As long as these likes aren't handled in the same way they are in the news section. People bury posts based on popularity of the poster and opinion. It's a broken system. If we implemented that in the main forum, the entire place would end up being like five people talking to themselves lol.

I'm less than 3 weeks from my 10 year mark here, and dislike it so much, that this is either my last post, or second-to-last post. Probably second to last. Then, it's on to focusing my online energy on bolstering the tattered remains of NAMBLA full time. I can't even fully explain it, I just find it wildly unappealing. No offence or ill will to Talon, you're the man and I like you all the same. These things just happen. I'm not the first to leave for whatever reason, and won't be the last.

The whole point of a like/dislike feature is being able to conveniently agree anonymously. It's needed for controversial posts.

Instead of like system, why not go with "I agree" and "I disagree"?

If you have ad-block plus installed on your browser, you can click "block element" on both the little thumb and the "like" word and it all just disappears as if it didn't exist in the first place. 

I disagree with that anonymous bit... If you feel strongly enough to have an opinion about it, openly state and explain it, as anonymous "like/dislike" is both lazy and possesses no value. As we've seen plenty on the downvote option of the articles posted to this site, it will otherwise devolve into people simply downvoting anything they don't care for, regardless of how valid the post actually was. Those poor, poor Xbox fans... :p

I can live with a "like", but I'm whole-heartedly against the addition of any "dislikes" or "I disagree" options.

Ok. I will post in that thread for further discussion on the matter if needed, sure. I am honestly fairly surprised you are keeping up with the thread, especially since it was a user created thread and not an official one, which is partially why I wrote that comment in here. Good job! 

Just to clear things up, I certainly was not making a point about you or your work ethic when I asked if a feature would be kept because work was put into it. I was genuinely asking . As my post in the mod thread indicated, I have been more than surprised at how much work you guys put into improving the site, and that goes for taking feedback too.

You might be surprised to learn also that I am not necessarily against the feature. I just posted that comment because it seems to me like the people who dislike it genuinely hate it, whereas the people who like it don't seem over the moon either. I just thought that that specific part of your comment was a bit premature so I decided to ask the question. Nothing personal about it.

I'm on the side of showing the users who 'like' a post, that way if a questionable comment gets a lot of likes, it'll show who's behind them and perhaps show hidden intentions. I feel as anonymous it could be used as another method for trolling.

Nooooo!!! You can't leave though. If you leave, at least get on Discord more. Or at the very least the official VGC discord. 

Also I couldn't find out what the acronym NAMBLA means. All that came up was the North America Man/Boy Love Association. I'm sure that's what you meant, right?

I recognise and accept the reasons why 'likes' are here to stay for now. But I think its ridiculous that they should be present without the accountability of seeing who made which like.

Allowing people to click 'like' without acknowledging themselves is the antithesis of everything the site's moderation and accountability system attempts to achieve. It is easy to envision circumstances where people with minority views are hammered by the argument that their opponent's posts have been liked many more times.

It would permit a collective endorsement of stupidity, where otherwise supporters of poor arguments are required to justify themselves (and consequently, are quickly seen as having hollow, transparent ideas).

On a similar note, I'd suggest a review of the like system occurs immediately if it becomes a regular focal point for forum discussion. Eg. "Well my post has X likes and yours only has Y likes so clearly everyone knows I am right."

Anonymity allows for true honesty. The vast majority of people won't be honest if they know that they'll be persecuted for agreeing with a person who expressed a dissenting opinion. It's one of the reasons why we protect the identity of voters  and who they voted for from being public. 

We can agree to disagree on a dislike option.