75 replies to this topic

[Legocrazy81]

On another forum I frequent, they've recently added a "like" function. I'm not sure how it's done on a computer, but on my iPad, when I touch the screen a little "Like/Share" pops up on the lower right side of the post. Now, I've seen a few times here people voicing their opinions about people not saying much about their MOCs not getting many replies. Now, with this feature, we simply click the "like" option and the OP knows who and how many like his creation. Just a thought.

Edited by Fugazi, 24 October 2012 - 02:53 PM.
changed title for clarity

[CallMePie]

Why don't we just set up polls? It'd take a few posts to get to Knight, but then you basically can do that rather easily.

[CorneliusMurdock]

I know that if it were my MOC, I'd rather have a small handful of people with good comments about it than a couple dozen just hitting a like button.  

On Facebook I've seen how people will pretty much hit that button for anything.  "So and so Likes Water (with a picture of bottled water)" or "So and so Likes Sunny Days".  Those are both true things I've seen distant family members liking on FB.  I'm not saying that the like button is that way for everyone but I myself don't put much stock in someone just clicking "like".  If they actually want to show me they like something I said, they can post a comment saying so. /rant.

I think the commenting system we have now works and I'd hate to see the Admins using their time trying to implement something that probably won't be beneficial to the site in the long run.

[Big Cam]

This is not facebook.

That will just lead to meaningless "likings"

IMO comments are much more useful.

Legocrazy81, on 28 October 2011 - 05:05 PM, said:

Now, I've seen a few times here people voicing their opinions about people not saying much about their MOCs not getting many replies. Now, with this feature, we simply click the "like" option and the OP knows who and how many like his creation. Just a thought.

This will produce even less comments.  From what I've observed, MOC'ers want to get away from people just posting, "ahh that's cool"  A like button is the same thing.

[Fallenangel]

As someone who values evaluative discussion of MOCs, the ‘Like’ button strikes me as just another form of spam. With every MOC there will always be someone who hits the ‘Like’ button out of habit, and the implications are as James Poniewozik of TIME magazine made clear:

Quote

The problem with liking everything is that it becomes meaningless to like anything.

The ‘Like’ button is lazy and shallow; it doesn’t belong on an AFOL board.

[Brickdoctor]

fallenangel309, on 28 October 2011 - 11:12 PM, said:

The ‘Like’ button is lazy and shallow; it doesn’t belong on an AFOL board.

Agreed. I can't say I'm not guilty of hitting the 'Favorite' button on flickr instead of commenting, and the lack of such a feature on EB makes constructive criticism so much more abundant.

I look at my AT-ST on flickr - 1,459 Views, 57 Favorites, and only 19 Comments. Of those nineteen comments, the only one that even comes close to criticizing the accuracy of the model is mine, pointing out that the model is a Jedi AT-ST and not an Empire AT-ST and therefore wouldn't be accurate on Hoth.

[Fallenangel]

Brickdoctor, on 28 October 2011 - 11:24 PM, said:

I look at my AT-ST on flickr - 1,459 Views, 57 Favorites, and only 19 Comments. Of those nineteen comments, the only one that even comes close to criticizing the accuracy of the model is mine, pointing out that the model is a Jedi AT-ST and not an Empire AT-ST and therefore wouldn't be accurate on Hoth.

Funny, I was just going to ask you about that... of course the head of your model is far too tall and boxy for it to be an Empire AT-ST, correct?

[Darth Dino]

Hi

first: i dislike Facebooks "like" buttons and i never used them. But i "like" the idea to "rate" MOCs here this way. I like and i am impressed by many MOCs here but i do not post it. I feel short post as "great MOC!" as post counting. That i why i onlypost if i really think i have to add something to a discussion.

Example: I really love Derfels Guide for a Medieval Village but do not post that because i am 100% inexpirienced in that theme and can not add something that had not been posted before (great work!). I am sure this way good MOCs, great MOCs and outstandig work could be differed that way.

Is that necessary? I do not know, but posting in a forum always is also (in most cases not only) a way to be heard, mentioned and admired. A i "like or dislike" of someons work could be an easy way to achieve the "whole" audience opinion.

