Knowledge is not being rewarded.

The posters providing the most useful and helpful replies in the Scripting and Platform sections are receiving little to no thanks, or subsequent likes. Expert opinions and code samples often go un-liked or appreciated, despite hundreds, if not thousands of views. This is in contrast to the Discussion sections, where ridiculing and belittling posters can receive a continual flood of likes. It's possible that a couple of the regular posters in the Discussion section are repeatedly editing their posts in order to gain more likes.

Knowledge is not being rewarded.

 

So what? Likes here mean nothing.

If you want a clear reward system for contributions, go to Unity Answers. The Karma system there makes it very clear who the community likes and who they don't. There are its advantages and disadvantages. But ultimately not everything needs a reward.

 

There's not much you can do to stop like farming and general discussion is going to be the worst place for it. The most popular personalities will tend to get the most likes in this sub forum. Nothing has really changed since we were all in school

But yeah Unity Answers is there and probably a lot more impartial with recognition. I do find it strange that we have essentially two systems though.

 

Lower your expectations and the reward will be bigger. It's a mistake to think you're entitled to anything because you posted something, people like what they like. Are you posting to get liked or why else? People without manners are a given, a debate won't change this.

 

Selfless individuals are posting incredible scripts and useful algorithms free of charge and not receiving not one bit of thanks, but the popular regular poster who quickly replies to berate a poster because he "doesn't get it" receives instant validation and likes. And we should somehow accept this because "likes mean nothing".

 

I think "likes mean nothing" was meant as hyperbole, since if they actually meant nothing then we wouldn't give them and we wouldn't appreciate receiving them.

 

I'm only in it for the money, not the likes.

This post was generated by Like-o-matic™, the script that guarantees posts that are 100% devoid of content, yet ensures a tsunami of likes!

 

Pff, who cares about likes?

 

Yes, I believe there are posters in the Discussion section who are posting almost exclusively in hopes of getting it liked. I can't think of any other reason someone would edit their post 4 times, or only reply when there's a question that invokes a "Duh!" type of crowd reaction.

 

Is this aimed at anyone in particular?

This is essentially my stance as well. I'll give someone a like if I feel they were helpful, but they aren't really valuable when there isn't any clear cut policy for handing them out.

I don't need a like though to convince me to assist others. I assist them because the research and time to verify a solution helps me to become a better developer.

 

I edited my post 3 times because I wasn't sure my point would come across the way I intended but it looks like you understand what I was trying to say.

 

Likes aren't important!

Like this post if you agree!

 

If only because it is amusing me...

 

You realize this forum existed for many years before the "like" system was even a thing? I can't see any real difference in the type of posts now compared to then. You're wrong if you think that helpful posts are unappreciated though...I've had people send me PMs stating that they bought one of my utilities even though they didn't have any real need for it, as a way of saying thanks (which is a really nice thing to do). Unless you're claiming to know the minds of everyone who posts here, I can't see this as being a valid thing to say; clearly people are appreciative even if you don't see direct evidence.

Personally, I wouldn't miss it if the "like" system was removed. But it doesn't make much difference to me one way or the other.

--Eric

 

You guys are so cool. I bet you don't look back at explosions either.

 

^See? This kind of guy is the problem.

 

I completely agree with your post regards to Scripting and Support sections. A number of the posters in the scripting and support areas have almost no thank you posts or likes and continue to post useful information and free scripting help.

Would you or a fellow moderator or support member, be able to possibly explain why Likes were added?

Johnny-come lately seizes the right opportunity to join in on the fun in bashing somebody or fanning a flame war in the Discussion section, and, on the surface, appears to receive far more recognition than the senior game developer in another section who generously provided his post-fx shader or utility script (with no expectation of thanks or recognition) or an expert who explained why a certain script optimization works. The Like system just seems flawed.

 

It's part of the new forum software, and the general Facebookification of the world.

In what way? People either click the like button or they don't; the like system does nothing by itself. So you're saying people are flawed.

