Tell us what you think about the post reactions.

Cher_Scope

Hi everyone

In response to @woodbine 's suggestion that we add a thank you reaction to posts, we wanted to ask your opinions about the other reactions too; so that's the like, awesome and insightful option that appear at the bottom of member's posts. 

Particularly we wondered if you could tell us:

• How do you feel about these reactions and do you like to use them?
• Would you like us to keep them all or do you think any are not needed?
• Do you sometimes find you use the reactions instead of posting a response to say thank you or acknowledge someone's post?
• Would you like to see us add a thank you reaction too?

Any feedback is welcome and although we might not be able to please everyone, this is your community and we want it to represent you 

leeCal

I use like and awesome mostly. I use like to say thank you but I suppose a separate button would be fine or indeed no thank you button would force someone to say thank you. Personally I don’t mind either way.

one thing I used to find a little upsetting is when you make an effort to post a reply and there are no signs that it’s been read at all. Bit like being ignored especially if you’ve put your heart and soul into it. But I don’t think that can really be dealt with unless you have an acknowledgement key! Too many keys I think! In fact if it was acknowledged and not liked how would that feel. 😆 

OverlyAnxious

I think we could do with a 'lol' reaction for the more light-hearted threads, jokes etc...

I'd probably swap 'insightful' for 'thanks'.

And I'd like a 'dislike' reaction too.  I appreciate that could get misused but sometimes you read a post where someone has ended up in an awful situation, can't offer any advice but can't really hit 'like' either and then as above, it looks like no-one has read it.

leeCal

@OverlyAnxious I have been on some forum sometime whereby they had like and dislike ie Thumbs up and thumbs down and when you get a thumbs down after making what you think was a perfectly reasonable post it can be really annoying, even lead to arguments. 
In a way perhaps no comment is a bit like ‘least said, soonest mended.’
tricky stuff.

woodbine

Obviously i'm in favour of a "thank you" option, have no objection to the three existing ones either, sometimes a thank you button gives you the option to agree with what someone else has said so you don't have to repeat it.

OverlyAnxious

leeCal said:

@OverlyAnxious I have been on some forum sometime whereby they had like and dislike ie Thumbs up and thumbs down and when you get a thumbs down after making what you think was a perfectly reasonable post it can be really annoying, even lead to arguments. 
In a way perhaps no comment is a bit like ‘least said, soonest mended.’
tricky stuff.

*Dislike*  

Yeah, I can see how it could be mistreated.  I've been on a forum that had a 'sad face' button, maybe that would be more appropriate...  Though it doesn't really go with the positive vibe on here!  It is more tricky than it seems!

Chloe_Scope

Thank you everyone for your thoughts on this! It's certainly something we will keep discussing as a team and take your view into account.

janer1967

hI i must admit I hardly use any of the buttons, just not my thing would rather reply and give my views but I understand people who do use them. Maybe I should start to use them more

I disagree with a dislike button it would cause too much controversy in my opinion as many people don't like the answer we give if it isn't what they were wanting to hear and it is very negative reaction when someone has gone to the trouble of posting

66Mustang

I think the buttons are good. The “like” and “awesome” buttons overlap a bit and I tend to use them interchangeably.

I like the “insightful” button because sometimes I appreciate a post but I feel it would be inappropriate to say you like it. An example of this is if someone makes an interesting post about about how they are finding life hard - I think it would not be appropriate to say you like the post so the “insightful” button is quite useful.

I wouldn’t like a “dislike” button (or any negative button, however it is dressed up) as I feel people should be able to say what they think and share their opinions. The posts I enjoy reading most of all are the ones that go against the general consensus and give some insight into alternate views. I have found that forums with a dislike button encourage people to simply reproduce the same old posts as they are scared to say anything different!

66Mustang

OverlyAnxious said:

And I'd like a 'dislike' reaction too.  I appreciate that could get misused but sometimes you read a post where someone has ended up in an awful situation, can't offer any advice but can't really hit 'like' either and then as above, it looks like no-one has read it.

I see where you are coming from but this is actually where I think the “insightful” button is quite useful - when you want to acknowledge someone’s post but when saying you “like” it isn’t really appropriate.

Ross_Scope

Thanks for all your feedback! As mentioned above we will certainly take your comments into consideration with an eye on the future.

Your comments have been very awesome, insightful, and I like them

RAwarrior

@Cher_Scope

How about removing awesome and changing it to “inspiring”?

I agree with many of the other posts about having a dislike button which I think could upset a lot of people especially if there are no comments to support the reason why the post has been disliked. I think a really positive aspect of this online community is that lots of people are very open about their situation and if people started to get lots of “dislikes” perhaps they would be reluctant to make any further posts. I would like to know why someone had disliked what I had said or I would be concerned that I had caused offence albeit not intentionally.

I think a thank you button would be okay just not a “dislike” or thumbs down button which I think might be divisive.
 
