I think the site's "THANKS!" button is broken
 

Well, maybe not broken so much as ... uselessly multipurpose.

Ben added the feature. I thought it was a great idea at the time.

But I keep noticing how often people use it in vigorous (often political) debates as a sort of virtual applause to reward someone who just said something that aligns with their views, rather than because the poster actually posted something useful! (EG: the recent motorcycle helmet thread.)

And then there are the times it gets used because someone just said something really funny. (I've done that.)

Maybe we need more versions of the button, so the various "points" members get are more ... useful.

I kind of like the idea that the "points" awarded for actually useful info aren't diluted/polluted by the other types of "points" the button is often used for.

You were asking for that.

So, you're thinking about a button that would display "RobertSmalls agrees with this post", or "RobertSmalls seconds this"?

I like having a button that saves me from having to type out a one-line reply, such as "yep" or "lol". That functionality of the Thanks button has rendered the "excellent posts" counter useless.

MetroMPG -

Good point. I think I have used the Thanks correctly most of the time, but I will make sure to be more careful in the future.

I have given out 181 thanks as of this post. If I go back and remove some old thanks I have given over time, please don't take it personally. It just means that I think I was setting a bad example by being political and/or taking sides at the time.

CarloSW2

Right back atcha, Mr Smalls.

Carlos: don't worry about trying to clean up old thanks. I should have put a winky-face up there in the title.

While a clean "excellent posts" count would be nice, I don't really think we'd get it, even with multiple buttons.

It can be used in strange fashion. I've seen some posts that were thanked and wondered what was useful about it? :confused:

...maybe you should implement its' complement--an inverted hand with the thumb DOWN--so we can cast a dissenting vote!?!?

..."...when in Rome..."

Same here. Some real head-scratchers out there.

Ha! I wonder if that would encourage nasty pack mentality sometimes. No, I think everyone should get a gold star. ;) No whammies!

Maybe something like the moderation system on Slashdot.org would work, where people get to vote a comment up and down with tags like Insightful, Funny, Interesting, (-1)Off Topic etc.

And instead of displaying how many thanks people get, show how many points have been gained, and what category(s) most were given for.