- Impact
- 17,389
I know I've brought this up in the past .. couldn't find it though so I'm guessing it was within another thread where it was only part of the discussion. I found myself about to post more comments on this in another thread but figured best to create it's own stand alone topic.
Anyhow, in most forums like-count really doesn't matter as much as it potentially does at NamePros, because at NamePros there is business being conducted and money exchanged .. so while a deceptively and unmerited high "like-count" is harmless in most other online forums, at NamePros there could be actual tangible harm do if people equate "like-count" to trust/authority.
Now I know NamePros says people should not make or assume a connection between like count and trust/authority .. but let's be honest and say that people's like count most certainly does influence what people think of them. Particularly newcomers looking for "expert" opinions .. 90%(+) of newcomers will trust someone with a noticeably higher post count than someone else.
Here's what was taken from the other thread ...
These were my comments which I won't put in quotes so that the whole thing is visible:
https://www.namepros.com/threads/10-000-likes-the-5-figure-like-club.1169235/page-2#post-7552545
---- Begin Quote ----
That being said .. the likes system at NamePros is effectively meaningless. And I bring this up not to bring anyone with high likes down .. but to point out that there are most definitely people who contribute SIGNIFICANT value to the community whose likes ratio fall significantly lower than many people who actually don't put in much effort.
For example .. I spend hours every day working on my daily lists which I post here at NamePros. For the first year I even did so with NO affiliate links .. but these days with ~150 views a day, I'm lucky to get 1 or 2 likes .. There was a time where I wasn't even getting a single like per week total (plus it was back when my posts were too long I had to split them up, so I was actually getting 0 or 1 like per 14 to 21 posts).
But then I write someone a nice customised welcome in the meet and greet section and get 4-5 likes for a 2-3 minute effort (so 2-3x the likes for literally 100x less effort than I put into my expiration auction posts).
But even more telling of how likes are effectively meaningless at NamePros is that in the very same welcome thread where I'd get 4-5 likes for a nice customised hello/welcome post, someone else will write a one word "welcome", but because they are in a "like group", they get an extra 2-3 likes extra from their "group" and get 7-8 likes .. for a 3 second ZERO effort/content post (they don't even read the person's post because sometimes the first post is junk from an obvious spambot yet they still just post "Welcome" looking to increase their like count .. lol) .. it's pretty sad and why I think most off-topic sections of namepros should have likes turned off and removed as well as having a minimum 100 character count on a post before it can be liked.
Just so you know, it's really not that much, this sentence is actually more than one hundred characters!
More importantly .. in most discussion forum likes are effectively meaningless .. but at NamePros there is indeed commerce taking place .. and most people equate the "likes" to trust (or even worse .. to "authority".. but in the case of NamePros, likes most certainly does not mean that at all the way it's set up now.
---- End Quote ----
I didn't really mean that to mean that people with a lot of likes should not be given props (I'm still grateful for all of mine) .. but more to say I see a lot of people with low like-ratios who often post helpful high-quality posts.
I probably am simply most aware of it because the spectrum of helpfulness of my posts is so wide .. but it's actually my most helpful posts that get the least likes and my least helpful that gets the most .. lol. (So for me it probably balances out when it comes to my ratio, but for others unfortunately it doesn't)
I remember when I first started at NamePros I didn't post in the welcome threads because I felt a little out of place welcoming a newcomer when I was a newcomer myself. But looking back that's a bit silly and everyone should feel welcome to welcome everybody!
(lmaorotf .. Black Box - Everybody Everybody just started playing on my playlist)
I think I had 500 likes and 500 posts both at almost exactly 6 months I think (1like:1post). Then when I started welcoming members in the meet and greet section, my like ratio exploded to far over 3:1 and I think it was closing in on 4likes:1post at one point .. then as I started posting my lists more and more regularly, my ratio dropped and now I've dropped back below 3:1.
So not to take anything away from anyone with a lot of post .. but to me it unfortunately becomes a meaningless and even misleading metric .. (I say unfortunately, because indeed if set up properly it could actually be significantly more meaningful (obviously not perfect .. but certainly noticeable better).
To me reforming the likes system is not about bringing people down, it's about lifting those who's contributions are discounted because they don't post a one word "welcome" to a spambot or aren't able to offer promotions or lists, etc. .. it's more about letting those with lower like counts or ratios know, to not be discouraged .. because there are only a few of us who see through and beyond like the current like count and post count systems!
When I had my old club music / DJ forum with 35k members, "like technology" (lol) did not exists, so it was post count that everyone looked at. It got to the point where a select few super-inflated their post counts in the off-topic forums. So I did effectively exactly as I recommended above (except with posts since there were no "likes") and I turned off post-count in off-topic forums. It wasn't a night and day difference, it certainly did not make things perfect .. but there most certainly was a noticeable drop in garbage/non-genuine post and an increase in quality posts.
I know it's not easy to change and reform such an ingrained system .. but figured I'd post the suggestion here since I already wrote half of the above elsewhere (and didn't want to veer the thread in question too much off-topic) .. and more importantly it is a serious suggestion that 100% would increase the quality:post overall. How much I can't say say .. but most certainly better!