 

mikehughescq

Not a fan of any of these buttons and in fact I think recent events have shown them to be dangerous. I’m not interested in people’s reactions to my posts and as someone with a sight impairment they’re very difficult to read anyway. If someone would like to respond positively or negatively they can surely post that and don’t need an extra button to do so! 

The real question here is what are these buttons for? Are Scope using them to collect data? I doubt it. They’re just a function provided by the site provider and they feed into stats on your profile. You can turn them on or off. When it comes to advantages I think it’s just too easy to counter each one with the obvious disadvantages.

The Spam button has been removed as some users were using it to mark posts they didn’t like. This looked like sheer spite but, given the poor user interface, it could just as easily have been difficulty getting to the Report element of Flag.

In order to currently report a post you have to first press Flag. This made sense when Flag also brought up the Spam option but it makes no sense now. Surely the Flag button needs replacing with just a Report button?

The data provided by these buttons is unreliable. Some people simply like each other’s posts regardless of content. Looking at one profile you might think a person was very popular but in fact they were just very popular with their friend. The same applies to Insightful. Posts marked with this are sometimes insightful but mostly they’re the consequence of a mutual appreciation society.

The other things to bear in mind here is that each post has a Facebook button. The consequences of that button are huge. Even if you’ve not on Facebook your data on here is effectively made available to Facebook and that will include what you Like or Flag. No thank you.

RAwarrior

@Cher_Scope
@mikehughescq
Please could the bit about Facebook having access to my data be clarified? I am not on Facebook, I have never used it and I will never use it as I have an aversion to it so I wouldn’t want my data being available to Facebook.
Many thanks 😁

mikehughescq

Any page which has a page with a Facebook button on it is used by Facebook to gather data regardless if whether guy use it or not. There is nothing else to clarify. The only way to avoid them doing that is to not use those sites; encourage those sites to take the button down, or, use a VPN which allows you to specifically limited the data passed to them and others like them such as Amazon or Google.

RAwarrior

@mikehughescq
Thank you very much for your explanation👍

OverlyAnxious

I don't think there's any way to avoid your data being collected by various major companies nowadays...  Everything you do online is done via Google or Amazon even if you don't use Facebook...  Not to mention you're probably using an Apple device?  Or speaking to Alexa?  Shops even use proximity systems that use your phones location to target ads...  


I don't mind them collecting data...I just wish we could see our realistic profile...Google knows far more about me than any medical professional ever has! 

Cressida

@Cher_Scope I agree with @leeCal it would be nice to see an acknowledgement of any response by the original author. Probably that won't happen as in my opinion if people don't like the replies they just disappear. I use the insightful button when people have gone to a lot of trouble with their reply. 

mikehughescq

I disagree on both fronts @OverlyAnxious.I wholly object to private companies having my data behind their purpose i.e. because they’re selling it and there us lots you can and should do. With the smallest of efforts you can seriously reduce your digital footprint and save money too.

First of all why target Apple devices? They are vastly superior to Android for example in terms of not collecting data and just leaving it on the device. Nothing I do online is via Google bar Maps which I use logged out. 

I use DuckDuckGo as a browser. It’s privacy is the whole point and it’s improving for search all the time. I don’t have a Gmail account so every word of my emails is not being parsed by Google. DDG also fireproof any site with a login so I can close down a site like this and come back to it later without having to login again or pass data. 

Additionally I use a free VPN on both devices and when I’m not using Maps it’s set to pass zero data to Google. Occasionally I’ll come across a site where a form won’t work unless I let some data through but mostly I give them zero bar Maps. The map data is useless them as my VPN gives them no hardware or software address for my location so they can never sell it to anyone who can link it to other data on my advice. 

The same VPN targets Amazon web services and Facebook. Both are harder to evade than Google as AWS fuels a lot of other sites shopping basket functionality and the Post to Facebook or Like on Facebook buttons give them your data whether you’ve an account or not. However, as I’ve no Facebook presence and they can’t link me to Google my VPN literally gives Facebook nothing and is set to zero data. AWS is set to around 50% as I do use Amazon regularly and multiple other shopping sites which they power. 

I have location services off for every single function on my devices bar the “Find my iPhone” function and including stuff like weather apps where there’s no gain in having it on because you can store a series of locations to flip through anyway.

I also review cookies on every site or app I use and refuse them in most circumstances including memorising logins etc. and I turn off personalised advertising options. The last take an ongoing effort but the reward is worth it. See below. 

I also never use public wi-fi and put my devices on airplane mode or off unless I’m physically looking at them. The amount of data time devices pass over when you are asleep is quite terrifying. 

Why bother? 

Well from a VI perspective stuff minus adds is way better to read. However, the data saving is huge. My devices used to cost me £30 pcm for data between them. Since I acquired the VPN I can run both devices for a combined cost of £8 per month as the reduction in data has literally moved me down several bands.

OverlyAnxious

Thanks @mikehughescq - that's the sort of post the insightful button is useful for! 

One benefit of being agoraphobic is that I never use any data...so there would be no cost difference to me.  Only use WiFi at home which is unlimited and 'free'.   (Of course, it's paid for within the broadband, but it's a flat rate regardless of how much I use).