My own large forum (releated to a shop) will give members the ability to "thank" other members by giving them waterdrops (watercooling company). This way most helpful members (e.g. Blackbird in technic) will earn respect another way than "pure post counting". But EB already have a alternate way by giving them individual ranks. I my eyes a good forum always benefit from its best and helpful posters so there must be a way to respect that.

Dino

Edited by Darth Dino, 29 October 2011 - 01:22 PM.

[Pandora]

Darth Dino, on 29 October 2011 - 01:15 PM, said:

I my eyes a good forum always benefit from its best and helpful posters so there must be a way to respect that.

I don't think anyone would disagree that the forum as a whole benefits from helpful posters, and I believe it most certainly is respected, just perhaps not always visibly.

I also believe that many would agree that if you see a MOC or other post that you feel is good enough to post "Great MOC" etc, it is not such a great leap to add why.  Even if you agree with all that's been said before, it's still encouraging for those who have displayed their work to hear what makes you think it is a "Great MOC", or review, or photograph.  No particular experience of a theme is required in order to give your own opinion about what you personally like, and it's still useful feedback for the original poster as they get a better understanding of what worked well.

[Legostein]

Darth Dino, on 29 October 2011 - 01:15 PM, said:

But i "like" the idea to "rate" MOCs here this way.

Hello!

I am neither a friend of "like buttons" nor "ratings". In my eyes, "rating" a moc or press the "liking" button is the same thing. As rating is usually performed with stars or similar things, I will explain my thoughts of disliking.

4 Stars = I like it very much!
3 Stars = I like it!
2 Stars = I don't like it
1 Star  = I don't like it at all

I personally consider such systems as inapproprioate.

With such a rating system we do not only have a questionable "like"-function but also an even more questionable "dislike"-function. "Ratings" and "likings" reduce the amount of dicussion. Some people might prefer the fast and simple way by pressing a button instead of typing a comment. But a real  constructive discussion is much more. It is appreciation for the creation you built. It is motivation for you to continue building. It is inspiration for new ideas. And it is also a source to improve your skills.

Besides disliking it, a real "rating" of a model should be much more than just quickly pressing a button after you looked at an image for 5 seconds. Many more things should apply for a proper rating. How old is the builder? How many bricks were available? How long is (s)he already building? What amount of time did (s)he spend for it? And so forth. I doubt that many people will consider these questions when "rating" something.


Summary

We are a discussion forum, and thus (I) enjoy friendly conversations more than pressing buttons.


Thank you for reading, and have a great week-end.

~ Christopher

[Darth Dino]

Hi

yes i agree with you, we are a discussiion forum and that is a way better then just rating something. But if i really do not have to say a lot except "it is great work" i do not post that because that is no discussion. I dislike "me too postings" and try to avoid this. But this way the MOC builder gets less replies as there potentially are.

Dino

Edited by Darth Dino, 29 October 2011 - 02:38 PM.

[Pandora]

Darth Dino, on 29 October 2011 - 02:37 PM, said:

yes i agree with you, we are a discussiion forum and that is a way better then just rating something. But if i really do not have to say a lot except "it is great work" i do not post that because that is no discussion. I dislike "me too postings" and try to avoid this. But this way the MOC builder gets less replies as there potentially are.

I'm sorry to say this again, but I really still don't think it is too difficult to say why you like something.  

I don't think anyone finds the "me too" postings valuable, however it is nice to know one's work has been appreciated.  I am suggesting that rather than have even less qualitative feedback, by way of a "like" button, that it really wouldn't take much for people to add a little more to their existing "me too" posts and give the person to whom they are replying a little more feedback to work with.

[WhiteFang]

Legostein, on 29 October 2011 - 02:27 PM, said:

We are a discussion forum, and thus (I) enjoy friendly conversations more than pressing buttons.

Bingo. Eurobricks is not a place where it is all about popularity contest. Personally, to me the "like" button is just a race to what is popular and it does not add any value into it. So what, if a topic have 100 likes by our EB member and less than 14 comments? Does it tell you anything apart that topic is like a "must view" due to high amount of likes. The answer is, "No".

I enjoy the conversations and discussions that we have in EB and that is where you can get to know the member that you are interacting with, better. In short, I felt there is more depth to a comment and forum provides a platform with proper documenting structure to interact with one another!

