UKC

Does anyone think these are productive? I thought Jaron Lanier, Tristan Harris and the other anti-social media types had convinced the world that the like button on Facebook and Twitter only fomented a herd mentality.

I can see the use of the 'like' in highlighting a useful response for quick reference, the 'dislike' not so much, and the anonymity of both just gives cover for herdish behaviour.

How about removing the dislike button and displaying a list of names of liking users under liked posts?

That's what I think should happen.  In the meantime I turned them off which you can from your profile settings somewhere.

Brilliant. Thanks for the tip.

Oh FFS not again. Just turn them off if you don't like them.

This question crops up every few months. There are obviously some people who don't like the Thumbs Up/Down feature but this is a discussion forum hence they are a way to gauge opinion on points and found useful by people who don't want to read everything. As a team the UKC staff are all very much in favour of them. We are definitely not going to get into making them named.

It is worth also posting this graphic each time the discussion appears which is from our 2019 User Survey of 6121 people.

Alan

Done. Thanks for the verbal feedback. Much more enjoyable than a thumbs down, whatever the content.

Thanks for the feedback Alan. Turkeys voting for Christmas, in my humble and condescending opinion, but the people have spoken.

I gave you a thumbs down too because I want to be part of the tribe.

I've noticed that people who complain about these things are generally those who have recently received a lot of 'dislikes' on one of their posts. Until that happens, they appear to be happy with the system (or, at least, don't complain about it.)

Not quite. In my case it was the transparent thoughtlessness of the voting that prompted my complaint.

The lights are off now so I'm still feeling warm and fuzzy from your words echoing around my luddite cave.

I have said this from the very beginning, and I will say it a gain...

I love the like/dislike buttons.

No wait, that's not right, is it?

I like 'em. Always funny when someone gets a load of dislikes for something that makes sense in their heads but sounds moronic when put out in to the world.

More buttons for 2021 please

What about a thumb disappearing up a bum for something you strongly disagree with?

Have a like (turned mine off too)

Now you've hidden the buttons nobody will dislike anything you say.

How about leaving both and displaying a list of both rather than creating an arselickers wet dream?

They'll just have to... say it to my face! Eh! Eh!

Don't some people like this procedure?

Two lists of (small) names sounds good. It's the anonymity wot's the problem.

Maybe they could go and start their own political party...

I like your thinking.

If somebody disagrees with me and they can't be arsed to reply and would rather hit a button showing their disagreement, to save precious time in their keyboard warrior lives, then I don't give a shit. I don't now what they are thinking and they can't be bothered to tell me so in effect if they can't be bothered to interact then why bother hitting a button which confuses matters and adds not one jot to the discussion?

Also, what are the disagreeing with?

If somebody takes the time to articulate their disagreement then whether on not I agree with them, at least I have some information to reflect on. Such information has and does change my views and understanding of a subject.

Last and most important, and one which many people try to gloss over, ignore or refuse to accept is simple fact that people use the Dislike Button as a form of bullying.

And if the recipient is in a low mental state of mind then such high numbers of dislikes can really screw with their mental health. It may be a simple click of a button, and some interesting data for a site owner, but to the recipient of quite a lot of dislikes over a period of time can have adverse effects on their mental well-being.

Alan, Are you able to see who likes and dislikes posts?

I think the techies can find out but it isn't an easy function and rarely gets done.

Alan

Beyond that, I've refreshed a thread to find all of my posts disliked and all of the "opposing" ones liked, all within the space of about ten seconds. Or the other way around. It's senseless bleating that if I was being paternalistic I'd say wasn't any good for the voters either.

At least with visible names we'd be able to see who does this, and who actually reads and refuses to pile on.

The way to get likes is to post something anti-tory, anti-brexit, pro-lockdown and anti crag swag, and if you are sweary and attacky whilst posting this, you get even more likes.

Questioning the hive mind will result in a torrent of down votes.

Actually the best way to get likes* is to make a funny comment early in a thread. Funny doesn't split the audience so much and later in a thread fewer people are reading it because fatigue/boredom has set in.

