It seems that there are always going to be some who need to be offended by others. Some members having fun, and playing in certain threads, and also playing with the "Thanks" button, offended this type of member, and they complained.
At first the thanks button was completely removed, which sparked a bit of a firestorm among members not so easily offended, and other members who liked the thanks option for their own reasons. Eventually a sort of compromise was reached, where some threads have the thanks option, while some do not.
This way, a few were partially satisfied, while no one is truly satisfied; those who who seek to be offended still are, while those who like the thanks option, or like playing with it, get to use it some of the time only.