread to the top, too. Does it?) 

English Only could use "Reactions" for "It is the same in American English." and "It is the same in British English."


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

I see only the symbols for "Thanks" and the "thumbs up" (actually "thumb up"). Aren't these the only "Reactions" we can post? Or can we post Smilies as Reactions — why isn't the "Thanks" symbol simply added to the Smilies list?


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## elroy

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> Aren't these the only "Reactions" we can post?


 They are. 


ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> Or can we post Smilies as Reactions


 You can still post smilies in separate posts.  The advantage of Reactions is that they're quicker/more efficient, and they make it easier to see who has agreed with / expressed thanks for which posts. 


ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> why isn't the "Thanks" symbol simply added to the Smilies list?


 I think it would be a nice addition (the idea has been proposed before).  Mike, can it be added?


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## mkellogg

elroy said:


> I think it would be a nice addition (the idea has been proposed before). Mike, can it be added?


Yes, I think it makes sense to add it.


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## elroy

Myridon said:


> (It would be nice if it didn't bump the thread to the top, too. Does it?)


 It does not.


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## Jektor

I think this is an improvement, but unfortunately the symbols seem too small, badly designed, and lack colour and contrast.  I prefer the simple clear kudo system on the eBay forums, which works well:
community.ebay.com.au - community-spirit-2318568#M709530
.


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## elroy

Jektor said:


> too small, badly designed, and lack colour and contrast.


 I have no idea what you’re talking about.   Sincerely.


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## pointvirgule

Jektor said:


> [...] unfortunately the symbols seem too small, badly designed, and lack colour and contrast.


I agree. Even with my reading glasses on, the "thumb up" icon looks like an indistinct yellow spot, and the "thank you" looks like an indistinct yellow spot surrounded by two blue spots. They _do_ lack contrast.

ebay's community forums show, for instance, "2 Kudos". Easier to read.


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## elroy

pointvirgule said:


> Even with my reading glasses on, the "thumb up" icon looks like an indistinct yellow spot, and the "thank you" looks like an indistinct yellow spot surrounded by two blue spots.


 Maybe this is a problem on your end (and Jektor’s).  They don’t look that way to me at all.  Can you post a screenshot? 


pointvirgule said:


> They _do_ lack contrast.


 What does this mean?


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

There's a "thumb(s) down" "Smilie" for "Don't like/disagree". Is the reason why this isn't a "Reaction" that it wouldn't be a shortcut since the person clicking on it would have to say why they didn't like or disagreed with the post in question?


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## elroy

Yes.  It’s unhelpful/uninformative to just say “Disagree” without explaining why.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

elroy said:


> Yes.  It’s unhelpful/uninformative to just say “Disagree” without explaining why.



So it's as I thought; thanks for confirming!


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## mkellogg

pointvirgule said:


> the "thumb up" icon looks like an indistinct yellow spot


I agree, but I am having a hard time making it appear more clear. It is better if slightly larger, but then it overlaps with the .


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## pointvirgule

mkellogg said:


> I agree, but I am having a hard time making it appear more clear. It is better if slightly larger, but then it overlaps with the .


Well, it's not a big deal. Just a bit hard on my aging peepers.

Maybe it would be better if the Agree icon was green?


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## elroy

I'd still like to see a screenshot.  Maybe this is something that only affects certain browsers or something.


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## siares

elroy said:


> I'd still like to see a screenshot.


I think the thank you thing in no way look like hands, more like an antibody or slingshot upside down. The agree icon needs some lining or shading around fingers and nail.
I don't care about the icons either way, but I mind the words as interruptions in the flow of reading a thread, I keep expecting some information to be there.


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## mkellogg

I made a slight adjustment. They are a little larger and better spaced, but still not ideal.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Maybe you could change the color of one or the other?

(Later) I see from LMorland's #31 that *;* suggested something like this in #24.


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## Aliph

On my tablet and even on my phone (not the latest model) they look ok. Never checked on a laptop.


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## elroy

mkellogg said:


> They are a little larger


 I think they're too big now.


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## LMorland

mkellogg, I am _extremely _happy with this enhancement to the Forum! Back in the days when I was quite active here (2006-2011), I never felt a need for it, but -- conditioned by my experience in other social media, obviously -- in the past few months I've found myself wishing for the ability to simply express my agreement without cluttering up the thread with a post, and so I've simply kept silent. As well, being able to thank a respondent without creating a separate post will also help to keep the Forum 'clean'.

So:   

*pointvirgule*, I know you from the French-English Forum obviously (Bonjour !), and I must say that on my laptop I'm not experiencing _any _problem discerning the icons, although I concur with you that changing the color of the 'thank-you hands' might be desirable.  Perhaps you need a new monitor_ sans que vous vous en rendez compte ?  _

Finally, Mike: one other innovation you might consider in future is the ability to include a link to people's Forum handles in responding. I've being doing it for years (as hereabove), but it requires a lot of cutting-and-pasting effort. The advantage is that people reading my response can mouse over the person's forum handle and see what their native language (and experience) is, without having to scroll up the thread.