Pandora, on 29 October 2011 - 02:45 PM, said:

I'm sorry to say this again, but I really still don't think it is too difficult to say why you like something.  

I will add emphasis on that as well. Is it that hard to share your thoughts by taking a moment to compose your comment for a MOC that you see and you truly like it. Minus away those short generic comment, you can actually take a minute or two to make your comment more value added by telling why you like and which part of it do you like most. Otherwise, if you want to provide constructive advise, by all means do so.

Punching the "like" button doesn't tell much and I am not a fan of it as well.

[Brickdoctor]

Pandora, on 29 October 2011 - 02:45 PM, said:

I'm sorry to say this again, but I really still don't think it is too difficult to say why you like something.  

Agreed. The only thing that annoys me more than someone who just says 'Awesome MOC!' is someone who says nothing but 'Awful MOC!' and doesn't say what's wrong with it.

[Legocrazy81]

I didn't suggest this as rating MOCs. If someone doesn't have anything to add upon what others have mentioned, but really like something and want the creator to know this, you can't simply say, "I like it" or, "nice job" just to say so. And who really wants to read 10 posts of someone saying nice waterfall. So, instead they can just "like" said MOC and the creator will know that it's liked even if there is a lack of comments. Maybe a thumbs up would be better...

[Brickdoctor]

I don't know about the rest of you, but as an MOCer, I'd rather have one person seriously discuss and critique all aspects of the model with me than have a million people either saying 'Awesome MOC!' or hitting a 'Like' button. With all due respect to people who like that type of feedback, if all the person is going to say is 'Great MOC!' or 'Bad MOC!' without any explanation of his comment, I'd rather he didn't post at all. There's always something you can point out in the model to explain your comment.

[Fallenangel]

Legocrazy81, on 30 October 2011 - 12:13 AM, said:

I didn't suggest this as rating MOCs. If someone doesn't have anything to add upon what others have mentioned, but really like something and want the creator to know this, you can't simply say, "I like it" or, "nice job" just to say so. And who really wants to read 10 posts of someone saying nice waterfall. So, instead they can just "like" said MOC and the creator will know that it's liked even if there is a lack of comments. Maybe a thumbs up would be better...

In some cases where I simply do "like" an MOC in spite of not being able to say anything about it, I try to bring it up in discussions to give it the recognition I feel it deserves. Like this. (Or this, or this...). Sure, it takes a few more seconds than hitting a button, but for all the work that was put into the creation, the MOCer deserves at least that much.

Brickdoctor, on 30 October 2011 - 03:24 AM, said:

I don't know about the rest of you, but as an MOCer, I'd rather have one person Fallenangel seriously discuss and critique all aspects of the model with me than have a million people either saying 'Awesome MOC!' or hitting a 'Like' button.

But you didn't reply to my earlier post about your AT-ST...   

[Brickdoctor]

fallenangel309, on 30 October 2011 - 04:09 AM, said:

Brickdoctor, on 30 October 2011 - 03:24 AM, said:

I don't know about the rest of you, but as an MOCer, I'd rather have one person Fallenangel seriously discuss and critique all aspects of the model with me than have a million people either saying 'Awesome MOC!' or hitting a 'Like' button.

Okay, that works, too.

fallenangel309, on 29 October 2011 - 12:20 PM, said:

Funny, I was just going to ask you about that... of course the head of your model is far too tall and boxy for it to be an Empire AT-ST, correct?

fallenangel309, on 30 October 2011 - 04:09 AM, said:

But you didn't reply to my earlier post about your AT-ST...   

Fine, fine, I don't know, exactly. I just know it doesn't look like this. That it's not curved enough at the 'forehead' area, that the top of the 'head' doesn't slope downwards enough, and that there appear to be more wires and/or pipes coming out of the bottom of the 'head' are what jump out at me.

Despite being off-topic, that above reply is the perfect example of good constructive criticism and discussion.

[Fallenangel]

Brickdoctor, on 30 October 2011 - 04:25 AM, said:

  Fine, fine, I don't know, exactly. I just know it doesn't look like this. That it's not curved enough at the 'forehead' area, that the top of the 'head' doesn't slope downwards enough, and that there appear to be more wires and/or pipes coming out of the bottom of the 'head' are what jump out at me.