Not only do I not look back at explosions, I make sure to be wearing sunglasses while doing so.

--Eric

 

I can. Personally, I hit the post button when I've written something. Then I re-read it. If I spot errors (which I usually do) I hit Edit and modify the post.

If I see something else to respond to that fits with my last post, I edit to add it in rather than make a new one.

Sometimes I change my mind about something I've written, too.

What makes you think there's a correlation between edits and likes? If people were really "like farming" then it makes sense to have more posts rather than more edits (because 1. a post can be liked where an edit can not and 2. posts cause notifications where edits do not).

Anyway, from personal experience, I think there seems to be a reasonable correlation between getting likes and consistently posting quality content. Certainly most of the forum members I respect most seem to have like counts that roughly correlate to their activity levels. It's not exact, of course.

Edit: Something else worth noting is that it takes all types to make a vibrant and fun community. We can't all exclusively post slabs of code, walls of text, veteran anecdotes, or perfectly formed questions all the time, the place would be super dry and not overly engaging. And just as those things are 'liked' to show community appreciation, so are some of the other things that bring variety and fun to the community. I do agree that there has been some... abrasive behaviour that's got a surprising number of likes, but all that tells me is that some people have different taste than me. And that's cool, because all in all this is one of my favorite places - and favorite communities - on the Internet.

 

The like system could be described as flawed. But that would be giving it too much credit as a system. There is nothing behind it. There is no leader board, no dislike function, no total like count. Its hardly a system at all.

I hit like for several reasons

• I like the content
• I think the same thing, but am to lazy to type
• I indicate to someone on the other side of a debate that there point is valid and made me think
• The content is generally good

I'm pretty trigger happy with the like button. Carry over from time spent on answers. And I'll almost always like a post directing a beginner back to the learn section. Again, carry over from answers.

Edit: Okay, so there is a leader board. http://forum.unity3d.com/members/?type=likes But I swear I don't look at it that often. Darn, my three minutes is up and the forum blocked me from fixing this post.

 

Actually I think that's the main reason for the like button: it takes the place of writing "+1" posts. Less clutter.

--Eric

 

The world took a serious nose-dive when the concept of "Likes" was introduced to it...

 

Changing one's mind is normal, but the change should occur in a new post, not a continual edit. I wish the edits I saw were as simple as minor changes.

But I'm getting the impression that some posters are fine-tuning their original posts almost long after, not necessarily for others to understand, but to gain approval because of how they've re-worded and re-quoted their response achieve a certain effect from readers.

Collectively disliking somebody's post can be as easy as finding the most abrasive, sarcastic "duh!" replies and flooding it with one's select approval.

I just think that this type of liking shouldn't have the same type of value as somebody liking a free-of-charge a shader or bug-fix in a complex script etc.

 

To conclude my posting.... I'd just like to ask if it could ever be possible to

- Give the user the ability to not display likes
- Disable edits after 3 minutes and require a new post

 

This isn't an MMO. You don't need to balance it.

 

It's a RPGFPSRTS-Zombie game

Disabling edits after 3 minutes? Really? Seems excessive and could really fill up a thread with people posting edits of their posts.

 

Who is really placing too much emphasis on likes, the person with a lot of them, or the person complaining about the "wrong" people having too many of them? Helpful posts are super awesome, but they tend to help a specific person or a narrow subgroup of people. It makes sense that general discussion, with its broader appeal, would result in more likes.

 

What could this possibly gain? There are plenty of reasons to edit a post long after 3 minutes. For example, if I've posted something that gets outdated or is demonstrated to be incorrect I like to be able to edit a post to reflect that for the benefit of future readers, and I've seen plenty of others do the same.

There's only one reason I can think of to generally lock edits so soon, and it's a reason that has nothing to do with quality of content.

 

I like the like system. Mostly because it is efficient and appeals to my lazy side. Rather than say "+1" or "I agree with with what you said but have nothing of my own to add..." I can just just "like" it. Plus, 99% of the time I am browsing from a device... so faster than typing.

