New Features...
 

A couple of new features we're rolling out here...

1. Different message headers for guests and members. If you don't login, you'll see different message headers than you ordinarily would. These are designed to encourage guests to become a member.

2. Give thanks! Sometimes we just want to thank someone for their kind words, post, instructions, recipe, etc. We're rolling this new button/functionality into every template today.

Enjoy!
DocJohn

Lovely new features, DocJohn! As you can see, I immediately tried out the thanks button. Works great, and I love that it then disappears, thus preventing one from accidentally giving thanks twice to one post and not at all to another, for example. Not that there is anything wrong with more than one thank you, of course, but for people like myself, with my brain fog, it's nice to be reminded when I already said thank you and when I haven't.
Hugs,

glad I saw this - before I posted a question about the new look -LOL

Is the tally of 'thanks' necessary?
 

Hi DocJohn,

The 'thanks' button for posts seems like an OK idea ..... but, I don't like seeing the total number of 'thanks' below each posters' member name.

I can easily see where this might be upsetting to some people over time. Most of us have "0" thanks at this point, but that will change and I think it could cause problems.

Just my thoughts ........

thanks,

So far, I like the "thanks".

One of my favorite thing about this feature is that you can see how many times a person has said thanks to someone else... I like seeing the number of "given" thanks in addition to the number of "received" thanks.

I also like it because sometimes I ask for advice and I get several replies but I am in too much pain to reply to the advice right away and thank people for helping me....

.... by having a thanks button I can just click the button to let people know that I read their reply and I appreciate their reply -- and then when I feel better (sometimes feeling better takes a few days) I can come back and properly reply by typing.


But, I can also see the other side of the coin - where the "thanks" could become an issue.

In my opinion, new features are like taking a test drive on a car for everyone here (the administrators, moderators, and members). It's a new button, a new feature, something we can all try for a while and see how we like it and give feedback about our opinions. If people truly hate it after test driving it for a while, then I am sure that DocJohn will take that into consideration :)

I don't like it at all....
sorry
I can always send a private message to someone..without it being "public"...
We already have enough numbers with the times viewed numbers...

Just my 2 cents..
bizi

I agree with what scrabble has said...she said it much better than i did....
bizi

Why I am happy for the "Thanks" button..
 

So so often, I would love to give thanks, but I don't because I don't want to put the other members thru innumerable check in's to see what my post had to say. Most of us have little time or little energy to participate and this is always in my mind.

This way, I get to say, "Thanks" -- exactly like I would like to.

I know in the past, when the OBT group transitioned to vBulletin, people complained that threads show how many views it has drawn, making people vulnerable to the thought that their thread(s) are not a much of a draw as someone else's.

Some people also kicked up a huge fuss that it was possible for people to recommend a thread as being of exceptional value --- good when hundreds and thousands of posts confront newcomers who would like to browse for information and answers. To those who objected, they saw it as being, again, a form of popularity contest.

I think there are a minimum of people who would react so strongly - I may be wrong. But I will say that I am a person ultra-sensitive to rejection... but I have learned better reality-testing and have learned to relax and understand the nature of a support forum.

I am shy about getting thanks -- but something this low key would not affect me as much. I like the idea.

Teri

I agree
 

Bizi, I like my life uncomplicated, I made apost on one forum to let everyone know I am not slighting them at all, just all their post support, information and hugs I find so valuable, not one thread, not one response over the other is nore highly rated to thanks, so THANKS TO ALL and simplify my life agin :Thanx:
DI

It seems goofy, awkward, and unnecessary.
But if others like it, I can learn to love it.

Mari

Thanks, DocJohn, for always working on our experience here. It's greatly appreciated to know that it matters to you. :)

I understand there might be some concerns about this feature showing under the name of the user in posting. However, I think it's a great way to say "thank you". :) I also like being able to look it up in a user's profile to take me to some good reading to get to know others better...that's a really cool aspect of it for me.

So, I wonder if we could could have a "meeting in the middle" so to speak to tailor this feature for the community? We could have the feature as a way to give kudos and thanks within a thread in a way that "speaks at a higher volume" and with less typing ;) , and have the specifics available for those who want to see it (getting to know a member better, specific reading, personal interest, etc.) by clicking on the profile, but remove it from showing under the user's name with posting?

I'm just thinking out loud regarding some of the feedback and personal feelings as well. :)

Mainly, though, as always I want to thank you for who you are, what you do, and the time, care and thought you give to us.