P.S. Facebook has for years resisted installing a  emoji, and I'm glad you have, too.


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## swift

LMorland said:


> Finally, Mike: one other innovation you might consider in future is the ability to include a link to people's Forum handles in responding. I've being doing it for years (as hereabove), but it requires a lot of cutting-and-pasting effort.


All you need to do is @ mention that person, @LMorland. If the person you’re tagging has the appropriate configuration, they’ll be notified that someone has tagged them somewhere.

I like this feature. It’s an easy way to call somebody’s attention when a mere quote is not enough to prompt some sort of commentary. In the social media era, it also enhances collaboration with people who can add valuable and helpful insights and explanations in their area of expertise.


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## DearPrudence

Now the thank you emoji looks pretty creepy in the banner:


> Thank You 🙏


It looks like a gray Yoda/Stormstrooper. I am not sure what this is supposed to be


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## swift

Hullo, DP!

Are you talking about the emoji as it displays at the bottom of the post? This is what it looks like on my computers and my phones:


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## DearPrudence

Those are fine. I am only referring to the announcement at the top:


> Starting now in most forums, you can use emoji-like "Reactions" to say Thank You 🙏 and Agree . More information in this thread.


In threads, the emojis are displayed well for me.


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## swift

Ah! _That_ banner! 

This is what I see:


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## Loob

swift said:


> Ah! _That_ banner!
> 
> This is what I see:
> View attachment 42099


Yes: it's been changed.
EDIT Oh no it hasn't.  It's just that the banner version of "thanks" looks different on a tablet and on a laptop....


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## SwissPete

In this thread (post 2): Where to send us to school

how did this 'reaction'  

  get in there?


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## siares

I tried, right clicked on the word 'reaction' and opened in new tab, confirmed there. Very cute.


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## Loob

I was wondering that too - thank you, siares!


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## SwissPete

Thank you, siares!


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## Jektor

Jektor said:


> I think this is an improvement, but unfortunately the symbols seem too small, badly designed, and lack colour and contrast.  I prefer the simple clear kudo system on the eBay forums, which works well:
> community.ebay.com.au - community-spirit-2318568#M709530
> .


Somebody asked me off forum, how do you know who gave the kudos?
- Simply click on the word "Kudos" under each post for a list of the kudo givers....
.


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## mkellogg

SwissPete said:


> how did this 'reaction'
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> get in there?


Oh, I purposely hid the heart reaction, trying to keep it to a simple "Agree" and "Thank you".  Sorry, but I will try to remove your ability to use it. In the meantime, make sure that the moderators are OK with you using it in their forum.


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## DearPrudence

swift said:


> Ah! _That_ banner!
> 
> This is what I see:
> View attachment 42099


Oh, it's been removed apparently. But here is what it looked like for me, on Firefox:


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## Hector9

DearPrudence said:


> View attachment 42164



Wow, is that an old man saying thank you?

Maybe it was a Firefox rendering problem displaying the image improperly.


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## DearPrudence

Yes, some kind of gray yoda or something!  Creepy if you ask me.


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## mkellogg

DearPrudence said:


> View attachment 42164



Oh, no. It is the "prayer" emoji, that is often used for "thank you", like I'm trying to do here. But each company gets to create its own interpretation of it. I think what you consider a creepy old Yoda is probably a revered monk in whatever country made your device or browser. What do you see here (🙏)? I did ": pray :" without the spaces to create that.

Also on the page linked above, I see "skin tones" halfway down the page. I think I like Medium Light Skin Tone best.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Actually, I had no idea what that emoij was supposed to mean before reading the explanation here.


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## Jektor

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> Actually, I had no idea what that emoij was supposed to mean before reading the explanation here.
> .





.


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## DearPrudence

mkellogg said:


> Oh, no. It is the "prayer" emoji, that is often used for "thank you", like I'm trying to do here. But each company gets to create its own interpretation of it. I think what you consider a creepy old Yoda is probably a revered monk in whatever country made your device or browser. What do you see here (🙏)? I did ": pray :" without the spaces to create that.


Hmm, this is a basic EliteBook.
This is what your post looks like to me:


And what it looks like in the link you gave:



But well, it's ok. It is displayed normally in posts.


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## Loob

mkellogg said:


> What do you see here (🙏)? I did ": pray :" without the spaces to create that.


On my Samsung tablet (using Chrome) I see the head, arms and praying hands of a small Chinese boy with brown hair and an orange jacket.
Much cuter than DP's scary grey figure!


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## RM1(SS)

Is there a way to stop the notifications that someone has thanked or agreed with me?


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## elroy

Yes, under “Preferences.”


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## Loob

It does look as if some people are using the  Reaction not as "agree" but as "like".


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## Hector9

Loob said:


> It does look as if some people are using the  Reaction not as "agree" but as "like".



