the nods

[PJ]

i get neg noded alot, i really dont care tho, so if it makes you feel good then go for it

[buddy]

I think the problem with the nods is that many people just negative nod rather than engaging someone in discussion. This doesn't matter so much in random gabble or the like, but in a restaurants or politics thread it seems like people don't even post anymore, just nod.

But I've been pretty candid about my belief that the board has a problem with everyone agreeing and I think that the nods encourage that.

I agree with para's point that nodding is not conversing.

merm, I think the nod feature is a mistake because even if it's a way to express an opinion, it's a very lazy way to communicate.  But mostly I don't like the nods because they're very much like High School or College where people are in cliques.  The nods seem cliquish to me.  Sometimes they make me laugh because a post can make perfect sense and get neg nods.  Like para's post that I'm quoting.  2 neg nods?  Why?  It's just silly.  Which is why getting either + or - nods has no significance to me. 

And para, as to the second part of your post: the problem of everyone agreeing -- well I disagree.  :-)

[Bentleys Dad]

I'm nodding off just reading this thread.


neg nod, pos nod, neg nod, pos nod. Yes while I agree that the nods can be tiresome and annoying, I'm sure that there are many members who participate only this manner. After all, we have a couple of hundred regular posters, yet we have over 3000  registered users. So, what I guess that I'm trying to say is, don't always assume that the nods you got, whether they be negative or positive, were put there by members that you know.
 
OT--I'd be curious to see the stats for how many registered members are just lurkers and how many are "contributing" members.--OT

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

[buddy]

I'm nodding off just reading this thread.

neg nod, pos nod, neg nod, pos nod. Yes while I agree that the nods can be tiresome and annoying, I'm sure that there are many members who participate only this manner. After all, we have a couple of hundred regular posters, yet we have over 3000  registered users. So, what I guess that I'm trying to say is, don't always assume that the nods you got, whether they be negative or positive, were put there by members that you know.
 
........

Please don't fall asleep yet or I'll be the one picking up the Ikea dishes and glasses!

SOOOOOO, your comment is interesting because I don't think the "non-posting masses" are using the Nods to express themselves.  I think it's the people doing all the posting who then go back to read the newest post and THEY are nodding their pleasure or displeasure.  See I've just nodded you that's how come I know what I say is true.  :-)

[essen]

Yes while I agree that the nods can be tiresome and annoying, I'm sure that there are many members who participate only this manner.

I doubt many of those 3000 members are communicating solely via nod, but whether they are or not, why would that be a good thing? This is all the nods can possibly communicate:

Positive Nod: I like you OR I like what you just said there OR I generally like the things you say
Negative Nod: I don't like you OR I dislike like what you just said there OR I generally dislike the things you say

One could argue that a person could get a general idea of how many people like/dislike his or her ideas, but this isn't even true since all you get is a "net" count and not a total of how many people voted positive and negative (which is not something I'm suggesting!). You could have 1000 people agreeing with you and 1001 disagreeing, and all you'd see is -1, same as if one person negative nodded you and nobody else cared enough to nod either way.

I can sort of understand why people feel like they've managed to communicate something by nodding a post, but what does it really add to the board aside from attaching a meaningless poll to every post whether the poster wants it or not?

[Bentleys Dad]

I doubt many of those 3000 members are communicating solely via nod, but whether they are or not, why would that be a good thing?

I never said it was a good thing, and I never said that I actually liked the nods feature.

[mcgowan]

I can sort of understand why people feel like they've managed to communicate something by nodding a post, but what does it really add to the board aside from attaching a meaningless poll to every post whether the poster wants it or not?

I view it sort of like the was this comment/review helpful feature on many product review / other message boards.  It is a way of communicating if you agree/disagree with a post without having to write I totally agree again and again.  I rather like it.  If you think it's meaningless, then why worry if you get neg nodded too much.

[paratactical]

I view it sort of like the was this comment/review helpful feature on many product review / other message boards.  It is a way of communicating if you agree/disagree with a post without having to write I totally agree again and again.  I rather like it.  If you think it's meaningless, then why worry if you get neg nodded too much.

Well, because I don't think it's meaningless. I think lots of nods one way or the other on posts changes the tonality of the "thread" and the discussion, thusly altering what one would or would not post.

[essen]

I view it sort of like the was this comment/review helpful feature on many product review / other message boards.  It is a way of communicating if you agree/disagree with a post without having to write I totally agree again and again.  I rather like it.  If you think it's meaningless, then why worry if you get neg nodded too much.

I don't "worry" if I get neg nodded too much. Sometimes it's curious, though, why I've gotten nods a particular way if no one's expressed disagreement. There was one thread where I asked if authors get any sort of payment/royalties for having their books in libraries, and I got two negative nods. I asked the great beyond what the negative nods meant since it was just a question, and no one answered. Did the nods mean "No, they do not get royalties"? Did they mean "You are stupid for even asking that question"? Eventually I got enough positive nods to bring me into positive nod territory, so then my post asking about why I got negative nods made no sense and resulted in confusion.

And paratactical's right; it does change the tone of a thread. By saying they're meaningless I meant they don't express anything aside from blunt positivity and negativity, which is not an effective way of communicating.

As for not having to write I totally agree again and again, why would you have to do that if the nods aren't there? Can't people just not post if all they were going to write is "I agree"?