*if you're motivated to do such a thing

Toughen up buttercup.  

Edit: Less dismissively, I think that anyone who considers a dislike on UKC an act of bullying probably has some other issues and should maybe take some time away from social media.

You can't please everyone all the time. I was thinking along the lines of 'take your outrageous nonsense and shove it up your ar*e'.

Great tips that I'll use if ever I want hollow praise from fleshy bots. It'll be a sad day.

Quippy one-liners within two or three posts of the OP seem to work too.

EDIT: Dave knows the tricks.

Fun fact: I am the author of the most liked UKC post of the last decade although I haven't managed to launch a career as an influencer off the back of that.

That looks just like the sort of tripe that a Tory would come out with. I bet you’re one of those idiots who think that the EU forces UKC to have dislike buttons. And that after Brexit we’ll be living in a land of milk and honey, free from the tyranny of seeing what anonymous people off the internet think, and where crags are festooned with other people’s gear, ripe for the taking...

well, that ticks most of the boxes- let’s find out...

I’ve just given you a like, just wanted you to know. 

Have a like from me

Funny you should say that. The most likes I've ever received for a post was for a plea for people to stop being so abusive to Tories.

Good to hear Alan cant see who does the dislikes etc after what I just did to his post.

Opps, may have just given the game away....

Well not giving a shit is certainly more healthy than your previous approach.

It depends, all posts are different.

Nothing about the buttons prevents people who want to write a response from writing a response.

Who? Who uses the button as a form of bullying? And how do you know? If you get 28 dislikes are they all bullying? Or just number 7 and 11 of the dislikes?

Then it's lucky the buttons can be hidden (although that's a facility i suspect more people claim to use than actually do).

And that is the reason dislike buttons are poo.

I have them turned off and I have no intention to turn them back on.

And as a result my enjoyment of the site has improved. I just come on here to unwind and let off steam.

Bit of trivial sql surely? 

And the bullying, don't forget that.

Then there's absolutely no problem.

Excellent, have a like.

Can't argue with that.

Is your ego so fragile, that you want people to like everything you post?

Or at least NOT dislike it?

UKC prefers the view of the mobbe over the experts. The negativity here is the main reason why many people have given up on the forums. This site overall has gone from strength to strength in all areas except the forums, where posting traffic is the same as it was a decade ago.

Facebook didn't just dump dislikes for the 'nice' science (looking after mentally sensitive people and avoiding herd negativity), they also did it for commercial reasons as traffic is higher without it and it keeps advertisers happier. Most Facebook users also voted that wanted dislikes.

Turning off dislikes is the equivalent of ignoring bolts in sports climbs too close to trad lines. The reported problems from the research don't go away when individuals choose not to see them.

Yeah, you being the expert and the mob being anyone who disagrees with you

I suspect that this is mostly correct.

I also think there's a way in which the buttons are levers for more primitive and groupish parts of the self, whose clicks egg on cheap crowd-pleasers or chastise errant musings in a way that behaviourally trains the poster in real time, much as whooping or tutting would in a non-digital conversation.

We don't whoop and tut because there's a living, breathing human in front of us, and we just don't feel like it.

My problem with the buttons is that you spend a lot of time using your "system 2*" or "rider**" to make an argument, and you get a response off a load of "system 1s" or "elephants". Which isn't worthwhile.

*Kahneman, Thinking fast and slow

**Haidt, Happiness Hypothesis

Yes we do! There are heaps of non-verbal ways in which people indicate approval or otherwise in face to face conversation.

Rather like looks and body language would in a face to face conversation then?

That rings a bell. The process does at least act as a selector for worthwhile riders, who become conspicuous above the riderless elephants.

(I didn't know Haidt's version of Kahneman's metaphor—time to check it out)

I should have fleshed out the metaphor: whoops and tuts followed by silence.

Something like that. Except at the end of a long monologue, followed by them walking off.

Without even reading the text of your post I gave it a thumbs down as it's obvious from the headline that you were complaining about nothing 

Hi Jonny, I guess you’re wondering now you’ve turned them off....

you have 68 dislikes so far....and only 4 likes. 
 