True, maybe the "agree" emoji could be replaced by a handshake (or high five) one?

Like this one:


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Loob said:


> It does look as if some people are using the  Reaction not as "agree" but as "like".



So perhaps the "Heart" icon could be included under "Reactions" for "Like" to distinguish it from the "Thumb Up" one for "Approve/Agree"?


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## S.V.

Myridon said:


> English Only could use "Reactions" for "It is the same in American English." and "It is the same in British English."





ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> So perhaps the "Heart" icon could be included under "Reactions" for "Like" to distinguish it from the "Thumb Up" one for "Approve/Agree"?


Oh, and if our English-speaking friends wanted, we could also have some little English hearts, like in this thread. 



















 Though still not sure what a "not here" could be, maybe a grayed out heart?

Edit: maybe grayish and a red -


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## Barque

I get an alert if someone reacts to my post but not if someone reacts to someone else's post in a thread I've posted in. That's fine but does that also apply to the OP/thread starter?

What I mean is--if A replies to the thread starter and B agrees with A, does the thread starter get notified? It might be useful to him to know that someone's endorsed a reply he's received.


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## DonnyB

Barque said:


> I get an alert if someone reacts to my post but not if someone reacts to someone else's post in a thread I've posted in. That's fine but does that also apply to the OP/thread starter?
> 
> What I mean is--if A replies to the thread starter and B agrees with A, does the thread starter get notified? It might be useful to him to know that someone's endorsed a reply he's received.


Not as far as I know: if someone 'reacts' to one of your posts, you're notified (provided you have notifications turned on) but I don't think the OP or anyone else in the thread is.


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## Loob

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> So perhaps the "Heart" icon could be included under "Reactions" for "Like" to distinguish it from the "Thumb Up" one for "Approve/Agree"?


I think the intention was to steer clear of "Like", though?


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## Barque

DonnyB said:


> Not as far as I know: if someone 'reacts' to one of your posts, you're notified (provided you have notifications turned on) but I don't think the OP or anyone else in the thread is.


I see. Thank you.


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## bearded

Why is there a symbol for ''thank you'' but no symbol for ''you are welcome/gern geschehen/je vous en prie/de nada''?  When someone thanks me, I often would like to reply (and I occasionally use ) , but it's a pity wasting a post just to say ''you are welcome''.


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## mkellogg

bearded said:


> no symbol for ''you are welcome


I tried to do that, but you can't "react" to your own posts. In other words, if somebody says "thanks" to your post, you would have to find some other post of theirs to say "you're welcome", which doesn't make much sense.


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## bearded

mkellogg said:


> if somebody says "thanks" to your post


They often thank me in a separate post of theirs (e.g. many thanks, bearded), to which I'd like to react by saying 'you are welcome'.


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## mkellogg

bearded said:


> They often thank me in a separate post of theirs (e.g. many thanks, bearded), to which I'd like to react by saying 'you are welcome'.


Ah, I see. Don't expect this addition soon, but I'll think about it. Even if we do add it, what would the icon be?


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## Sowka

bearded said:


> They often thank me in a separate post of theirs (e.g. many thanks, bearded), to which I'd like to react by saying 'you are welcome'.


In this case, I think I'd use the "thank you" icon.


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## Barque

DonnyB said:


> Not as far as I know: if someone 'reacts' to one of your posts, you're notified (provided you have notifications turned on) but I don't think the OP or anyone else in the thread is.


I was thinking about this (my post to which the above is an answer is #58). I think it might be useful for the OP to know when someone agrees with an answer he's received--in some cases it might reassure him that the answer he received wasn't a one-off or an unusual suggestion.

In my opinion, it's more important for the OP to know that someone agrees with an answer someone else gave him than for an answerer to know that someone agrees with him. It's different on forums which are more discussion forums of course. The language forums aren't so much discussion forums--they are aimed at answering questions.

My suggestion wouldn't always work, I agree. A might start a thread in January, get an answer and never come back. B might ask a related question in March and get an answer from C, and if D agrees with C, the notification would go to A rather than B.

I'm not sure what the solution could be--perhaps notifications of reactions could go to everyone who posted on that thread till that point? Yes, it would increase the number of alerts, but I see it's possible to have selective alerts and people could enable alerts only for new posts and not for reactions, if they wanted to.


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## bearded

mkellogg said:


> Even if we do add it, what would the icon be?


Maybe an icon like this one would be suitable  - of course reduced in size..


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## Roymalika

mkellogg said:


> Ah, I see. Don't expect this addition soon, but I'll think about it. Even if we do add it, what would the icon be?


What about a handshake icon? I think it would be a good idea to include that as a "You're welcome".


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## Loob

Roymalika said:


> What about a handshake icon? I think it would be a good idea to include that as a "You're welcome".
> 
> View attachment 42591


I think that would make quite a good "Agree" icon: it wouldn't have the potential for confusion with "Like" that   has.


