Thread: Thanks as feedback

I think the "thanks" button is just that. Thank you for your post. I dont necessarily see it as thank you for providing me with information, but more so of going above a random post. I see nothing wrong with "thanking" a SOTD. It takes work to get some of those wonderful shots off, and is a bit above just writing out what you used.

Originally Posted by IsaacRN

I think the "thanks" button is just that. Thank you for your post. I dont necessarily see it as thank you for providing me with information, but more so of going above a random post. I see nothing wrong with "thanking" a SOTD. It takes work to get some of those wonderful shots off, and is a bit above just writing out what you used.

+1 , Merci,Thanks, Grazie, Arigato Gozaimasu.

It's just a polite acknowledgement of somebody's action not a measure of their worth.

Originally Posted by IsaacRN

I think the "thanks" button is just that. Thank you for your post. I dont necessarily see it as thank you for providing me with information, but more so of going above a random post. I see nothing wrong with "thanking" a SOTD. It takes work to get some of those wonderful shots off, and is a bit above just writing out what you used.

I agree. I "thank" a lot of posts in the SOTD, simply because I'm impressed by their gear, photography, or both. (I know that my gear is not as impressive as some, and my photography skills are lacking a lot, but I have fun. That's what counts for me.) As for the "thanks," for me, it's like IsaacRN said, "thanks" for yur post.

Originally Posted by BladeRunner001

Ron,
You're right on the money. As one of those newcomers, I just paid attention (after reading this post) to my thanks count and it is up there. I, personally, enjoy the SOTD section...not because of the "thanks" (which I couldn't care less for me), but because I can share something I enjoy (photography and shaving) and enjoy seeing others' as well...I have learned some ins-and-outs about hardware/software from this section (as well as other sections).

I do understand the concerns raised and I think it should probably be addressed...the "thanks" in the SOTD section is in a different category than a "thanks" a member gets for making a real contribution to a thread/post or in someone decision to buy/restore or sell a razor/brush/etc...a distinction between the two is lacking. The "thanks" you get for making a difference in someone's shave routine and the "thanks" I get for posting in an SOTD are totally different animals with different values and should be treated differently.

Personally, I feel like the "thanks" I have received have diluted some of contributions the veterans' in SRP have made over the months and years .

Solution: I honestly don't have one, but I will be equally happy if my "thanks" were removed since I have no control over who thanks me or doesn't...at least until such time when my experience warrants this distinction (maybe in 10 years or so ).

Again. I have no real solution, other than maybe put a "like" button for stuff like the SOTD, and "thanks" for useful posts. I do agree that thanking someone for a picture, and thanking someone for information that just made your life better/easier are two different animals.

Just my $.02. Either way, I love coming here and seeing all the SOTDs and gaining all the information from different people's posts. My daily routine is more enjoyable "thanks" to this site.

The meaning of the thanks depends on the person giving them.
In some places of the forum like the conversation, it is often used to indicate approval of a statement or opinion. In othe rparts it is used to express thanks for something, and in the SOTD forum... I have no clue why it is given. Thank you for telling us that you shaved?

But it doesn't really matter as it has no real meaning.
This is one of the reasons we ditched the rep system. Rep was given for the same variety of reasons. And a 'reputation' carries the implication that those who have lots of it are upstanding and reputable people, and in some cases that was really not the case. So in the end we got rid of it in favor of the mentor system.

The thanks system doesn't have that problem so people use it for different things, but without causing problems.

Perfect answer.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Bruno

The meaning of the thanks depends on the person giving them.
In some places of the forum like the conversation, it is often used to indicate approval of a statement or opinion. In othe rparts it is used to express thanks for something, and in the SOTD forum... I have no clue why it is given. Thank you for telling us that you shaved?

But it doesn't really matter as it has no real meaning.
This is one of the reasons we ditched the rep system. Rep was given for the same variety of reasons. And a 'reputation' carries the implication that those who have lots of it are upstanding and reputable people, and in some cases that was really not the case. So in the end we got rid of it in favor of the mentor system.

The thanks system doesn't have that problem so people use it for different things, but without causing problems.

It does have reputation-building implications. You figure that someone who has a lot of them really knows his stuff.

I guess the system is kept somewhat honest because nobody really knows how to get one and nobody really knows how to give one.

I'll let you in on a secret. When I first saw this forum I thought this was a system to minimize meaningless posting and I honestly thought twice before posting anything for fear that it might be considered a waste of someone's time. I thought the thanks per post ratio was the indicator of how worthwhile a member's participation was. Perhaps I'm an over-analytical person, but it makes sense to me.

FWIW, I have had experience as a moderator and host and based on that background I would suggest that you either pin some objective criteria to the Thanks button or eliminate it. The main thing I learned is how sensitive people are. If someone gets relatively few thanks he might not feel as welcome here as others who do.