 |
welcome, guest |
| News Forum | ||||
 |
| |||
 Caves Dweller Rascii   Administrator  |
 A new feature has been unveiled today here at Creatures Caves.  As you may have already noticed, logged in members may now "like" all posts throughout the website. This includes news articles, COBs, metarooms, polls, etc. as well as comments on posts and forum topics/replies.There is also a new Likes feed in the My Caves menu, where you may see all of the recently liked posts since the last time you viewed the page. Additionally, you may filter the likes by: only posts that your favorite members like, only posts that you have personally liked, and also all the likes on things that you posted. This is a great way to get feedback on your COBs, creatures and forum discussions. If you notice any bugs or have suggestions regarding this feature, please don't hesitate to add a comment to this news post or reply in the corresponding forum thread. Special thanks to Laura, Ghosthande, Jessica and Malkin for your help testing!  - Rascii |
|||
 Tea Queen Laura Administrator |
I was waiting eagerly for this feature to be finished on the old site, and it's finally here. Thank you Rascii! I'm looking forward to seeing some Likes on my Ask Laura responses too; a little encouragement goes a long way! |
|||
 Sanely Insane RisenAngel Manager |
I'm ambivalent about this. I like the concept in and of itself, since it's a nice way to show support since not all of us are very vocal. In addition, kudos for not implementing a "dislike" feature - that's very abusable, as Youtube has shown. But the feed? I get that likes can be positive, but given that in general people are probably going to like more stuff than they post, it's bound to get really annoying really fast. I really don't think it's something that's worth getting constant updates about. Risen Angel's Creatures Blog |
|||
Caves Dweller Rascii Administrator |
I think the nice feature of the feed is being able to filter it to see who has liked your own posts. For people who don't visit the site very often, they may not want to navigate around all the pages to check their posts to see if people have liked them. However, I agree that getting the small yellow star at the top right and also getting the (#) next to the Likes feed might be a bit excessive. We'll see how it goes, and I can adjust things based on user feedback. Thanks for the input.- Rascii |
|||
 Don |
I like it, I like it It's a nice way to get quick feedback. Should be 'handy'  Don AmberCreatures  |
|||
 Malkin Manager |
Cool, I think I'll use this. Will it count as a thingie in our profiles? (Malkin has 40 news posts, and 1132 likes)So if I want to 'opt out' of getting the little yellow update star, it's as simple as setting it to something like 'show my posts that others have liked in the advice section'? My TCR Norns |
|||
Sanely Insane RisenAngel Manager |
Another thing: people shouldn't be able to like their own posts. Just a thought. Risen Angel's Creatures Blog |
|||
Malkin Manager |
Haha... ![[ndoh]](/images/smilies/emot_doh.gif "[ndoh]") I know it's a bit narcissistic-looking, but quite often I upload a lot of other people's COBs, write news posts for other people, etc. etc. which I do like. ![[ngrin]](/images/smilies/emot_grin.gif "[ngrin]") I don't quite know the etiquette for 'liking' things, as I'm not a heavy Facebook user, but I would like to have the ability to like 'my own' posts. My TCR Norns |
|||
Caves Dweller Rascii Administrator |
Malkin wrote: I'll try to add it soon. Do you think it should show the number of your posts that other people have liked?Malkin wrote: However, at the moment, you can use the filter on the Likes Feed to see which of your posts have been liked by others, as mentioned in your example. Update: I just changed all the textual 'like' links to little thumbs up buttons. I hope everyone likes them. - Rascii |
|||
Malkin Manager |
I was thinking more that it would show the amount of 'likes' that you've given, than the amount of 'likes' that you've received - that way it might encourage people to give more. If it catches on, will there ever be a 'most liked' feature? My TCR Norns |
|||
Sanely Insane RisenAngel Manager |
After having the feature around for a while, I'm finding the Likes feed to be pointless at best and annoying at worst. At least, I'm finding it difficult to care about some random creature getting but a single like. If it absolutely must stay, I think it should be limited to just things the user posted/uploaded/etc, or to stuff the user themselves liked. I also stand by my previous statement that users shouldn't be able to like their own posts. I can understand that if the post in question is news, or if it's about something someone else did, but there's a lot of potential for abuse. Worst case scenario, there will be some narcissist who likes every single post he makes, regardless of how insignificant that post is. Coupled with the feed, it's bound to get extremely aggravating. Risen Angel's Creatures Blog |
|||
 AquaShee |
Self-likes should stay. If someone likes a post, that conveys a message. If someone likes their own post, this too conveys a message. Should we not allow people to convey messages just because they're less likely to be important? I can also think of a few occasions where liking your own post could matter. Best examples would be neutral posts such as news items or announcements. In posts like these, the poster's opinion belongs in the comment section. And likes are a form of comment. The worst case scenario you propose is a problem with the likes feed, not with self-likes. The filter on likes could perhaps get a few more options such as a minimum amount of likes or not counting self likes. The Community Scribble: make (y)our own metaroom! |
|||
 Jessica |
I haven't used the like feature too much, but I haven't found the feed to be too intrusive. Sometimes a couple of new likes bring a little more attention to something that's worthy of another look. I also like seeing a couple of likes for my posts every now and then... Maybe that puts me in the narcissistic category? Ha ha! There haven't been that many likes on a daily basis, though I do see your point, Grendel Man, about there being the possibility for abuse. The vast majority of Creatures Caves users are using this feature sparingly and in the way it was meant to be used. I think AquaShee nailed the issue: It's the likes feed that might have an issue, and not self-likes in general. Perhaps Rascii could look into streamlining this a little bit? Even making it easy to ignore the feed might be a decent solution: Whether a post has 1 or 1,000 likes doesn't clutter up the site, but it's the feed that could get a bit cumbersome. |