I’ll keep you posted

The experts include the people who briefed Facebook, not me, but I can see they have important points to make and am very surprised more here don't understand that.

A mobbe is not the same as a mob its really a synonym for a plebescite. Government democracy is by elected representative's votes on proposed decisions formed on a political basis but with the advice of the civil service, to better ensure expert advice can properly inform debate. Plebescite votes on decisions happen in referendums and often require super majorities to compel change.

I think you've made the word 'mobbe' up.

Fascinating. What's the relevance?

But often deserved.

I think we're all too thick (well only some of us obviously), maybe it's only the intellectual that see the "dislike" button not as a "I don't agree with what you've posted, but I haven't got time or the energy to keep posting the same thing against another post about......" and would rather see it as an attempt at bullying, or an habitual reaction to being online too much.

Did you hear that there was an unruly crowd at the recent Herman Melville convention.

It was a mobbe-dick....

I agree with you Jonny. An anonymous dislike button protects the identity of the unhelpful and only demoralises the author. A brand experience that will be unattractive to sponsors and I'm sorry to say, the key factor that's stopped me becoming a paid supporter. 

Like and Dislike buttons!... So, that's what those icons represent is it? 

I'd always assumed that they were twin big-nosed bank robbers, wearing Zorro eye masks, rotated through 90 degrees. 

When you vote in real world elections have you ever paused to think about why you do this anonymously? You can vote for whoever is on your ballot paper, whatever potentially loathsome, unpopular or controversial views they might hold. In a free democracy you will experience no comebacks or consequences because your vote can't be traced back to you. Now I know it's not nice to have your comments on UKC shot down in flames by anonymous dislikes (I've garnered plenty) but what if we knew who those dislikers (voters?) were? If you think getting dislikes is being bullied then I guarantee it would pale compared to the waves of hatred unleashed against identifiable dislikers. If all you want is undiluted love then maybe UKC isn't the best forum for you.

Oh, and I'm just about to add to your dislikes count.

I've just emailed the UKC technical goblins with a new feature request to enable Like and Dislike buttons on user profiles.

Basically, I want to be able to automatically Dislike the posts of certain users, regardless of whether I'm aware that they've posted or, indeed, the content of those posts... And I'd like this functionality to persist beyond my death. 

I've stressed that, as a fully paid-up UKC supporter, I expect this functionality to be available by the weekend at the latest. 

​​​​​

​

A faulty argument on so many levels.

Voting elects our representatives. There is no dislike equivalent in voting just like equivalents (the candidate you want) or candidates ranked in the order you most prefer

In free democracy the general principle is freedom of information that anyone making critical comments are known, especially so when those comments are unfair so that we can reply to that individual and ultimately have recourse to the law to protect our reputation or to prevent evidenced harrassment. Cyber bullying is real and dislikes are a useful tool for bullies.

One of the main reasons some of us are so passionate about dislikes is they are lazy and damage debate. You take time to write a heartfelt statement but have no idea what any dislike is for, whereas a politely negative reply can enhance and illuminate a discussion. Some people even dislike to sympathetically support that a problem raised by an OP is indeed bad. Dislikes are low quality negative information.

On the practical consequences of being identified as a disliker, your views are hyperbolic and the evidence we have in climbing indicates the opposite is more likely true. People who give negative karma on the other channel (UKB) are all identified by username and are asked to provide reasons. There is no evidence of 'waves of hated', just the opposite, debate there is much better behaved on average, than here.

https://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php?action=viewkarma

The role of the dislike button is to discredit a post (and shutdown the poster?). It is very quick to use and anonymity makes it a risk-free action. As such, it is a very effective tool for encouraging a mob dynamic.

In my experience, most discussion forums have given up on them, so why are they so popular on UKC?

I think they are appreciated in communities where there is a clear majority mindset and where people bond around similar ideas. For all the debate on these forums, most people do not stray far from the standard thought patterns, particularly when it comes to ethical themes. There is also a strong nationalistic element involved. Most other climbing forums around the world do not have the name of the nation as their most prominent element!