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## Hector9

This one could be a "_You are welcome_" emoji: 🤗


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## tsoapm

RM1(SS) said:


> Is there a way to stop the notifications that someone has thanked or agreed with me?





elroy said:


> Yes, under “Preferences.”


Aware that I’m probably asking too much, I’d like to be able to stop notifications for Agree only (hopefully having people agree with me won’t be such a rare occurence that I want to be notifed about it!). But that’s not possible, is it?


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## Barque

tsoapm said:


> But that’s not possible, is it?


It is. Click on your profile and go to Preferences and you'll find you can stop notifications only for reactions, but keep them for new replies in threads you participate in.


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## elroy

I think tsoapm would like to get notifications for "Thank you" but not "Agree."  

I don't think that's an option.


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## tsoapm

Yes, that's what I meant: thanks.


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## Roymalika

Loob said:


> I think that would make quite a good "Agree" icon: it wouldn't have the potential for confusion with "Like" that   has.


You're right. I was wrong.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

At any rate, the Reactions option does seem to have reduced the number of posts that simply say "I agree".


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## Abu Talha

Would it be possible to add another "Thank you" icon other than the folded/joined hands? Perhaps the words "Thanks!" in a yellow box? I know it will be in English but I think that should be ok.


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## Sowka

Abu Talha said:


> Would it be possible to add another "Thank you" icon other than the folded/joined hands? Perhaps the words "Thanks!" in a yellow box? I know it will be in English but I think that should be ok.


Why would you like to replace the current "Thank you" symbol? I've seen it used as a "thank you" symbol before, and I just looked for explanations. On Emojipedia, the symbol is explained as follows:



> Depicting two hands pressed together and fingers pointed up, 🙏 Folded Hands is variously used as a gesture of prayer (religious or secular), thanks, request, and greeting as well to express such sentiments as hope, praise, gratitude, reverence, and respect. (...)



When I use the symbol, I mean to express gratitude and praise. I use the "Agree" button if I feel confident that I'm qualified to agree, and the "Thank you" button if I can't really judge the quality of the comment, and I just want to thank the person for their contribution.


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## Abu Talha

Sowka said:


> Why would you like to replace the current "Thank you" symbol? I've seen it used as a "thank you" symbol before, and I just looked for explanations.


I'm just not familiar with it in my culture, especially as a symbol of thanks, although I do understand that it is used as such (as you mention). So I was wondering if another option might be provided.

Thanks!


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## Barque

Abu Talha said:


> So I was wondering if another option might be provided.


That's up to the mods of course but people are used to this one. Try thinking of it as just a symbol, or type "Thank you".


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## Sowka

Abu Talha said:


> I'm just not familiar with it in my culture, especially as a symbol of thanks, although I do understand that it is used as such (as you mention). So I was wondering if another option might be provided.
> 
> Thanks!


I see. Thank you for your explanation.


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## Barque

Abu Talha said:


> I'm just not familiar with it in my culture,


For what it's worth, this reason doesn't strike me as very convincing. Does the fact that a single member says he isn't familiar with it justify having to do the work to include another symbol? I note that you haven't said you find it offensive or disrespectful, just unfamiliar. 

I'm sure it's unfamiliar to many people. It wasn't very familiar to me as an emoji till a few months ago, though I see the actual gesture used all the time in my country. There are many things that were unfamiliar to me till I got used to them, and then they became familiar.


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## L'irlandais

My youngest brother spent 12 years in Nepal, and i have met several of his friends, so I am very familiar with Namaste and its significance.  This thank you symbol makes me think of the namaste symbol, rather than any form of thanks I can imagine in English.  Post CoVid more folks are using this here in the West.  However I am a little uncomfortable with it.  I do see an argument for considering it culturally insensitive.
What Does Namaste Mean? Should Christians Say It?


> But therein lies what I see as the fundamental disconnect with the teachings of yoga and [Christianity].


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## Barque

It _is_ the _namaste_, as far as I can tell, and the _namaste_ is used to express gratitude, a little formally, among other things.

I don't think of it as particularly religious--it's used in general social interaction here all the time. Perhaps it strikes others as religious but I don't really see why it should cause discomfort--to two persons now. By that logic, people who aren't Christians should feel uncomfortable if someone said "Merry Christmas" to them.

From your link:  _Namaste is a Sanskrit phrase combining two phrases to mean “I bow to you” or “The divine in me bows to the divine in you.”_
I assure you many Indians have no idea what the word actually means. It's just a common social gesture.


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## L'irlandais

Personal feelings are, well just that.  When my close friends here do the Namaste and bow, it makes me feel uncomfortable and I don’t do it in return.  Certainly a growing number of the population have no religion in their lives.  That in itself does not strip this religious sign of its signification.
What Does the Indian Gesture of 'Namaste' Really Mean?


