First of all, how would Stars work?
Like how YouTube lets the video owner give Hearts to comments, Discourse would let forum staff give Stars to either topics, and/or posts.
Stars wouldn’t show up on any topics/posts unless they have one or more of them.
Would Stars be related to Likes in any way?
No. They do not count towards like badges, nor do they influence Likes in any way.
Can only admins/moderators give Stars?
Any group or trust level with a permission “Give Stars” would be able to give stars.
Would there be badges for Stars?
There could be. I got some ideas for them:
Name: First Star
Tier: Bronze
Description: You have posted an amazing contribution that prompted staff to give you a star. Congratulations!
Re-Earnable: False
Name: Shooting Stars
Tier: Silver
Description: Earn 5 stars in total on your contributions.
Re-Earnable: False
Name: Star System
Tier: Gold
Description: Earn 25 stars in total on your contributions.
Re-Earnable: False
Where would Stars be placed on posts?
To the left of the Likes. They would look like Likes and be clickable to show which people gave you a star, however instead of a heart outline (red heart when clicked), it would be a star outline (yellow star when clicked). The Star button for un-starred posts is hidden for people without permission to give Stars.
Couldn’t you just use Likes?
Yes, while you could use Likes, a like doesn’t really give out the vibe of “good enough that staff liked this”. The star’s exclusivity to staff members makes it feel really special.
What about Mod Notices?
Yes, you could use a Mod Notice to say “Staff really likes this post!” but that’d make it impossible to add another notice, if needed, as a post cannot have multiple notices.