UKC staff are strongly in favour of the function. They are an integrated part of the community, are fully aware of the potential of the tool and, I suspect, are very savvy about using it!

Interestingly, the Daily Mail also has an anonymous dislike button. 

If an author of a post is demoralised by a dislike, they have the option to disable the like/dislike function in their user profile preferences. Or, they can take the view that anonymous dislikes carry no value and can be disregarded. 

I'm actually astonished at the level of naivety and downright falsity of pretty much all of your response to my post. So much so, that I'm not even going to respond individually to each part I disagree with (let's just say about all?). Call me lazy but life is too short, it's my day off and the weather is picking up.

Oh, and I've just 'bullied' you online (aka using the dislike button).

'Dislikke'

Please explain where I am false and or naive as this is important. Formal voting in political or organisational structures is secret for very good reasons. Dislikes are not related to such formal voting they relate to individual posts and have no good reason to be anonymous and plenty of reasons to not be. Bullying is just one of them. Sav proved this place can resort to a herd bullying mentality. When people claimed dislike counts somehow linked to quality I surveyed the use on these forums over a xmas holiday and a Sav post was the most smitten and he took a lot of the other top places , someone who we knew by then had autistic tendancies in his posting style.

UKB proves that a climbing site can have healthier (and much better tempered) debate with identified negative karma, where you implied waves of hated would ensue.

Jesus wept!! First world problems, in a nutshell.

If you can't take someone not liking you opinion, how do you survive daily life?

Just because modern internet searches struggle with archaic english words it doesn't mean they don't exist. It was an important word in the political philosophy that led to republics and democracy.

It still only took me a minute to find multiple examples of usage on the web (try searching for "ye mobbe"). The etymology from "mobile" is likely shared with mob, but that word mob is also an archaic word for a prostitute.

It's an effective tool to maybe suggest you reflect on your post and see if you can understand why lots of people think it's not worthy.

We're busy people and wasting lots of time, either repeating why a post is bollocks, or having to explain why people should grow up a bit, is very long winded. Also, there are so many other threads which are interesting or haven't been covered a thousand times before, to comment on.

Yeah! come on Rob, stop toying with your loblolly and get with the times.

Forget your Internet searches; that word doesn't exist in any of the printed dictionaries I've looked at.

The only examples I can find are purely olde-fashionede irony. Post a few links to support your claim.

I think you're making it up.

If UKC forums are anything more than frivolous entertainment anything that damages civilised debate is a problem that is better dealt with...yes it's a first world problem. You could dismiss any number of important improvements in western society as first world problems. It used to be OK to be sexist, homophobic and racist in this country and still often is outside our 'first world', in too many countries these old first world problems are even enshrined in law (based on distorted religious views that homosexually is morally abhorrent, men are dominant and some minorities have fewer rights).

There is a (wilful, I'm afraid to say) perception that this issue is about hurt feelings. It really isn't. I've never felt bad about receiving an excoriating demolition of one of my posts or an illuminating analogy that challenges one of my views, here or anywhere else. Quite the contrary, as difficult as that may be to believe.

As Offwidth and others mention, these buttons give information that is not only low quality (vague and context-free), but also skewed, such that a reduction of a debate that all likers and dislikers contributed to would not boil down to the number of likes or dislikes, either at the post or thread level.

By turning these buttons off, I am not protecting my ego; I am removing a source of noise that helps me hear what is actually being said (with potentially ego-destroying consequences—please do your worst!).

The last thing I expected from you is such an ignorant reply. If mobbe isn't in your dictionaries they are just not big enough or old enough dictationaries. You probably need a multiple volume or an online copy of an early 19th or 18th century dictionary (its not in my 2 volume modern oxford....although I just discovered from that that mob has another meaning I didn't know previously: to tousle hair).

Piss off.

Meffinks, thou art talkking bullshitte.

Since you're still here: 6 to 100 so far! Well done!

There's a book topic here, I think. Although I don't think the various analogies actually run through, it would be fun to explore the parallels between my situation and a conscious mind blind to the unconscious, Camus' La Peste, and perhaps David Cameron and Brexit voters.