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## DonnyB

Abu Talha said:


> I'm just not familiar with it in my culture, especially as a symbol of thanks, although I do understand that it is used as such (as you mention). So I was wondering if another option might be provided.
> 
> Thanks!


I can't say I'm all that familiar with it as a thank-you gesture in real life: we don't generally use it in the UK as that - or at least, I don't think I've never personally come across it.  Having said that, I have seen it interpreted as an emoji in that way and it doesn't make me feel _uncomfortable_.

The trouble, I think from the point of view of accommodating those of us who'd prefer to have something else, is what you could use instead.


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## Barque

L'irlandais said:


> Personal feelings are, well just that.


I'm not saying you aren't entitled to your personal feelings, and whether you use it or not is of course your prerogative. I'm saying--does the fact that something makes you personally uncomfortable justify challenging it when many others seem fine with it, and especially when it isn't something offensive or disrespectful or hurtful?

I don't use that emoji either but I don't consider that justification for saying it should be changed.


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## L'irlandais

Another forum I frequently visit has this cool 🤷 While it in no way means thanks, it is one I’d like to see on WR.  But that is apparently interpreted differently on the other side of the Atlantic.


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## Barque

L'irlandais said:


> Another forum I frequently visit has this cool 🤷


I initially thought it was an angel with wings (Christian culture), then thought it might be a monkey (lots of people wouldn't like that either) and then realised it's a child touching his/her ears.

I'm fine with it whatever it is, but there'll probably be others who'll "misread" it just as I did and won't bother to look again.


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## DonnyB

L'irlandais said:


> Another forum I frequently visit has this cool 🤷 While it in no way means thanks, it is one I’d like to see on WR.  But that is apparently interpreted differently on the other side of the Atlantic.


I looke it up and found it being interpreted variously as signifying puzzlement, indifference or disinterest - equating to the enigmatic "Whatever"  

While I agree its a cool emoji, I'm not sure it represents a sentiment we're keen to encourage members to express in the forums here.


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## Sowka

Just an idea: A flower to say "Thank you"? 

🌷 or 💐 for example.


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## Loob

Sowka said:


> Just an idea: A flower to say "Thank you"?
> 
> 🌷 or 💐 for example.


I like that!


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## Roymalika

Sowka said:


> Just an idea: A flower to say "Thank you"?
> 
> 🌷 or 💐 for example.


I don't have any problem with . It sounds more respectful and polite. 




L'irlandais said:


> Another forum I frequently visit has this cool 🤷


It feels like it means "I don't care!", so it may be rude to some people.


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## velisarius

I find   pretty offensive (aesthetically speaking), but I shrugged and learned to live with it, even use it myself on occasion.

I appreciate the respectful palms-together symbol, the yellow colour being bright and cheerful. It's just a symbol, it's not like it's something hateful like a swastika. Flowers are too girly.


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## L'irlandais

On the other forum (which uses unupdated vBulletin) the emoji moves, visibly shrugging the shoulders.
The WR version is a poor substitute, but I haven’t yet done a screen capture:  I will try and add that later. 
( 

 + )
Body language is such a huge part of communication, I don’t see how we can survive without such emojis.  Shrug dates from 1450.
In Ireland, it is far from the Gallic shrug, and I see no insult in its use.  It means "Search me." where I come from.  SEARCH ME! | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary. A revealing point of language usage is that offense is taken, not given.  "Take offense" usage  So if someone interprets my « search me » emoji as meaning something entirely different, that doesn’t change what I meant a jot.

But I can understand how rude people could add meaning to the gesture beyond what I understand; indifference I hear it means in the USA.  Seems to me Americians are indifferent to a lot of things.  not so with the Irish.  Cultural I guess, like Gridiron is split into offense and defense.  I have a work colleague who uses this as a sign of resignation.  Not sure how distain can be read into it, but happy to believe some can do. One online dictionary suggests it is a sign of rejection, dismissive, dread or lack of concern.  Dread? Seriously ?

To cut a long story short, the analogy of the Irish shrug shows that while Namaste may simply mean « Thank you » in the US of A, but in other countries it means a damn sight more, like « I bow to the divine in you. »


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## Abu Talha

Sowka said:


> Just an idea: A flower to say "Thank you"?
> 
> 🌷 or 💐 for example.


It sounds like a good idea to me, but then I noticed that someone didn't quite like it.


DonnyB said:


> The trouble, I think from the point of view of accommodating those of us who'd prefer to have something else, is what you could use instead.


Since the idea is to be polite and thank the poster, maybe we can avoid any associated imagery, and just have text in the reactions UI. The reactions can then show up as: "You, X, and Y have thanked Z for this post."

This text can be added for all UI languages that this forum supports.


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## Cagey

An emoji is nice, but we don't seem to have a symbol of approval that has the same meaning for all participants in this forum.
I agree with the use of text suggested above.


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## Jektor

Cagey said:


> An emoji is nice, but we don't seem to have a symbol of approval that has the same meaning for all participants in this forum.
> I agree with the use of text suggested above.
> .