I must admit, I do keep the WiFi switched off when it's not in use and keep location services switched off as well.  I'm also careful about my name or location appearing anywhere online, and don't post any pictures that could link me to an area etc.  I don't think I could be bothered to go to the full extent that you do to avoid data collection though!

mikehughescq

Thanks @OverlyAnxious. The only reason I’ve ever needed data at home is when I turn everything off and disconnect during a thunderstorm. Handy to have a back up strategy so to speak. However, I’ve been working at home since March and will be until at least January next year so even with super fast broadband or whatever it’s called this week I need other devices off so I can have enough bandwidth for video calls whilst virtual schooling is going on and my wife is also using bandwidth working from home. 

I have IT networking qualifications so my home network is well locked down. I use my real name everywhere as I refuse to hide behind a pseudonym, although I absolutely recognise why others do, but I never use an actual picture of me on any account even when it looks like I do. 

It’s actually not that much bother to set up my privacy levels. One evening of hard work and then it largely ticks over without any input from me.

Chloe_Scope

Some really interesting points! Thanks everyone.

Cher_Scope

@Cher_Scope
@mikehughescq
Please could the bit about Facebook having access to my data be clarified? I am not on Facebook, I have never used it and I will never use it as I have an aversion to it so I wouldn’t want my data being available to Facebook.

Apologies @RAwarrior

I'm just returning after days off so have only just come across your points but be assured they are being taken seriously and I will speak about it with the team asap.  I can understand your concerns about privacy and although I'm no facebook expert I'll endeavour to see what we can do.  Thank you for all your feedback, it is appreciated.  

chiarieds

I'm a bit ambivalent about this. When I joined Scope nearly a year ago, not having been on an internet forum before, I didn't understand these different 'like' buttons. I'm sure that will also be the the case with some of our new members.

It's interesting to see different members perspective of these. I'm somewhat in agreement with mikehughes, but feel perhaps some people's use of the 'spam' button has been upsetting rather than dangerous.

I would like the 'spam' button to be permanently removed, & a 'report' button would then be most appropriate.

We have seen a spate of some people just liking their friends posts, but equally we see some members perhaps 'liking' the first reply they may see, then others give their considered help/opinion, but by then the original poster may have left.

Once I sort of understood 'likes,' I did appreciate these more from members I've grown to respect, & I thought any 'insightful' comments were thinking a comment had indeed been insightful or thoughtful. I hadn't considered @66Mustang 's option, which indeed makes sense.

In the absence of any 'likes,' a 'thank you', 'great advice or 'that's helpful' comment I find good, rather than someone resorting to perhaps a 'thank you' button.

I also use DuckDuckgo for web searches with my web browser; it's safe & you get unbiased web searches, rather than what Google 'thinks' you might be searching for. I do use additional security measures too.

RAwarrior

@Cher_Scope

Many thanks for your reply and there’s no need to apologise. I hope you had a nice few days off😁

I do have a question though I don’t know if this is the correct thread or place to ask the question, however, as I am still new to the online community, please could you tell me how I bring a post that sounds a bit worrying to the attention of Scope? I don’t mean if I find something offensive but if I think that the person who has posted something may need professional help. 

Although I know a lot about my own conditions and I don’t mind giving information based upon what I have actually experienced, I would be reluctant to reply to a post where I might upset the person by not saying the right thing or being unsure about who to refer the person to. 

I do know quite a lot about signposting people to various organisations but I don’t think it’s my place to mention them in certain circumstances. 

I know that Scope monitors the contents of the posts, however, if I come across something which I think just doesn’t sound right (I am not trying to cause offence but I don’t know how else to say it) if that makes any sense, what do I do? 

Please accept my apologies in advance if I haven’t explained myself very well or if this is not the place to ask this question.

Sometimes I have a suggestion and I want to help but I think it would be better if it came from Scope. 

Many thanks 😊 

Cher_Scope

No problem @RAwarrior Another pair of eyes is always welcome.

If you read anything that causes you concern you can let us know by pressing the little flag button in the bottom left hand corner of that person's post.  After that, press the report option and it will direct you to another page where you type in the reason you have reported the post.  Only the moderating team will see that reason and that you have reported the post so please don't worry over saying the wrong thing.  We appreciate you taking the time to let us know about something we might otherwise miss.  

I hope that made sense but let me know if not

RAwarrior

@Cher_Scope
Thank you very much for your response and excellent explanation👍

The explanation is very helpful😁

Cher_Scope

@RAwarrior No problem! I'm glad I made sense  

Also, if you ever did report anything please know that although you won't receive a direct response following it up, we will have seen your concern and will be acting on it if we feel it's necessary.  

RAwarrior

@Cher_Scope
Thank you very much as it was an excellent and very clear explanation😁

I am reluctant to flag posts because of the very nature of this online community is to share issues or concerns which I myself have done. However, I have noticed some posts which are a bit concerning.

Chloe_Scope

Some great ideas here! Thank you everyone for sharing.