Jake Bunce
Well-known member
The best thing about the like system is that it functions as positive reinforcement. You can "like" something but not "dislike" it. This contributes to a positive atmosphere on all XF forums that I visit. Analogous systems on other forums don't have the same effect. For example, when I implemented the reputation system on my vB forum it caused a lot of drama whenever a post was rated down. The existence of negative reputation on my forum changed the atmosphere for the worse. Having experienced the effects of both positive and negative reinforcement I know that positive is better.
While I doubt this was the intention, the star rating system in the RM is functioning as negative reinforcement and the atmosphere is changing because of it. Anything less than 5 stars implies that something is wrong. Some of the devs are taking it personally. I can't say I blame them. Addon development requires a lot of time and effort which is not met well with negative ratings. Negative feedback is one thing, but the star system doesn't facilitate feedback, it's just one click.
My suggestion is to replace stars with likes.
While I doubt this was the intention, the star rating system in the RM is functioning as negative reinforcement and the atmosphere is changing because of it. Anything less than 5 stars implies that something is wrong. Some of the devs are taking it personally. I can't say I blame them. Addon development requires a lot of time and effort which is not met well with negative ratings. Negative feedback is one thing, but the star system doesn't facilitate feedback, it's just one click.
My suggestion is to replace stars with likes.
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