I don't know that this feature can be tailored that specifically, but thought it worth a shot to share my thoughts (even though they're through the fog of a two-day headache :( ).

KD

I would prefer to type "thanks for this" or "thankyou for that" rather than press the button in response to something someone else has said or done, so if you don't see my name on those strange little posts saying someone or other has thanked you for your message, then it doesn't mean I don't thank you.

Is it ok for me to say that I think it's rather odd? I've never seen anything like that on a forum before.

Is it ok for me to say that I think it sounds a tinsy tad gushy? I'm not saying you're all gushy, I'm just saying that it would feel that way to me if I keep pressing the "thanks" button all day and all night. Some things can go unsaid. I read one of Di's posts somewhere and I forget exactly what she said on it now, but I agreed with her and want everyone to know, that if you don't get a big thankyou post from Lara, then it doesn't mean I don't care or anything like that at all.

phew... thanks. lol

A couple hours
 

I have had a couple hours to look at it and if there is a way a person can turn the option off would you turn mine off. I find it upseting and making me extremly anxious to look at. I am under some stress right now, need support, give support, BUT I CAN"T TAKE A RATING UNDER MY NAME! PLEASE remove mine.....

I may be so in the minimal few, but honestly i am finding it upseting.

Sure it's ok to say you think it "gushy". Me? I'm a gushy kinda person. ;) I kinda always have been. I think it's just my personality and those who know me might decribe it differently in their perceptions. :)

That's another reason I think it would be good if we could tailor it as I suggested. Those interested can be active and those who aren't don't have to view it other than seeing a nice "thank you" withink a thread...which is seen all the time. :)

Thank you, Lara. :)

KD

:) it's always ok for you tell how you feel. to give your opinions.
thank you lara :D yours and everyone's input is always appreciated.

( so i just thanked the whole forum :D )

I agree with Lara and DiMarie- I don't particularly like it either, but realize that others may like it and that's OK. I hope no offense is taken by my saying that! I'm like Lara, I appreciate alot that people on here do and I'm not gushy either but try to thank people openly or by PM if I appreciate something they've done- as she said, that doesn't mean that if I don't say it that I don't mean it- does that make sense? The first thought I had when I saw it was that since there are some people on forums who tend to feel like it's a contest to see how many posts they can get under their name, and some who equate a larger number posts as meaning that this person must REALLY be an authority on the subject- so, I'm wondering if some would consider these "thank yous" in the same way- as in, somebody with LOTS of thank yous must be a "saint" and someone with few or none must be unsupportive or rude....I just think it seems to be another way for those who these kinds of things are important to "keep score". I think we all deal enough as it is with people who "thank each other to death" and we might have some severe injuries on here with some patting themselves and each other on the back. I'm with Di- is there a way to opt out of this? Or, could the thank you button be left- for a quick thank you and nothing more- but no count listed under our names? Just my opinion....

In the vBulletin Thanks hack there should be a section that says

"Users can remove their own Thanks" but I don't know if that means we can remove our own "Thanks" or if we can remove all the Thanks: and Thanked parts from our posts

"Or, could the thank you button be left- for a quick thank you and nothing more- but no count listed under our names? Just my opinion...."

That's my thinking as well, redjwranglergirl. See my above post.

Thanks for the input.

KD

*waves at Lara!

I have tried out the 'thanks' button and then it shows up as:

"Members who give thanks to Wittesea for this post: ~scrabble (Today)

Remove Your Thanks"

below the post where I had clicked on the 'Thanks' button. It doesn't show visible to me on anyone else's 'thanks' posts, therefore, I think it must mean that I can decide to delete my 'thanks' for that one post at a later time.

Does that make sense? LOL

Poor Taste
 

INMHO, I feel the "thank You" ratings are in poor taste. A simple thank you in a post if one so desires, is all that is necessary without the fan fare of listing who gets thanked and how many times. This is not the Neurotalk, I know. Even thanking someone via PM is showing kindness. Yes, this can be abused and become a popularity contest and frankly, I don't give a darn if I ever get thanked. I will still like you. :icon_wink:

I was typing at the same time as you, Kimmy ....

This is also what I was getting at in my original post on this thread (pg 1) - that I don't think using the 'Thanks' button is a problem .... just the tally of total thanks received and given by that member.

If it is a feature that could be turned off, I think it would be less offensive to some.

p.s. Thanks to DocJohn for trying out new features!

little guy
 

I like my little friend..where he goes I goes
:icon_wink:
:Thanx:
di

Ack! Turn it off!!! Turn it off!
 