The death penalty was supported by a majority in the UK population until recently. Mobbe views are simply not always best. To quote Thomas Paine:

“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom. But the tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason.”

I don't think they're very helpful towards the quality of discussion on here, but they're vaguely helpful towards deciding that the opinions of others, ie what others think about what one thinks (and especially strangers) isn't important in the scheme of things.

Some of the strangers might be simply mean spirited - or not have interpreted something correctly, a dislike is the equivalent of saying 'meh'.

That encourages echo chambers as dissenting voices tending to end up with most dislikes irrespective of the quality of argument. Unusual posting styles can also get unjustly penalised (back to Sav). What this place needs is more kindness, dislikes epitomise the opposite, civilised disagreements in contrast can add utility to a discussion.

Which is possibly why the philosophical hippy types no longer frequent these forums like they once did do. 

Cobra_Head currently number 20 top poster on UKC !!

Thank you for perfectly illustrating my main point! The mob is a fascinating dynamic.

Are you suggesting that the 101 people who clicked dislike in the op are a mob (and you'll have to decide between you and Offwidth whether it's mob or mobbe)?

Yes, a digital mob

It's actually possible to make individual choices. I have no intention of forming a mini-mob with Offwidth!

What was the cut off before it became a mob? Presumably you have a figure in mind.

Not one I'd choose to read. I suppose it depends on whether you are here for actual discussions, or for discussions about discussions.

(6 to 101 now, by the way.)

A mob is not just about numbers; it's not the same as a crowd. It has a nebulous, nameless, indistinguishable nature which overwhelms individuality. It's a negative force and part of the darker side of humanity. Best kept in check in my humble opinion

The final scenes of Perfume (Das Parfum). Absolutely brilliant!

It isn't though, because it's an equivalence of somebody saying 'meh', or lots of people saying 'meh', it's not as if dislikes say 'Have you thought about this, or looking at it like that?', it's just lots of people going 'meh'. It's a fat lot of use, one might say.

Added to the list. Thanks!

Each individual downvoter is part of the mob, a negative force and part of the darker side of humanity? Seems a little hyperbolic. What if some people clicked to say they would like to retain anonymity? Still part of the mob and the dark side of humanity?

Is this still going on?

If you don't want the like/dislike buttons then turn the feature off. Life is too short.

And if we are having a Willie Waving contest about who has had the most dislikes on this forum, I think we can all agree that I won hands down, some time ago and I doubt anybody will be able to match my score without trying to fake or massage the results.

Its a timeless horror story up there with the likes of Shelley's Frankenstein. The end is not favourite parts although to me it illustrates less about mob behaviour and more about people can make decisions on powerful  primal instincts rather than intellect.

Sounds right up my street!

On the mob side (now definitely mobbe—with a long pause on the b's—since it's Danish) and in the context of films, The Hunt (Jagten) is a modern classic.

That made me laugh - have a like on me!

Would that be behaving like a Moby Dick?

Of course it does, but the darker side of humanity most often manifests itself in very mundane ways. It only gets dramatic when society collapses or an individual loses the plot. 

Oh I don't know, I think claiming everyone who clicks a button is part of a mob, a negative force and is part of the darker side of humanity is losing the plot. But I wouldn't call it dramatic, a bit silly maybe. 

'meh'

I hope this negative response is enlightening about what I think.

(Actually, I'm not fussed...)

Thanks for engaging in a conversation rather than just clicking on the dislike button. Shame about the cheap jibes but you're only human. We just can't help ourselves!

Thanks. The survey clearly shows more than 90% are not asking for the removal of the thumb down button. This is just normal, because only it truly carries meaning, whereas the thumbs up one just adds extra enthusiasm to a "by default" agreement (remember the vast majority of posts here are from true climbers and gentlemen, and obviously agreeable by default.)

Although the survey does not specifically propose this, it is very clear that a "thumb down" only option would win a majority of votes.   

To support this view in a very practical manner, please press thumbs down.  

Vincent

You can see it as meh, if you like, I tend to see them as Agree or Disagree, with what's been posted. Either way it's not something to get your knickers in a twist about.

