The "Thanks" button is gone - Take II.

[dmoore19]

I would like to thank each and every one of you for a very entertaining thread.........But I can't find the button.

 

[clint@uniquescuba.com]

The staff has reviewed the

feature and has decided to remove it. We felt that it has contributed to an unhealthy polarization of the community and was susceptible to abuse by a few.

As always, your input and comments were invaluable in reaching this decision. Now it's back to your regularly scheduled thankless program!

WOW....!!!!

"Unhealthy Polarization of the Community..???" - what genius came up with that crap?

"The Staff has reviewed the Thank Button feature and has decided to remove it" - Did you hire the DEMA BOD to run your forum into the ground?

I really like Scubaboard and have viewed and participated for several years. I have to admit that I don't visit as often as I used to, but I can guarantee you... The presence of the Thank You button has nothing to do with it.

I can honestly say it's the increasing numbers of useless posts that only turn into pages and pages of members inserting stupid, goofy pictures that have nothing to do with the subject at hand.

You see, for me, the Thank You button is one of the only ways to sift though miles and mountains of members that contribute very little to the board other than clicks and traffic.

When you find yourself in a thread and all these bums are trying to hijack that thread into a Stupid Discussion about Burnt Toast, your only hope is someone like Trace Malin standing up, contributing, and keeping the thread in check.

When he does that, he get's thanked by the members, which in turn is a clear indication of his Earned Authority inside this forum....

For me, the thank button is a BS filter that I will really miss. Without it, well... it's gonna be a mess.

 

[wrybosome]

see what I mean about a curmudgeon scoring button?

 

[Akimbo]

Since "Thanks" were not anonymous, I find it difficult to see how abuse is an issue. "Thanks" simultaneously served as useful feedback to the writer, reduced excessive posts to slog though, and allowed people to judge a post based on the perceived value they associate with the person offering the "Thanks". I reconsidered several posts I had dismissed based on the respect I had developed for a member who posted a "Thanks".

It is not hard to guess that a "Thanks" was for providing useful information, because someone agrees, or for making a statement that corresponds with someone's sentiments.

I can only guess that you could scam the system by signing up to ScubaBoard with several E-mail accounts and/or collude with other members. It doesn't take long to notice that 90% of a person's "Thanks" were coming from the same members. People quickly identify member's post that they respect and those they discount on any Internet Forum.

If scam "Thanks" are of real concern, then how about an option to see the number offered to an individual by username? I personally see the whole thing as a non-problem.

 

[merxlin]

Is there the possibility that someone could run up their "Thanks!" count in so many of those nonsensical threads that it would lend an air of "Earned Authority" to them, and possibly mislead a newer or uneducated member into considering what they say, whether it was sound advice or not? I realize that subsequent posts may clarify that bad information, but what if it is clarified by members with lower "Thanks!" counts- does that make their opinions appear to be of less authority?

And is it the person we are thanking, or that particular post's information? Wouldn't the number of "Thanks!" a post received be a better indicator of it's worth than the number of "Thanks!" the poster receives?

 

[ktomlinson]

I personally liked the thanks button. I signed up to be a supporting member because of the lawsuit. All I wanted in return was some scubaboard stickers. Were the discussions regarding taking away the thanks button so intense that no one has time to return the 3 private messages that I have sent requesting them? (over the course of 6 weeks, I didn't bombard anyone) I mean f@ck, not even a we are out of stickers reply? And I still have ads.

 

[flots am]

I personally liked the thanks button. I signed up to be a supporting member because of the lawsuit. All I wanted in return was some scubaboard stickers. Were the discussions regarding taking away the thanks button so intense that no one has time to return the 3 private messages that I have sent requesting them? (over the course of 6 weeks, I didn't bombard anyone) I mean f@ck, not even a we are out of stickers reply? And I still have ads.

You have to turn off your own ads in User Control Panel -> Edit Options -> Display ads for supporting members.

 

[Cave Diver]

I personally liked the thanks button. I signed up to be a supporting member because of the lawsuit. All I wanted in return was some scubaboard stickers. Were the discussions regarding taking away the thanks button so intense that no one has time to return the 3 private messages that I have sent requesting them? (over the course of 6 weeks, I didn't bombard anyone) I mean f@ck, not even a we are out of stickers reply? And I still have ads.

You should be able to turn the ads on and off through your user settings. I've gone ahead and turned them off for you. Another staff member is looking into the sticker issue.

 

[ktomlinson]

Thanks to teamcasa for responding to me regarding the stickers and to flots am for telling me how to turn off ads

 

[ktomlinson]

And to cavediver for turning them off for me.