In the “Likes vs Dislikes?” discussion, 8BIT asked about the reasoning behind Discourse’s decision not to include a dislike button. merefield pointed out the existence of the Retort plugin, which allows for additional reactions, and suggested that the default setup aims to promote positive vibes and avoid negativity. 8BIT clarified that they are already using the Retort plugin, but are interested in understanding the core team’s initial reasoning. Stephen explained that dislikes can convey negative sentiments and are not necessary, as good content should rise to the top, and a report feature exists for handling toxic content. Falco shared two relevant meta discussions on the topic of down-voting and reputation systems on discussion boards.
I couldn’t find a thread about this… but if there is one, please point me in that direction!
I’d love to know how the Discourse Team thought through not including dislikes as an option. I’m thinking through another application and trying to talk through the pros and cons of including a dislike button in addition to a like button.
Thoughts?
I guess you are aware of the retort plugin to add other, configurable, reactions?
I guess the default setup is just a means of reinforcing only positive vibes and avoiding negativity?
i am and i have implemented it, but, i was thinking more along some of the initial convos that the core team had put together. love to know the “why” behind the “what,” essentially.
It’s pretty simple, dislikes convey a negative sentiment.
Good content should rise to the top- there’s no need to conduct a public flogging every time you disagree with what someone else has to say.
And for everything that’s offensive or inappropriate there’s a report feature. No community managers want to keep toxic content on view.
Please read
https://meta.discourse.org/t/should-down-voting-be-core-functionality-in-discourse/40/6?u=falco
and