Jektor said:


> I prefer the simple clear kudo system on the eBay forums, which works well:
> community.ebay.com.au - community-spirit-2318568#M709530



.
Something like this?...


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Barque said:


> I initially thought it was an angel with wings (Christian culture), then thought it might be a monkey (lots of people wouldn't like that either) and then realised it's a child touching his/her ears.



Or the "Hear  No Evil" monkey? Or Hanuman, the Monkey God?


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## L'irlandais

Jektor said:


> .
> View attachment 43643


See my #96 for actual emoji I was speaking about.  WR doesn’t support it.
#89 represents what you get when you type colon shrug colon
The point of both posts was to underline that it’s difficult to get agreement on emojis.

*Kudos* are usually offered in response to an exceptional achievement.


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## bearded

Roymalika said:


> I don't have any problem with . It sounds more respectful and polite.


I don't want to be vulgar, but did nobody notice that the current symbol for ''thank you'' might resemble male genitals (except for colours) rather than praying hands?


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

bearded said:


> I don't want to be vulgar, but did nobody notice that the current symbol for ''thank you'' might resemble male genitals (except for colours) rather than praying hands?



Um, not I.

BTW, I don't know about _italiano_, but "blue balls" in American (at least) English is a painful condition in men caused by being sexually stimulated but denied release (by a _rizzacazi*). 
*_Sì, ho dovuto cercare questa parola nel diccionario WR.


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## bearded

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> "blue balls" in American …. is a painful condition...


I didn't know that.  As I wrote, colours do not fit anyway.


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## ewie

bearded said:


> I don't want to be vulgar, but did nobody notice that the current symbol for ''thank you'' might resemble male genitals (except for colours) rather than praying hands?


 You've been looking at the wrong kinds of genitals, Beardy


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## bearded

ewie said:


> You've been looking at the wrong kinds of genitals, Beardy


  
I forget my glasses at home on occasion.


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## swift

I wish we had the ❤️ reaction in the _Culture Café_.


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## Loob

swift said:


> I wish we had the ❤ reaction in the _Culture Café_.


A  reaction would be useful in CC too.


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## pointvirgule

Sorry for bumping this thread, but I was wondering if it would be possible for us to be able to see the "Reaction score" of other forer@s in their "member card," along with their post count. Perhaps having a look at people's "Agree" count might help askers better assess the credibility of those who answer their questions. Or is that a frivolous request?


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## swift

pointvirgule said:


> Perhaps having a look at people's "Agree" count might help askers better assess the credibility of those who answer their questions.


The “agree” count could be misleading too. Some people get lots of “agree” reactions in non-linguistic forums.


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## pointvirgule

swift said:


> Some people get lots of “agree” reactions in non-linguistic forums.


True, but it still shows that lots of people agree with them, which isn't a bad thing. 
OK, to be honest, I'm just curious to see other peeps' scores. Am I alone? 
Besides, I think that piece of information is more useful than the post count, which is pretty meaningless per se.


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## swift

pointvirgule said:


> True, but it still shows that lots of people agree with them, which isn't a bad thing.


I see your point. However, someone may have reasonable arguments and give good explanations on non-linguistic issues, but provide preposterous or misleading answers in linguistic matters. 🙃


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## Loob

pointvirgule said:


> I'm just curious to see other peeps' scores. Am I alone?


I think you might be.  I'm really, really not curious to see other people's reaction totals - they don't mean anything.


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## DonnyB

Loob said:


> I think you might be.  I'm really, really not curious to see other people's reaction totals - they don't mean anything.


There was a glitch early on in the implementation process whereby for a brief period that information was publicly visible.  I confess to having found it quite interesting (although part of that I daresay was the novelty of being able to view something I wasn't really supposed to be able to see: it brought out the voyeur in me  ).

Having said that, I wouldn't personally object to mine being viewable.  I'm curious about how much demand there is for a preference setting option to allow it - assuming it's technically possible, that is.


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## velisarius

I don't think it's very useful to take any steps that might encourage members to regard posting on WR as  some kind of pissing contest. 

Also, some members are getting into the habit of "agreeing" with every answer in a thread, which seems to defeat the purpose.


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## Loob

velisarius said:


> I don't think it's very useful to take any steps that might encourage members to regard posting on WR as  some kind of pissing contest.
> 
> Also, some members are getting into the habit of "agreeing" with every answer in a thread, which seems to defeat the purpose.


Hear hear to both points.


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## suzi br

velisarius said:


> I don't think it's very useful to take any steps that might encourage members to regard posting on WR as  some kind of pissing contest.
> 
> Also, some members are getting into the habit of "agreeing" with every answer in a thread, which seems to defeat the purpose.



Pithily put, my dear! 