I was reading up on this the other day since The Legonater asked me about Hoth AT-STs:

Spoiler

Compare the side views you linked to with this publicity shot of the Jedi model or the set blueprints used in the construction thereof, paying particular attention to the location of the weapon mount ‘lumps’ relative to the viewports. Based on that, as well as the other things you mentioned, your AT-ST is definitely a Jedi AT-ST. The head, anyway... I’m less certain about the lengths of the legs.

Brickdoctor, on 30 October 2011 - 04:25 AM, said:

Despite being off-topic, that above reply is the perfect example of good constructive criticism and discussion.

Agreed.

Take a look at some pages from the old FBTB forums. Here are two decent examples: Dibal’s T-47 (still one of the best around, if you ask me) and RenegadeClone's reproduction of his A-wing.  Aside from the usual ‘great work’-type comments, which are inevitable, notice how several comments take care to at least mention what they liked about the creation and occasionally what they didn’t like (Brian Tobin mentions here the discrepancy between the canon length of the A-wing and the official length – how very like him  ).

There’s also this. Being able to read about the MOCer’s decisions in making his MOC makes me remember and appreciate that MOC on a much deeper level than if I were to see it for five seconds, think ‘cool’, and click a button. And you can certainly see how even mentioning all of these MOCs brings them to the attention of the community, which, as I mentioned, is another way to show that you “like” them. Being able to discuss MOCs was really what got me engrossed in the AFOL community, and I would very much like for future AFOLs to be able to have that same experience rather than become accustomed to clicking a button and forgetting about an awesome MOC.

[HumanPackMule]

I was wondering if it'd be plausible for this website to have a sort of like button, so we can show our enthusiasm for posts without having to comment in them and those comments being seen as spam. Topics I could see this useful are the Theme Funnies, MOC topics, and the new embarrassing moments topic that started today in the general discussion forum. I'm not saying that the like button would be the sort you see on other websites that posts it to Facebook, but rather as a way to vote-up a post(no need for a vote-down as I could see it being used with bullying intent). This could also give lurker members a way to show appreciation for mocs without having to post. What does everyone else think about this?

[fred67]

Interesting... I see a lot of cool MOCs that I'd like to show my appreciation of, but often don't post because I don't like just saying "Great!" or "Nice!"  I only post if I have something else to say or ask.

[TrumpetKing]

Well, we have a like emote......  

EDIT: I agree with the lurker staement, though.

Edited by TrumpetKing67, 08 September 2012 - 01:59 AM.

[AncientDayz]

I really like this idea (or some form of it). Like another member above eluded, I just feel weird posting in a forum just to say "great." I love leaving feedback when there is a specific detail I like/dislike, but if it's just a nice build and there isn't much more to say, a like button would be perfect (kind of like this post; I didn't say anything new, but the support would still be there for the OP).

[purpleparadox]

I don't know...one of the reasons I prefer Eurobricks over YouTube/Reddit/Twitter/Facebook is that, on Eurobricks, there's no way to earn "Likes", "Subscribers", "Follower", "Upvotes", "Karma", etc.

I think if Eurobricks had a "Like Button" it would slowly (or quickly) become just like those other sites - where people will do anything for "Likes".  

If we had to have some option like that, I guess I'd prefer only likes and no dislikes. But I'm against the idea of any of that at all.

[Legocrazy81]

purpleparadox, on 08 September 2012 - 03:04 AM, said:

I don't know...one of the reasons I prefer Eurobricks over YouTube/Reddit/Twitter/Facebook is that, on Eurobricks, there's no way to earn "Likes", "Subscribers", "Follower", "Upvotes", "Karma", etc.

I think if Eurobricks had a "Like Button" it would slowly (or quickly) become just like those other sites - where people will do anything for "Likes".  

If we had to have some option like that, I guess I'd prefer only likes and no dislikes. But I'm against the idea of any of that at all.

I don't think that's a very fair assumption... We don't need(or being suggested) all those options. Just a simple "like" button when we have nothing to say but want to show appreciation.

I suggested this very same thing a while back, for the exact same reason as well. It works great on another forum I'm on.