|||
Sanely Insane RisenAngel Manager |
I agree that the main problem with the self-likes is mostly due to the feed, rather than the feature itself. However, the feed isn't the entire problem here, and there's still issues with the ability to self-like in and of itself. Like I said before, it's understandable if someone likes their own news post or other such neutral statement - in that case, the message being sent is "this is important/awesome, and you should check it out." That's fine. What I'm objecting to here is self-likes made for anything else. For example, there's really no need to like your own posts in an argument - by doing that, you're pretty much saying "I agree with myself" (at least, that's how I'm seeing it). In that case, the self-like is meaningless because the statement it's trying to make is rather obvious and should go without saying. Likewise, the narcissist who constantly likes his own posts is probably saying "I think I'm so awesome!" In that case, he's saying something that is completely his own opinion, and likely one that only he himself agrees with. It'll get especially egregious if the only person liking that guy's posts is himself. I'm not saying that there are actually people in the CC who are like this (I also agree that most people who are using the likes feature are using it pretty sensibly); I'm saying that the potential for abuse is there and probably shouldn't be encouraged. Just my two cents. Edit: And I just had another thought concerning abuse. In an argument, a self-like could very well be used for the intimidation factor - if one side of an argument gets a lot of likes for his post, he can very well claim that most other people are siding with him. In this case, self-liking is another form of...unmentionable-waving. Granted, the use of likes as an intimidation factor is more a problem with the entire feature itself, but self-likes can stink it up quite a bit. Given the general temperament of the CC, this might not be a big issue, but it's a potential issue nevertheless. Risen Angel's Creatures Blog |
|||
AquaShee |
You're blowing this way out of proportion. A self-like is just one like, and if this one like is somehow enough to be the intimidating factor in an argument, then that argument didn't get many likes in the first place. Your other arguments are all based on the persons 'abusing' the feature being narcissistic or overenthousiastic people. I doubt stopping them from liking their own posts would stop them from saying things like "I am really awesome!" in their signature. Again, the problem would be with the people, and not the like button. And it wouldn't be a big problem either way, since people are still allowed to be convinced that they are awesome or that what they posted is really, really neat. You're making a big fuss over what is essentially a fun, innocent little feature that is not likely to be abused at all (and you admit so yourself) and even if it were to be abused, you'd hardly notice anything other than a busy Likes feed. Facebook has had it for ages now, so I think we'll be safe as long as we don't hop onto the stock market. All that's needed is a little tweak to the likes Feed, perhaps have it default to likes from friends. (with the total amount of likes between brackets) The Community Scribble: make (y)our own metaroom! |
|||
Caves Dweller Rascii Administrator |
Well thanks for the opinions, everyone. As I said when Likes feed was first introduced, I would be happy to revisit the topic after a few weeks.I'm guessing the main issue that is bothering people is the yellow star popping up when there are new likes. Is this true? If so, I'm considering adding an option in the "Settings" page whereby one can disable the little yellow star for likes. That way, the likes feed number will still increase, but the star won't appear. And of course it's quite easy to clear the likes number -- just click on the Likes page and then navigate to another page, and the counter is reset. - Rascii |
|||
Tea Queen Laura Administrator |
I think adding an option to disable the little yellow star for Likes is the best solution to keep everyone happy. I know disabling notifications has worked well for Strangeo games, which annoyed some people in the past! |
|||
Sanely Insane RisenAngel Manager |
An option sounds like an awfully good idea. Risen Angel's Creatures Blog |
|||
Caves Dweller Rascii Administrator |
Update: COBs may now be sorted by popularity (i.e. most 'likes') or by date. Additionally, there is now a box at the top of the page showcasing the eight most popular COBs. I'm planning on rolling this out for Creatures, Metarooms and in the Gallery as well. If you have any suggestions, as always, let me know~ Another update: Creatures, metarooms and galleries may now be sorted by popularity and also have a "most popular" box at the top. *** Additionally, the yellow star will no longer be illuminated due to new likes. If anyone misses the likes star, please let me know. *** - Rascii |
|||
Sanely Insane RisenAngel Manager |
Just out of curiosity, what exactly do you mean by "yellow star" when referring to likes? If you're referring to the number that shows up next to the "likes" button on Mycaves, then I'm still getting that. Risen Angel's Creatures Blog |
|||
Tea Queen Laura Administrator |
Rascii means the yellow star that appears next to 'Welcome, Grendel_Man' in the top right-hand corner; the one that alerts you when there are new posts (and previously, likes). |
|||
| downloads cobs adoptions creaturelink metarooms breeds gallery art wallpaper screenshots graphics promos sprites |
dev hack shack script reservations dev resources active projects dev forum community links advice chat polls resources |
creatchi forum bookmarks general news help development strangeo survivor |
mycaves log in register lost pw |
1 online Sketchtape |
| creatures caves is your #1 resource for the creatures artificial life game series: creatures, creatures 2, creatures 3, docking station, and the upcoming creatures family. contact help privacy policy terms & conditions rules donate wiki |
||||