Actually it didn't, you think because I suggested a group thought, that everyone was in agreement with me, and yet, you didn't

In fact you chose to pick up on imprecise language, would you have been happier if I'd said, "most of us"?

Beside, after being on here for sometime, I know most people are busy, they come on here for light relief, in the main, or to pass on helpful tips.

Constant whinging about the same old subject time and time again, are exactly what the Thumbs up, Thumbs down buttons are about.

I can use "we" about all sorts of people, it doesn't mean WE all think alike, even YOU were included in my WE.

You do yourself a disservice trying to imply my "we" was an indication of mob mentality. You might as well have simply clicked the Thumbs Down button, for all the sense it made.

Can't it be both?

I think you might have UKC and in particular Up vote / Down vote button slightly out of proportion here.

Indeed it isn't, neither are very enlightening or aid a discussion, though, because they don't help towards exploring something further. 

If you say something, and I say I don't agree but don't say why, that doesn't lead anywhere. In the scheme of things. A web forum probably isn't that important in the scheme of things, but there's not quite the same tendency for topics to be explored 'just because' and for a long time, which there once was on here, which as far as the forum goes is a step back I think.

I was almost going to type 'meh' and write 'This should explain my point of view' next to it.

But once again, you are missing the point, sometimes there's nothing to add, sometimes there's simply a rehash of things that have been said a number of times.

I we were down the pub I would expect you, or anyone else to constantly have to add or explain things.

"Does anyone fancy going to the kebab shop after last orders?"

"nar".

Is all that required.

I don't need a, "Nar, if I do I'll be late home and the missus might get pissed off again, because I let her down a week last Thursday, when instead of buying a wholewheat loaf, I got a wholegrain loaf and the pips get stuck in her bumhole sometimes and it annoyes her to buggery. So I'm out, thanks"

Depending on the circumstances Up or Downs can mean all sorts of things, I have the intellect to be able to judge, as do many other I'm sure, that people simply aren't bullying me, or maybe they are and I'm not noticing (or caring).

A down thumb could be:-

• Not funny
• Over stepped the mark there.
• No!
• Not really.
• Disagree.
• Don't like you post.
• Not relevant.
• Wanker!
• probably not.
• Really?
• Get over yourself.
• That would be dangerous.
• This is simply bullshit!
• I don't like you.
• Not sure

or of course meh

Quite frankly it doesn't really bother me either way, I don't need people to verify my posts, and I certainly don't expect my post to change anyone's mind.

I enjoy reading peoples points of view, but I don't need everyone to comment, especially if someone previous has just commented exactly what they was going to say. What's the point of duplicating hundreds of post all saying roughly the same thing?

If you think typing "meh" is the same as a thumps down, that might be your problem.

See you the next time a "Button" thread comes around

Can the UKC software writers please incorporate a function whereby the moment the non-word 'meh' is typed the perpetrator collects an instant dislike? Preferably with an electric shock through the screen or keyboard.

Where would this shock be administered?

meh.

Just testing.

meh?

Nope. meh.

Oh really? I disagree - but presumably you have some proof.

Buzzzzzurt!!

Why would anyone want to "explore" a load of drivel by some illiterate half-wit?

It's working already - you've got a dislike! Have you got an insulated jock strap on?

You can 'explore' in ways beyond deconstruction. Your 'drivel' might be in my view something that might be an important point (for that person) but a bit badly written...something I am familiar with when working with dyslexic students. This isn't a University debating society, it's a public forum for all climbers and hillwalkers. Levels of literacy vary and should be tolerated as they would be in face to face interaction: it's why I celebrate the commonplace occurance of Muphry's law as well as campaigning for the end of dislikes. Being unkind with dislikes to people like Sav and being pointlessly pedantic about spelling and grammar (unless as a friendly play on words to someone obviously who can take the flak)  makes UKC forums a little bit more like the Daily Fail.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry%27s_law

If that's a comprehensive list then maybe everyone should have to select one point from it before their Dislike is accepted. Those of us without the "intellect to be able to judge" can then pull up a little histogram. Might be useful, eg if 90% of Dislikes were: "That would be dangerous". 

