For the attention of Moderators and the site owner - We need a dislike flag on ATS

I'm against the idea of a dislike flag. It would turn into a political correct flag. If you don't like something you can either ignore it, or say so in a reply. Posters earn a reputation based on their posts. It's an imperfect system, but stars, flags, and points give you a rough idea of the overall merit of a person's posts. They are all positive statements, not negative.

As probably one of the few politically conservative members of this forum, I know that if I speak my mind, the progressives on this site will call my posts, no matter how eruditely written, stupid and ignorant, and I would mount up the dislike flags like you wouldn't believe. Just as an example, I am a supporter of israel, more or less. Unlike most people here I have actually been there and seen what they do and how they live. Every time I post something that points out some of the fallacies promulgated by the Left, the hatred in response is palpable. Anti-semitism is still with us, alive and well. People become very emotional about this issue, even when unaquanited with the facts, perhaps especially so. And, yeah, myself included. The USS Liberty still angers me. (You see: I said 'more or less')

The fact is that the truly stupid and ignorant posts die their own death. If we did have a dislike flag, I predict it would be mus-used and do more harm than good.

I think it would be a terrific idea to allow us to see who flags threads. That would reduce the "buddy flagging" that goes on around here.


MOTF!

reply to post by MessOnTheFED!

That's an interesting concept, that of being able to see who flags what. Probably the evil government does know this, and very likely the site owners know this. It is something I have considered as well, transparency as such.

Using currency to be able to hand out flags, as someone suggested, is also something I considered. Trouble is, it would turn everyone into a populist. It's not like there aren't already those who treat this place like a twitter button, racing to blurt out the news before everyone else. It is a horrible idea. Soon it would be a whore fest for 'cash'. This is one place I pride myself on being no account, broke. I try to make my thoughts unstar-able, deliberately.

Originally posted by skywalker_

I agree with free speech.. But there is no need to tolerate unintelligent speech here .. and all of us have the right to freely admit what is intelligent and what is not ..

Moderators, and the owner of this site, please design a dislike flag here in this forum .. Fellow ATSers, please star and flag this thread so that it gets to the top of ATS and the people in charge listen to what we think is required here ..

If you agree with free speech then leave it at that, threads that are disliked or don't make a connection die a slow death in the ATS abyss.

Intelligence and/or opinions are subjective to each individual or group, thus getting back to free speech and personal opinions.

If you don't like something just move on.

I also think there is an ATS policy to not ask for stars and flags in a post.

Originally posted by maythetruthbeknown
would it not be possible to add a view count so we can see how popular a thread really is

...i've been thinking that for quite a while... not to see whats popular necessarily but to see how often a thread has been read vs responses and the s&f system...

Originally posted by yeahright
It's possible, but not feasible. We used to have one, but it was removed when we grew large enough to have queries like that be too cumbersome to the smooth functioning of the site.

...oh thats too bad... i dont understand how it would slow down functioning... seems like it would just be another counter widget thangy - but - i dont know anything about the mechanics of running a site either - so, nevermind, lol...

Originally posted by yeahright
I'm not sure what that really tells you, anyway. You could have a lot of threads opened and not read, due to the thread title alone. Creating a situation where thread views counted for something lends itself to other kinds of abuse. "OMG! LOOK HERE!!! PROOF AND STUFF!!" Not.

...yeah but if you started a thread that had no responding posts or stars&flags but had been viewed quite a lot, it might tell ya something is wrong with your op - like its not comprehensible...

...i'm opposed to any thumbs down system for lots of reasons - but - the main one is that it will not stop idiots from posting junk cuz, ya know, they're idiots and its idiotic to expect an idiot to "get it"...

Originally posted by Wyn Hawks
i dont understand how it would slow down functioning... seems like it would just be another counter widget thangy

Skeptic overlord's explanation from March, 2007 here.

It comes up occasionally. Usually takes me a few minutes to find it.

Originally posted by traditionaldrummer
Why not do so in post? Perhaps you can explain what you believe is unintelligent instead of doing a drive-by by poking an anti-kudos button. I do it all the time... and what better way to stimulate conversation?

I agree and disagree, sometimes I just want to read though. And as a member with a right to star and flag something I like (without jumping in the conversation), would it be any different to mark as "unliked". Not really.
Some conversations are hardly worth stimulating and are in most cases troll food. "I'm a reptilian from an astral plane"!!!! Mmmmhmmm. Unlike. NEXT.

While the obvious answer is to "yes" engage a conversation. Admit it, sometime it is just not worth it.

I can't speak for everyone, but the basic idea is to encourage positive feedback, and not provide even more tools for negative feedback.

If folks think others are flagging and starring "wrongly", well, it's at the whim of the membership. If members star and flag something, it's hoped they see something of merit in it.

A negative flagging system would just invite more drama. (as a member)...I'd rather see a fixed number of flags/stars per member, per day...as then maybe folks would think more about what they star/flag....

Just an idea. Kind of like the WATS award of long ago.

reply to post by Gazrok

Your idea of limiting the number of stars is thoughtful, and viable. It may have the effect of ratcheting upwards the overall quality of thought on these black boards. I once thought that this would be among the best of options. But everyone applies themselves differently, spending more time, or less; applying themselves, or sniping; unafraid to plumb depths to speak of what is really going on, or complying, loudly, out of cowardice. Limiting stars on a per day basis would, imo, be less than fair, disproportionate to a person's cognition, and cojones. If it were possible, I'd rather the stars were rationed based on the amount of effort one spend reading the board, not just the amount of time 'logged on'. Nasa and the navy can do this, with neural capture.

I can tell you...I would suffer under this choice, which would be perfect for me. I can't see people tossing their finite stars at anyone who comprehends, absolutely, the need for positive hatred, such as myself.

Yes let's encourage more hate, more trolling.

If you simply do not like a thread move on.

You are encouaging ATS for yet more policing and more negativity as well as this would be another bullying tactic to shut down freedom of speech.

Again, Many of the "God/religious" threads aggravate me, so I keep quiet and move on..............

ATS needs to become more civil not more "I dislike", "foe", etc.

Everyone is entitiled to their own opinon.

And as Bambi's mother once said, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all".

The number of stars and flags already show basically, people's reactions to a thread.

You are encouraging yet another button.

Aren't we controlled enough.

Personally I'de like to see the "Your reason for the edit (must be filled out) eliminated.

This is suppose to be a forum for expressing one's opinons, a "dislike" button would make more people freeze up.

Originally posted by Gazrok
A negative flagging system would just invite more drama. (as a member)...

Why do you say such things!!!
-bursts into tears and runs away screaming-

reply to post by SaturnFX


I'd be sure to down flag any jon stewart threads!!!!!!!

I don't think a down flag would be good because I'd down flag for the wrong reasons. As most would.

It might even turn into a *who has the most downed flag* agenda..

Now what a contest that would be a bunch of morons trying to get the most down flags.

I suppose this issue pretty much comes up every other day and everything that can be said has been said, including the insistence that it will never happen. I totally don't care on way or the other.

But I don't really get the resistance to it, nor the fear of ganging up on threads. That's precisely why so many people want this ... because people "gang up" (albeit in a positive fashion - if you see it that way) by starring nincompoop threads. The home page is far more times than not full of these silly threads. I rarely miss them for comedy value.

What's the difference if the other side had their chance to shine in the sun and to 86 (to the extent that they could ... which on ATS is probably minimal) dumb-dumb threads? Plenty of good threads get overlooked because of all the Weekly World News-reject crap that makes the home page. With a negative system, a lot of the lame threads just might get overlooked and allow some space for threads with substance, as opposed to threads saying the world will end tomorrow or that the sun turned black last night?. Two sides of the same coin. Either way, the threads remain for those interested. Why does ignorance win?

Yes, you can ask who decides ignorance? Right now, only one mind set gets that privilege. The other is told to move on.

Originally posted by ofhumandescent
Everyone is entitiled to their own opinon.

The number of stars and flags already show basically, people's reactions to a thread.

edit on 22-12-2010 by ofhumandescent because: Added idea

Hi ohd:

I don't disagree with the spirit of your thread, but I kindly challenge the two statements above, for what it's worth.

Yes, everyone can post a reply and express a negative opinion if they choose to. Supporters, though, also have the option of easily clicking a flag/star to actually demonstrate and register their support. Dissenters do not have this extra option.

Stars and flags, I don't believe, show, basically, people's reaction to a thread. They show supporter's support for the thread. If you notice a thread with 115 stars and 85 flags, that tells you something. If you were to see the same thread with the same stars and flags, but with 217 anti-stars, that tells you something more. Right now, that component is not available. And I don't really understand why everyone is so afraid of negativity. To this extent, it's a positive value. After all, is it really wrong to disagree with a thread? Why isn't disagreement with a thread just as relevant as agreement? One seems meaningless without the other.

Again, I don't care and I have actually argued the other side, I believe. But I do think the argument that has been set up to dismiss the concept the OP is reintroducing is defective.

Nope.

Don't need to have something that promotes negativity. It would simply allow trolls to get to the top of another list. You think it's bad now? Just give them a chance to have their own part of ATS and you would wish it was never implemented.

The simple thing is if you don't like it, or agree with it, don't flag or star it.

~Keeper

Jesus Rules and Is the Savior of Mankind!!!!!!!!!!
92 stars / 46 flags

The Devil Rules and Will Save Us All
241 antistars / 2 flags

What is the difference? Where did this bizarre fear of negative framing come from? People have negative opinions in the world. Why pretend like this doesn't exist? It's not reality.

Members who read a thread and have a negative point of view of it are not bad members. Why can't they express themselves in the same way as members who have a positive point of view?

Trolling is done just as much in a positive way as it could be done negatively.

Originally posted by skywalker_
As you all know, there have been various unintelligent posts making to the top of ATS.

Really?

Where?
Site Home
Top Topics
30 Day Summary
6 Month Summary
November Threads, sorted by flags

The flagging system is intended to offer our members editorial influence over what appears on the pages that aggregate content. I'm having difficulty finding any threads on those pages that don't belong there.

Originally posted by skywalker_
Fellow ATSers, please star and flag this thread so that it gets to the top of ATS and the people in charge listen to what we think is required here ..

just a cursory read of how the Forums operate, you would be aware that 'Board Business'
is not Flaggable or Starrable....but one could decide to Ignore on other threads...




next: How would You feel if you found out a poster committed sucide because they
became a pariah...a depressed poster with umpteen down/dislike Flags
would probably get even more depresses and feel rejected

perhaps giving thumbs-down critique is enough



dang, i thought i was cold & calculating... i must tip-my-hat-to-you,
U have me beat

I do agree that a thumbs up or thumbs down option would be greatly abused. I'm a member on another site that does that. Some people get their panties in a wad when they get thumbs down.

The only way i could see a way that it wouldn't get abused could be like a topic rating. Maybe like a 1 through 3 or 5 where you could rate it if you wanted on how good or informative the topic is and show statistics on it.. Of course you shouldnt have to rate it if you didn't want to. Similar to a poll kinda.
just a thought.

reply to post by Hadrian


Disinformation Agent,

I disagree by not starring and or flagging a thread or post, that in and of itself shows a lack of support, agreement. A reply that disagrees, is a sure indicator.

Besides, what do I care as well, I've seen the most ridiculous and non meaningful threads gets tons of stars and some very monumental, very deep insightful and important threads get hardly any flags or stars.

Anyone signing their name as "disinformation agent" tends to put me off anyway.

This is suppose to be a discussion board and a disagreement star would be a easy way out.......no discussion needed as to why just a disagree star and no discussion.

I don't want more infighting, there's enough of that in the real world.
I don't want to believe, I want to know
I don't want disinformation, I want the truth
And yes, everyone is entitled to their own opinon.