Like Feature Requests...

[Mario]

You can now like topics in the feature request board. Please use this to show me which feature requests you like to see implemented.

Click here for details

[Ferdinand]

Well, I've always thought that a Like button would be a good idea, as it enables you to show appreciation for a post without clogging up the forum with further posts that just say thank you.   Despite your reluctance to add modules, I even looked to see if there was a suitable one for SMF, and there were a number, but I didn't see a stand-out one.

For liking feature requests, do you think some further guidelines are needed?  I assume that we should like something only if we think that we'd actually use it?

[Mario]

I think I made that clear in the original post in the Announcement (see the link in my post here)?
If you feel that there is anything specific to add, let me know.

And yes, the general idea is to like the feature requests you'd like to see implemented. I will wait a couple of weeks and then archive everything that did not get atr least a few votes to clear out the "me only" FR's.

[Ferdinand]

Well, you said "like the feature requests you would like to see implemented".  I would use the phrase "like the feature requests that you would find useful if implemented".  I'm splitting hairs here, but there are often FR that sound interesting, but aren't things that I'd actually use myself.

[Carlo Didier]

Maybe just one more stupid question, but: Suppose someone makes a feature request. Someone else replies by saying, no, I wouldn't want that implemented. I you like that reply, does it count as a like for the original post (wrong) or as an "I don't like this feature request"?

[Mario]

This is way too complicated. I mean, how should I manage this?

Manually reviewing every FR, checking for posts which sound "pro" and then count the likes? Then searching for posts which sound "contra" and also counting the likes? What if there are two pro-sounding responses which have not been liked and one "contra" response which has been liked? Are these to be treated equal? I don't want to go there. "Like" should make things easier, not harder.

If a feature request receives many likes, but on review also has many "Gawd, nooo..." responses, I may end up adding a poll or something. Or just decide whether or not. For now, the main purpose is to weed out a good share of the 200+ feature requests or at least to bring in some order. We'll see in a few weeks how this turns out and what we learn from this.

[Richard]

Maybe just one more stupid question, but: Suppose someone makes a feature request. Someone else replies by saying, no, I wouldn't want that implemented. I you like that reply, does it count as a like for the original post (wrong) or as an "I don't like this feature request"?

If that is a stupid question, then I am also stupid because I wondered the same thing.

After reading Mario's reply, I am not at all happy with the "Like" option. It shows one side only. Ten people might "Like" a feature while a hundred people are "Gawd, nooo..." responses but have no button to press.

[Mario]

There is no "Don't like plug-in". I can disable the Like button again if this causes to much of trouble or consideration. But as it seems, some users already have used Like to indicate which of the feature requests they like, so I think we'll just wait a couple of weeks and then review.

There are only a few FR's which have a "don't like" response, and most FR are "add-ons" and not "changes" to existing functionality. There is no reason to explicitly dislike those, because if they get implemented you can just ignore them. FR's which cause changes to existing functionality may require some special treatment maybe - perhaps a poll. We'll see if the Like is used at all by more than a handful of users...

[sinus]

Simply:
If I like a FR, I give a like.
If I like not, I do nothing.

For me, like it is, it is fine.