My position on kindness (especially to new posters) and against dislikes and grammar pedants is the exact opposite of intellectual snobbery. The forums should be spaces for anyone to comment under the site rules without having to face such low level off-putting crap. The Daily Fail like obsessions are in any case the intellectual equivalent of wearing a fur coat and no knickers, surface obsession and not caring about what the poster is trying to say.  Mine is not a 'PC' position either, climbers having fun with friends on word usage is one of the delights of this site: satirising ex-academics with arguably a too sanctimonious style for some is fine by me.. mass dislikes and anger against Sav isn't.

Your "important point" may of course be utter drivel in my opinion so it can have a dislike. As you say this isn't a university debating chamber, it's (a parody of) real life.

It's more of a parody than it needs to be as the low level negative behaviours tolerated here help drive too many ordinary people away (according to what I'm told by some who leave). Its also way too white and male compared to my local indoor walls. Despite this there are still excellent threads from time to time and most posters seem humane to me and the debate is way better than that in the comment sections of national newspapers. For me the venn diagram of what seperate posters see as important has no need for extensive overlaps as long as we have mutual respect for well intentioned individual positions. 

I might have rose tinted spectacles to an extent, of what is socially possible, as in the early days of the forums I met many people through meets and events organised through here. It's much harder to be angry and rude with people you know and enjoyed climbing and drinking and laughing with... these days that is only for occasional new climbing partners.

I quite like it, the tingle seems to have woken things up a bit!!

Maybe it's away forward, a method to like the dislikes.

To be honest, that's the point, it's not an exhaustive list, but conversely they don't have the  single meaning of "I'm bullying you".

I like you suggestion though, but it might be a little long winded, in which case I might as well type "That would be dangerous".

Here's a post to test it out, "I'm thinking of tying lots of shoe laces together to make a rope, as I have a collection of over 20,000 of them. Will this be ok to abb down Dow Crag on?"

Dislike buttons are not designed for bullys and most people who use them are not bullys but they can be used to bully. There are numerous public reports of internet negativity exacerbating mental health problems, sometimes with tragic outcomes. UKC is well moderated and dislikes are much less extreme than personal barbs but the button is not without issues. You can't deny what happened to Sav on several occasions looks like herd bullying behaviour towards a disabled person. If he said the same thing in a public place people would recognise the issues and bite their tongue.

OK. For me the obvious entry on a Dislike reasons histogram would be "That would be dangerous". However one or two other reasons from your list would also be appropriate, in which case restricting to a single reason might avoid more emotional though also correct responses! Perhaps allow two choices and include "Other" in the list. 

Knives are not, on the whole, designed to stab people in the street with, and most people who use them are not people stabbers, but they can be used to stab people.

You're right I can't deny what happened to Sav, because I know nothing about Sav or what happened to him/her.

I still think people take too much notice of what is a frivolous feature of a mainly frivolous / pointless (as in what difference does any post on UKC make to most people / society - unless it's my boilers broken) pastime as posting on UKC.

I think you need to have a pretty high opinion of yourself (and I'm including myself) to think anyone on here is waiting to see what I post in order to make their own decisions.

have a like ha ha ha

Though obviously this might mean:

1. I like what you posted.
2. You were brave to post such a controversial comment
3. I love you, and it doesn't matter that you've just posted a load of old bollocks.
4. I hate what you've posted but I respect you right to post it.
5. Bravo!!
6. ...
7. ......

Some American bloke nailed when he was messing things up in Iraq:  “there are the likes that we like, the likes that we dislike, the dislikes that we like and the dislikes that we dislike.” 

You've just included the forbidden word. Disliked to please you ! 

Vincent

Trouble is, some folks switch on/off so we have known and unknown likes and dislikes. If you know what I mean?

The problem is though, some people who dislike the dislikes, like the likes. If there was some way the people who dislike the dislike but like the likes could learn to like the dislikes, then I think we could like all likes, dis or otherwise and it wouldn't matter.