Just my personal opinion, but the “like” option has become so dilute and so broad that it’s essentially meaningless. If X likes a post of Y then there’s pressure for Y to like X back. You may not feel it, but I certainly do. Also does “like” mean you like the person, like the particular post, or that you just want to be agreeable?
In general, there’s absence of vigorous debate on this site, and too much “liking”.
I can’t influence other people but I can myself on a good day. I will “like” no more. If I do like/agree/disagree with a post, I will take the time to say why, not just take the easy option of pressing a button.
8 Likes
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
2
I generally just want to be agreeable. And nice. And to be thought of as being agreeable and nice.
I think it’s up to both X and Y to decide which posts they each want to LIKE. I certainly don’t feel any pressure to like someone’s post if they’ve liked mine. I’m not a fan of offal or sushi. So why would I LIKE those types of posts of theirs?
If I want to say something about a post without liking, I’ll quote the pertinent section of the post, and respond.
I’m pretty sure that eventually there will be emoji LIKES, per those who run the site, as discussion has been had on their Site Talk threads. Not sure what they are yet, nor when they’ll arrive. Also not sure if those different likes will allow for a different opion than or .
I come here for fun, information, and camaraderie.
No desire to be part of another Game of Thrones
Like means I enjoyed someone’s comment or contribution.
Jeez…
ETA (since you’ve E’edTA): My post is meant to urge us to make the effort to say why we like or dislike, not to take the easy option of pressing a button.
Does anyone remember when CH (in its waning days) implemented the thumb up/thumb down option. It was like field day in grade school and thankfully didn’t last until the water got hot. So it could be worse.
No recollection of this at all. And I was on that site almost daily for years, until the end. Are you sure you’re not confusing CH with Reddit or something else?
Oh no, it was CH alright. If I remember correctly they started a separate division to contain the topics. One poster who shall remain nameless (you’d know the name) was a target.
I was imprecise. I remember the up-voting, but not the down-voting. And the reason I remember it was because I initially hated it, like the OP here does. And then I came to accept it. Because I was sick of opening threads, hoping to find something new and interesting to read, and seeing “Wow, that looks good!” or “I know, right?” or something similar. This is nice for the person getting complimented or agreed with, but I really don’t need to see it.
I do remember someone on CH complaining about being ganged up on, because she had put forth an unpopular opinion and people were liking posts that disagreed with hers. Maybe this is what you’re referring to.
But I don’t remember the option of a “thumbs down.” I could be wrong, though. It’s happened before.
or 
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