And as for editing... I edit often so I don't sound like an idiot. (well, at least with regards to grammar). I have tendency to leave out small words, it make me sound like fool.

 

Still, it would be more ideal to reward a helpful post in a way that distinguishes them from the repeat snipers looking to seize the perfect opportunities to attack and belittle others.

I don't think the like system is fair. I'd honestly prefer a tag system over likes, where posts could be tagged as beneficial, helpful, clever, best comeback, great graphics, etc.

I just think it would be an error to mistake the type of poster who builds a reputation from continuously being clever or sarcastic or incredibly self-conscious about their posts to the point of editing them 60, 75 minutes after, with the poster who actually shares code and helps people free-of-charge, or provides valuable insight into a matter as an expert, which is something that the current like system inadvertently encourages with equal weight to different likes.

 

Very few people care about the system as it is effectively meaningless. Its most beneficial use is to eliminate those "+1" or "quoted for truth" style posts. It certainly isn't a "reward".

 

You seem to place a lot of value in the likes. When is the last time you clicked on someone to see how many likes they had when taking the contents of their post into consideration? Would you listen to a post's content any more or less based on the poster's like count?

I suspect that the real issue here stems from this:

Yes, those people do get likes. So do the people who post informative, thought out, funny, entertaining, helpful or otherwise valuable content.

I don't think people need to rely on an automated system to see if someone is experienced, knowledgeable, helpful, entertaining, or a "sniper". The contents of the post will tell you far more about that than the number of arbitrary and useless points its earned.

I still don't understand the vendetta against post edits, either. You honestly think it's a bad thing that people copy-edit things that they write which are published for the world to see?

 

Did I mention this before?

GO TO ANSWERS!

Answers has the system you seem to crave. Real rewards for likes. Genuine penalties for bad posts. And in general a reputation system you can trust (even if it is highly inflationary). Its also a great place to get rewarded for placing algorithms. Its pretty harsh on poorly thought out questions as well.

What it does lack is the freedom to post whatever pops into your head. That's what the forums are for. Totally open ended discussions about stuff that's in some vague way related to game development.

 

I'm lonely, hairy, fat and ugly. I have a stash of pron mags favoring the animality of the world and I'm still a virgin at the age of 35. Unity forum likes are all I have now shutup.

 

You know Facebook likes are easier to get right?

 

I think you're massively over-thinking this. Nobody has that much time on their hands.

--Eric

 

You'd be surprised.

 

Somebody suggested adding a "meh" button to Facebook etc. I think that's what the world needs.

 

Yes, please. It's just a useless visual noise. Like the signatures.

 

Life is short. I give likes like it was candy. Here, have some more.
Gigi

 

Hey I didn't say that! I think you meant @mmorpg-fps-rts-zombie

 

Oops, sorry. Unfortunately I can't edit my previous post anymore because it was written more than 3 minutes ago.

 

if I get a follow up thanks for a solution im happy. means more than a like.

i dont bother with scripting any more though. #jaded

 

I just "liked" all of your posts and got a message that cookies are in the mail.

[ I lied, no message about cookies.]

 

Sadly, about 50% of follow up PMs to me are basically "can u just send ur code?"

 

lol.. JUSTGIVEMETHECODE

andsomecookies

 

Just for the record, I will swap code for cookies. Its a better deal then Kongregate and YouTube are giving me at the moment.

 

Sorry I've been slightly absent from forums the past couple of days for I have been prepping for GDC.

The like button is a standard feature of our new forum software, so it's only been around since the middle of last year (I think). We left it in because, it doesn't really do any harm and we hoped it would tie in with a new global Karma we were planning (which has been put on hold due to lack of resources).

So right now they don't mean anything, they are typically used instead of +1's. I also like them because I use them when I find something funny too, they've never really meant Thank You.

 

Perhaps they do encourage people to be helpful. At minimum, they can be ignored and are harmless and it's an actual sort of social thing & can cheer the poster up a bit, encourage them to do better.