Why do we have to 'Like' posts in order to say we've read them?

I always tick the ‘Like’ icon as a sign of respect to the person who wrote and posted their message. It also tells them they are’nt being ignored. BUT ! Why does it have to be a ‘Like’ icon when the subject matter is so often painful? In reality I don’t ‘Like’ the information that’s often portrayed. How can you ‘Like’ a post that’s so full of pain and hurt? WHY OH WHY can’t we have a ‘Read’ icon instead? This ‘Like’ icon I believe first came about through Facebook and as such every web site designer from then on has copied it without giving any thought to the full ramifications of its effect. I’m sure many feel like I do which is why many posts don’t get a ‘Like’ despite the responses to the post often being numerous. I brought this subject up many years ago with the Facebook administrators. Unsurprisingly it fell on deaf ears. Lets place it in context. If you were in the company of some one who was sobbing their heart out whilst telling you of the death of their loved one. Would you say to them in response. " I 'Like" what you are sharing with me."

Love and Light
Geoff.

2 Likes

Hi Geoff,

Thanks for your feedback. Yes, I completely agree that ‘like’ often doesn’t feel like an appropriate reaction on this site. There may be times that we do genuinely like a post (for example, because it contains really good advice), but I know there are other times when people just want to show support without typing a response.

The fact that it is called a ‘like’ is a feature of the platform that we have used to build the site - a platform is a sort of basic framework for a website that you can adapt to meet your requirements. Building a forum like this 100% from scratch would be difficult and time consuming, so we use a platform to make the best use of the charity’s resources and to make sure that the site works well without too many errors.

We will be doing some updates and improvements to the site in a couple of months, and, after that, you won’t actually see the word ‘like’ next to the button any more - it will just be the heart symbol and a number. You will also be able to insert emojis in posts, giving more of a range of possible reactions.

Keep an eye on the forum of the next few weeks for more updates on the improvements we are working on.

Priscilla
Community Manager

2 Likes

Thank you so much Priscilla for responding, and in such a full way. It was very much appreciated., x