There is at least one person who seems to respond to every single post  it's weird, does it stem from the LIKE habit on social media? Meaning: I've seen your post ... ? 
Anyway, I am not complaining cos I have asked for this facility for YEARS and really apprecitate being able to just add a quick tick to someone who "beat me" to an answer, or to show "sides" in a debated point.


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## DonnyB

There is evidence that a few members seem to be mis-using "agree" as "like", although I think it's fair to say that it's quite a small minority and it wasn't something which was picked up on as a problem when we did the trial run last year.

There is one forum which has both ("agree" _and_ "like"), as do conversations, so that should give us some idea of whether that is in fact what people are doing.


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## Loob

DonnyB said:


> There is one forum which has both ("agree" _and_ "like"), as do conversations, so that should give us some idea of whether that is in fact what people are doing.


I suspect that some people will still see 'heart' as _*love*_ and 'thumbsup' as _*like. *_


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Loob said:


> I suspect that some people will still see 'heart' as _*love*_ and 'thumbsup' as _*like. *_



Or see 'thumbsup' as 'agree', which is what I mean by it.


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## pointvirgule

velisarius said:


> I don't think it's very useful to take any steps that might encourage members to regard posting on WR as some kind of pissing contest.


Is that what you think my motivation was when I brought up the matter? I'm flattered, really!
On the contrary, one might consider that any steps that encourage people to post thoughtful, quality answers might be a good thing, no?


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## velisarius

I'm not questioning your motivation, pointvirgule  Wouldn't dream of it. I was just speaking generally.


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## DonnyB

pointvirgule said:


> On the contrary, one might consider that any steps that encourage people to post thoughtful, quality answers might be a good thing, no?


Yes, I think anything which encourages that is definitely worth considering.

All the same, just supposing people were able to see that I'd posted 128 responses that people had "agreed" with and 137 that people had "thanked" me for (those aren't the actual figures, by the way  ), I'm a little curious as to what that would actually tell anyone.


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## machadinho

@mkellogg, the colors attract too much attention. I'd like to suggest colors with less contrast, maybe just shades of a single color.


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## elroy

This is my personal opinion as a forum member, not as a moderator:

While it can be fun to check out other users' reaction scores and it's true that making them visible might motivate some users to improve the quality of their posts, reaction scores should not be taken at face value. Reactions aren’t an option in every forum, and even if they were, the score depends on so many factors such as how often you post, who you help, who’s more likely to give reactions, etc. that they really can’t be taken as indicative of anything other than the simple fact that you have received x number of reactions!


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## L'irlandais

> Reactions (8)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Agree (8)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you! (8)


I don’t think this info tells much about the quality of my posts. Some of my most helpful posts received no reactions.



Loob said:


> Hear hear to both points.


Out of interest, why didn’t you use the agree button, to show your agreement ?


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## Loob

I wanted to say something stronger than .


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Loob said:


> I wanted to say something stronger than .



Can we put up   ?


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## Loob

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> Can we put up   ?


Have you tried?


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## swift

Loob said:


> I wanted to say something stronger than .


Should we add the “hear, hear” button? 

👂^2


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## Loob

swift said:


> Should we add the “hear, hear” button?
> 
> 👂^2


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Loob said:


> Have you tried?



No, I haven't. Have you? (Sorry, I don't want to sound like Bret "Boofer" Kavanaugh(ful).) I'll try now. 


swift said:


> Should we add the “hear, hear” button?
> 
> 👂^2



, but I guess we can't post "x2", either.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

I've just tried, and I can't, apparently (unless, for the nth time, I'm going about it in the wrong way).


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## Loob

One click on a Reaction adds the Reaction to the foot of the post; a second click deletes the Reaction.


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## machadinho

By the way, this thing:  looks as if it was wearing a mask.


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## Jektor

pointvirgule said:


> #109: I was wondering if it would be possible for us to be able to see the "Reaction score" of other forer@s in their "member card," along with their post count. Perhaps having a look at people's "Agree" count might help askers better assess the credibility of those who answer their questions. Or is that a frivolous request?
> .


I have no objection, but I can't think why I would want to see it. I am interested in the reactions to an individual post, but I don't think I would be interested in a poster's total reaction score. However, the currently available member's total number of posts figure is useful.
.


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## machadinho

Dear @mkellogg, here is another thing: push reaction notifications appear in the interface language of the user who reacted to our posts, not in our interface language. I got a Danke! this morning. This discloses what language a user has chosen, which may be an issue. Also, we won't be able to know what reaction it was until we check out the icon in the thread if we don't speak the language. Thanks.


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## mkellogg

machadinho said:


> push reaction notifications appear in the interface language of the user who reacted to our posts, not in our interface language. I got a Danke! this morning.


Well, there isn't much I can do to change that, and I don't consider it too big of an issue. Think of it as an unexpected feature.


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## machadinho

No problem. Thanks


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## Şafak

Although the total reaction score of a forero seems meaningless, I see no reason not to implement the feature as it won't adversely affect the usefulness of the website nor its optimization (functionality?). On top of that, I assume it will just take a couple of strings of code to code  a script that will calculate the aggregated number of received reactions and display it somewhere. We might as well try and see how it will work out.