Moderators' response:
Anyhow, in most forums like-count really doesn't matter as much as it potentially does at NamePros, because at NamePros there is business being conducted and money exchanged .. so while a deceptively and unmerited high "like-count" is harmless in most other online forums, at NamePros there could be actual tangible harm do if people equate "like-count" to trust/authority.
Now I know NamePros says people should not make or assume a connection between like count and trust/authority .. but let's be honest and say that people's like count most certainly does influence what people think of them. Particularly newcomers looking for "expert" opinions .. 90%(+) of newcomers will trust someone with a noticeably higher post count than someone else.
Here's what was taken from the other thread ...
Anyone over a ratio of 1.5 is providing good value but for you, your ratio is a whooping 3.4 which is truly amazing - well done and thanks or all the excellent value.
For me personally when I look at likes score I like to see about a 2-1 ratio of likes to posts.
I know I have been using that number as a basis for my contributions.
These were my comments which I won't put in quotes so that the whole thing is visible:
https://www.namepros.com/threads/10-000-likes-the-5-figure-like-club.1169235/page-2#post-7552545
---- Begin Quote ----
That being said .. the likes system at NamePros is effectively meaningless. And I bring this up not to bring anyone with high likes down .. but to point out that there are most definitely people who contribute SIGNIFICANT value to the community whose likes ratio fall significantly lower than many people who actually don't put in much effort.
For example .. I spend hours every day working on my daily lists which I post here at NamePros. For the first year I even did so with NO affiliate links .. but these days with ~150 views a day, I'm lucky to get 1 or 2 likes .. There was a time where I wasn't even getting a single like per week total (plus it was back when my posts were too long I had to split them up, so I was actually getting 0 or 1 like per 14 to 21 posts).
But then I write someone a nice customised welcome in the meet and greet section and get 4-5 likes for a 2-3 minute effort (so 2-3x the likes for literally 100x less effort than I put into my expiration auction posts).
But even more telling of how likes are effectively meaningless at NamePros is that in the very same welcome thread where I'd get 4-5 likes for a nice customised hello/welcome post, someone else will write a one word "welcome", but because they are in a "like group", they get an extra 2-3 likes extra from their "group" and get 7-8 likes .. for a 3 second ZERO effort/content post (they don't even read the person's post because sometimes the first post is junk from an obvious spambot yet they still just post "Welcome" looking to increase their like count .. lol) .. it's pretty sad and why I think most off-topic sections of namepros should have likes turned off and removed as well as having a minimum 100 character count on a post before it can be liked.
Just so you know, it's really not that much, this sentence is actually more than one hundred characters!
More importantly .. in most discussion forum likes are effectively meaningless .. but at NamePros there is indeed commerce taking place .. and most people equate the "likes" to trust (or even worse .. to "authority".. but in the case of NamePros, likes most certainly does not mean that at all the way it's set up now.
---- End Quote ----
I didn't really mean that to mean that people with a lot of likes should not be given props (I'm still grateful for all of mine) .. but more to say I see a lot of people with low like-ratios who often post helpful high-quality posts.
I probably am simply most aware of it because the spectrum of helpfulness of my posts is so wide .. but it's actually my most helpful posts that get the least likes and my least helpful that gets the most .. lol. (So for me it probably balances out when it comes to my ratio, but for others unfortunately it doesn't)
I remember when I first started at NamePros I didn't post in the welcome threads because I felt a little out of place welcoming a newcomer when I was a newcomer myself. But looking back that's a bit silly and everyone should feel welcome to welcome everybody!
(lmaorotf .. Black Box - Everybody Everybody just started playing on my playlist)
I think I had 500 likes and 500 posts both at almost exactly 6 months I think (1like:1post). Then when I started welcoming members in the meet and greet section, my like ratio exploded to far over 3:1 and I think it was closing in on 4likes:1post at one point .. then as I started posting my lists more and more regularly, my ratio dropped and now I've dropped back below 3:1.
So not to take anything away from anyone with a lot of post .. but to me it unfortunately becomes a meaningless and even misleading metric .. (I say unfortunately, because indeed if set up properly it could actually be significantly more meaningful (obviously not perfect .. but certainly noticeable better).
To me reforming the likes system is not about bringing people down, it's about lifting those who's contributions are discounted because they don't post a one word "welcome" to a spambot or aren't able to offer promotions or lists, etc. .. it's more about letting those with lower like counts or ratios know, to not be discouraged .. because there are only a few of us who see through and beyond like the current like count and post count systems!
When I had my old club music / DJ forum with 35k members, "like technology" (lol) did not exists, so it was post count that everyone looked at. It got to the point where a select few super-inflated their post counts in the off-topic forums. So I did effectively exactly as I recommended above (except with posts since there were no "likes") and I turned off post-count in off-topic forums. It wasn't a night and day difference, it certainly did not make things perfect .. but there most certainly was a noticeable drop in garbage/non-genuine post and an increase in quality posts.
I know it's not easy to change and reform such an ingrained system .. but figured I'd post the suggestion here since I already wrote half of the above elsewhere (and didn't want to veer the thread in question too much off-topic) .. and more importantly it is a serious suggestion that 100% would increase the quality:post overall. How much I can't say say .. but most certainly better!
Yup .. obviously I agree!@Ategy , I agree with you on "likes" not carrying as much weight as they should, I wish there was a more accurate metric that would reflect the amount of useful contributions that are made in the forum.
Moderators' response:
Last edited: