Thanking posters.

jackieglasgow

Cerdiwen, how many AE's do you have now?

demelza1953 wrote: »

My own view is the "Thanks" button is a total waste of time and very misleading.

If we all "thanked" posts based on exactly the same criteria, then it might have some sort of useful function. As people have a widely differing set of reasons for thanking posts, then it's simply a waste of time. It may be good for those who actually like wondering whether a post was thanked:
- because it was useful
- because it was amusing
- because the poster is a friend of theirs
- deliberately NOT thanking because they don't like the poster
- marking their position that they read up to last
- etc

But because there ARE all these different reasons for thanking (or not thanking) as the case may be, then I think it's just a total waste of time personally.

Since the system is there, then I duly thank posters according to my own personal criteria (ie because they have made a post that is useful or made me laugh) but I do think it's an "odd" addition to MSE and don't understand why it's there.

jackieglasgow

Now tru, did you thank that because it was useful, made you laugh, because you are my friend, or to mark your place. No need to answer,conclusions will be jumped to all overthe thread anyway.

nuatha

jackieglasgow wrote: »

Now tru, did you thank that because it was useful, made you laugh, because you are my friend, or to mark your place. No need to answer,conclusions will be jumped to all overthe thread anyway.

In case you want the reason (obviously not being tru or connected to tru) because it made me laugh - I admit to a warped sense of humour.

scheming_gypsy

I use the thanks button as a thanks and like button. I'll thank it if they've been useful or if I liked their post.

Although it does bug me a bit when people use it to say 'thanks for turning up'

elaine12022

I always feel chuffed if someone has thanked me for a post I've penned, it's like someone has actually bothered to read what I've written, and hopefully found it interesting/helpful in some way.

I don't use the thanks button too often myself, try & use it mostly if there was some info I didn't know which adds to my knowledge which isn't easy to come by or maybe a useful link.

sp1987

I thank people when I find something particularly interesting or thoughtful, beyond just a reply. So if someone takes the time to reply to another quite extensively and helpfully or something. I also thank people if they have written something I would have said so it saves me replying :rotfl:

Florenceem

I am pleased I asked a useful question and got people discussing the topic.

meritaten

I seem to apply similar criteria for thanking people too!
If I start a thread tho I do feel obliged to thank all posters (unless they have been offensive) even when I havent agreed with them! to me MSE is about getting different views, and if people have taken the time and trouble to reply to my thread then manners dictate they should be thanked!
There are times though when I wish you could thank people more than once! many a time I have been given great advice, and the only way I could single that post out from the many other thanked ones has been to quote it, and type my thanks underneath!

I have to say though that some people seem to see having lots of thanks gives THEIR posts some sort of extra gravitas! you see this on certain boards - I get the giggles when I see a poster being congratulated for having say, 10,000 thanks! I judge each post on its merits - not how many thanks the poster has!

jpscloud

On the thread I post most on, I was thanking every post because I felt close to the other posters... I still do, but I found that the thanks button didn't work 100% of the time - perhaps I clicked it too quickly - and so some posts were left unthanked and I thought I'd thanked.

I thought that looked really awful, as though I'd deliberately not thanked a particular post, so I've reverted to just thanking very occasionally when a post has taught me something I didn't know or given some particularly helpful advice.

Edit: or raised a question I would like to have asked myself!

peachyprice

I use pretty much the same critera as everyone else. If soemone has been helpful, kind, amusing, agreeable etc, and always to everyone who replies to a thread I've started (unless I forget to go check after the first flurry of replies:o)

What do we think of the people who have their signature:

'If I've been helpful please use the thanks button>>>>>>'

I find that a bit needy and would probably not thanks, just because they told me I should