# Where is 'thanks' or 'Like' button



## QuangHai

Hi there, I am a newbie here. In last couple of days, I have posted some questions in English only Forum. I got warmly help from people and would like to thank them by clicking 'thanks' or 'like' button rather than post a reply which may somehow spam the forum! How should I thank here?


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## Egmont

There is no such button on this site, though it has been discussed. (If you go through this Comments and Suggestions forum, you will surely find some of those discussions.) The usual method of thanking people is to post a short reply, perhaps naming members whose posts you found particularly helpful. Such a reply is not considered spam.


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## Josey Wails

How bizarre. So why are there "trophies" for having so many of your posts "liked"?


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## Peterdg

Josey Wails said:


> So why are there "trophies" for having so many of your posts "liked"?


That feature has been turned off for the WRF forums. If I'm not mistaken, the trophy points in this forum are based only on the number of posts a user has made. They are not useful. They are there just because the software (Xenforo) provides them.


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## The Photographist

I think the Like option is a good one for a site like this.  I often find myself in agreement with what another member has posted, but the only way that I can express it (for the benefit of the OP and others) is to write a new post.  If I have nothing to contribute other than agreement, it's a wasted post.  The Like Post option changes that.

I don't know if it makes any difference, but the owner of another XenForo-based forum I frequent mentioned that since enabling the Like feature, the "useless" post count (and thereby, the server load) has gone down.


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## Bondstreet

.
_>> #1: I got warmly help from people, and would like to thank them by clicking a 'thanks' or 'like' button,  rather than post a reply which may somehow spam the forum!

>> #5: I think the Like option is a good one for a site like this. I often find myself in agreement with what another member has posted, but the only way that I can express it (for the benefit of the OP and others) is to write a new post. If I have nothing to contribute other than agreement, it's a wasted post. The Like Post option changes that.
_
I agree.

Here's an example of a thread which makes almost exclusive use of "kudos" or "likes". It provides a quick way of saying "thanks" and you can also see at a glance how popular and/or helpful a post is via the kudos figure.  It would be tedious in the extreme to have to keep writing "I like that" or "thank you" in separate following posts:

community.ebay.com.au - the nothing anything thread
.


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## Stoggler

Does having a like function really add anything?  This is a website for serious discussions about language, not some sub-Facebook/Twitter popularity contest.  Having number of likes shown adds nothing to any discussion, and is an arbitrary figure based on who just happens to have looked at a discussion and read the responses.


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## Red Arrow

True, a "like" button isn't needed. A "thanks" button would be nice, however.


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## chamyto

It is curious, when I put the arrow with the computer's mouse next to the views it appears a message that says: "members who liked the first message." 
So, my question is: does this imply that WR forums will have a like/ thanks button/option in the future?

Regards.


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## Stoggler

chamyto said:


> It is curious, when I put the arrow with the computer's mouse next to the views it appears a message that says: "members who liked the first message."
> So, my question is: does this imply that WR forums will have a like/ thanks button/option in the future?



That's probably something to do with what Peterg mentions in message no.4 - perhaps a functionality that isn't turned on.


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## desi4life

Stoggler said:


> Does having a like function really add anything?  This is a website for serious discussions about language, not some sub-Facebook/Twitter popularity contest.  Having number of likes shown adds nothing to any discussion, and is an arbitrary figure based on who just happens to have looked at a discussion and read the responses.



I agree. A 'like' button would be pointless. So would a 'thanks' button. It's a sign of laziness to me if people want a 'thanks' button to click instead of typing one or two words to thank someone.


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## Josey Wails

Stoggler said:


> Does having a like function really add anything?  This is a website for serious discussions about language, not some sub-Facebook/Twitter popularity contest.  Having number of likes shown adds nothing to any discussion, and is an arbitrary figure based on who just happens to have looked at a discussion and read the responses.



Interesting point of view. Makes me wonder if a like function in a more widespread way will one day go the way of the dodo, as did the hit counters you used to see on websites all the time in the 90s. Still, while I mostly agree with you I think there is some value in having some handy representation of consensus with a comment, which can sometimes can give it merit or credence, though certainly this is not always the case.


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## desi4life

Josey Wails said:


> Still, while I mostly agree with you I think there is some value in having some handy representation of consensus with a comment, which can sometimes can give it merit or credence, though certainly this is not always the case.



It can be counterproductive, especially in threads with contentious debates, because some people can be motivated by their own biases to form a 'consensus' and that may give a comment unnecessary merit or credence. That's part of the reason why it makes more sense for Facebook/Twitter rather than a serious language discussion forum.


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## Josey Wails

desi4life said:


> It can be counterproductive, especially in threads with contentious debates, because some people can be motivated by their own biases to form a 'consensus' and that may give a comment unnecessary merit or credence. That's part of the reason why it makes more sense for Facebook/Twitter rather than a serious language discussion forum.


Yes I can see that. Not only unnecessary merit or credence but also undeserved. Best to let the discussion do the "talking".


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