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## elroy

Jektor said:


> the currently available member's total number of posts figure is useful.


 How so?


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## Nanon

pointvirgule said:


> Sorry for bumping this thread, but I was wondering if it would be possible for us to be able to see the "Reaction score" of other forer@s in their "member card," along with their post count. Perhaps having a look at people's "Agree" count might help askers better assess the credibility of those who answer their questions. Or is that a frivolous request?


Some of us post in forums where Reactions have not been implemented. How "credible" are these members?


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## Peterdg

Jektor said:


> However, the currently available member's total number of posts figure is useful.
> 
> 
> elroy said:
> 
> 
> 
> How so?
Click to expand...

Well, it gives you some indication of the dedication of the user in question. It is also an indication of how familiar a user is with the forum's mode of operation, tradition, rules, history etc.


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## L'irlandais

L'irlandais said:


> I don’t think this info tells much about the quality of my posts. Some of my most helpful posts received no reactions.


In a short few weeks:





 Reactions (36) 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Agree (36) 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Thank you! (36)
It’s a dopamine thing.


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## Loob

L'irlandais said:


> In a short few weeks:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Reactions (36)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Agree (36)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you! (36)
> It’s a dopamine thing.


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## siares

L'irlandais said:


> In a short few weeks:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Reactions (36)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Agree (36)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you! (36)
> It’s a dopamine thing.


Now I want to find your posts which received a heart, whyyyy can't I?


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## L'irlandais

Each member can see their own 

Reactions received
But not those of other members.


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## L'irlandais

Can you both read my reactions received page?


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## siares

Unfortunately no, mine is in Account details, and that page is just visible for my account.


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## Cagey

L'irlandais said:


> Can you both read my reactions received page?


When I click the link in your post, I see my "Reactions received" page, not yours.   Is that what you were asking?


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## L'irlandais

Yes that’s what I meant.  This information is personal.


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## John V

mkellogg said:


> Hi everybody,
> 
> After a number of months testing Reactions in a few places, we have decided to allow them in a nearly all forums. The exceptions are mainly the Spanish-English and Spanish-French forums.
> 
> We have been quite hesitant to allow emoji-style reactions here, as many of you know. A simple "Like" wouldn't work well here, since it could mean either "that is the right translation" or "that was funny". With the ability for use "Thank You" *🙏* and "Agree"  in this version of the Xenforo software, we shouldn't have many problems. You will see the word "Reactions" or its translation in the bottom right corner of posts.
> 
> I hope this works well! My main goal is that the threads are more useful to people viewing them later when looking for a good translation. These people often do not have the time to read through 10 posts to find the right answer and a few Agree votes might help them know which translations are preferred.
> 
> Mike


I've just joined the French-English discussion and was amazed to find that there was no way to reply to posts there even though you have:  "To ask your first question, choose a forum and click the Post Thread button on the right side." The Post Thread button does not word and there is no Reply button on the right such as there is here. Very dismotivating. I'm not likely to stay long. Goodbye.


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## DearPrudence

Hi, John V, and welcome to the forums 

This is a surprising comment because there _is _a button to post a thread in the French-English forums:
it is at the very top, to the right of "French-English Vocabulary / Vocabulaire Français-Anglais"; it is blue and it reads "Post thread".

If you want to answer in an existing thread, just write in the box at the end of the thread, and click on "Post reply" in the bottom right-hand corner, as you have done to post here.

But maybe I'm missing something


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## John V

Yes. You are missing something. Do I have to explain again? The button Post Thread does not work. On the right, on this page their is a Reply button, but on the page I was viewing only a Reactions button. My next question: How do I unsubscribe? Where is THAT button?


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## Sowka

There is a difference between "being in a forum" and "being in a thread".

If you see the "Reactions" button, you are in a thread. You can't post a thread within a thread. 

So you have to move out of the thread, one level up, into the forum, and there you will most probably find the button "Post thread".

Edit:  It is also possible that the thread you wanted to reply to is closed. In this case, you can indeed just "React" and not "Reply". Most of our threads, however, are open.


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## LMorland

John V,

It would be helpful if you were to share the link where you're experiencing this problem.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Under posts we see "  (You*,) X, Y, Z and (number) others". How do we know which members ed it and which ones ed it?
*Except of course under one's own posts.


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## siares

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> How do we know which members ed it and which ones ed it?


Click on the names beside the icons, it opens up a list.


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## Şafak

What about "disagree" or "dislike" buttons? Are there any plans to introduce them?


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## Sowka

Jennifer Weiss said:


> What about "disagree" or "dislike" buttons? Are there any plans to introduce them?


In my opinion, a "disagree" without a reason is meaningless. Therefore, I think it is good that there is no "disagree" button. Disagreement should be politely, in accordance with the rules, explained in a post.


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