I have been helping others in this forum and its predecessors for about eight years now. People have written to me privately to thank me for saving, changing, turning around, or improving their lives, but that's not why I helped them. If they had pushed a thanks button instead of talking to me in their own words, I do believe i would have thought them as superficial as the gesture. I abhor the idea of adding up thanks. In fact, I find the tallying feature downright insulting.

I can't imagine a button-push as thanks to anyone else, either.

I worry about the effects of this trivialization of human relationships on those in emotionally precarious positions. If this were a forum about, say, sparkplug collecting, my feelings would be different.

Jaye

I have to say that I share the opinions of those who feel it may be construed as impersonal, that it may hurt the feelings of some and that it may take a few more minutes to type in a thanks, but even that shows a more concerted effort.
I like the to thank people and then let them know what exactly I am thanking them for.
That little bit of effort can make the difference in a day for many of us.
I think it is great that people like you are trying to improve the site all the time and there are people who have a difficult time typing, so it does have it's benefit, but I agree on numbers not being shown. It would look like a competition to some.
Just another opinion,
Judy

my opinion for what it is worth...
 

After watching and thinking about this feature. I too have some concerns.

What is so difficult about thanking someone in a thread? The old fashioned way?:confused:

To me that is more meaningful than clicking a button.
Then to show statistics on the profile as well? I definitely think that part of the feature is a bit childish. I think I could live with tallies within a post. But to tally for the whole board reminds me of middle school. Sorry, it just does.
For inexperienced computer users, tallies like this can be dunning. Think how it will look in 6mos or a year. Giving stars and tallies like this work for reinforcing kids, but seem inappropriate for adults.

How easy for a troll to find a new target (recall the troll post here?).
For every "troll" who might want to break into a forum, there are non-troll posters who
are too shy to even attempt it.

I hate to say, this feature which looks good on paper, is very much like
the stars to rate a thread. :Sigh:

mrsD
that is so well put that I would like to personally thank you!:)


I know that Doc will soon be reading all the feedback on this, and as we have learned, he will do what he believes is in the best interest of the wellbeing of us members, as that is the primary focus here:o

I am a bit slow on figuring things out sometimes..lol
I was wondering what in the heck that was last night..But i didn't think to come here and check for a post about it until now!
It doesn't bother me one bit..But i agree that it may be viewed as a popularity contest{to some} later on down the line.
A few tweaks here and there.Possibly, leave the feature for those who want it.
Problem solved!

Nope..
 

Don't like it either...I can see that in principle it sounds like something worth trying, but in practice, nope. But thanks for trying out new stuff, some you win, some...but I can live with it if the majority wants to.
all the best!

I've learned over the years that a little bit of obsessive compulsive behaviour can be an increadibly valuable tool for me, however, I've also learned that it doesn't take much to take me over the edge and the moment I saw that *Thanks* button, I realized I'd not be able to stop perseverating on it for the rest of my time here. :o

Thanks, But No Thanks




Noong

I still don't like it after trying it for a day.
I think some boards won't use it much while other communities will use it more.

And as for the people who say it is too hard to do a whole post and find this thank you convenient, I believe them. Maybe we should support them.

Mari

I think you're right, Mari. There are probably many people who would find it convenient due to their health.

I find it much easier to deal with now that there's just the button and no tallying of numbers displayed on the screen. I know it's probably difficult for people to understand, but that was really worrying me. I figured that once I pressed that thanks button once, then I'd feel the need to press it on everyone's posts because generally I'm thankful for almost everything that people post. :)

Not difficult for me and many others to understand Lara. :o You werent alone in feeling that way:hug:

I think this is much better- keeping the Thanks button itself and getting rid of the numbers under our names will be much better and convenient for those who want/need to use it.

yep
 

It grew on me I love it.



Psst... have a spoon

Hello
 

I agree with mrs. d. But perhaps i might get use to it. But I really
admit i just perfect to say thank you. But what will be will be. It's
late and i'm :confused: Sue

I find I like it and i use it as a way of saying hello to people and confirming that I am reading what they say with my thanks. It is not necessarilly a thank you for that post but just a bolstering to them to continue to post and a big hello you are not being ignored.

It's grown on me as well. And if someone thanks me, I don't find it offensive at all that they didn't write out a thank you. I think it's just a nice, simple gesture of acknowledgment.

Surprise!
 

I have changed my mind. Write down the date and time, and I'll pose for a picture if you like. Thelma, you have converted me.

Jaye