See who voted up your post

[TobyD]

Over on the dark side it is possible to see who gave kudos to a post. You can also view various statistics about who you have kudoed the most, who has kudoed you the most, etc.

Is it possible to see this info on LAVA as well? I would like to at least be able to see who "voted up" a post. Since we don't allow "voting down" a post, there is no risk of hurt feelings when person A sees that person B (whom they have always admired) is willfully and wantonly voting down every post that they make. Not that that would happen here.

-Toby

[Phillip Brooks]

Over on the dark side it is possible to see who gave kudos to a post. You can also view various statistics about who you have kudoed the most, who has kudoed you the most, etc.

Is it possible to see this info on LAVA as well? I would like to at least be able to see who "voted up" a post. Since we don't allow "voting down" a post, there is no risk of hurt feelings when person A sees that person B (whom they have always admired) is willfully and wantonly voting down every post that they make. Not that that would happen here.

-Toby

+1 from me

[crelf]

Since we don't allow "voting down" a post, there is no risk of hurt feelings...

"If you're not with us, you're against us". You'll be able to see who didn't kudos, and, by their absence, might consider that negative. Why do you really want to know who voted your post up anyway? I'm not sure I understand why that's important.

[TobyD]

You'll be able to see who didn't kudos, and, by their absence, might consider that negative.

That's a stretch...

Why do you really want to know who voted your post up anyway? I'm not sure I understand why that's important.

Not important...I just think it's interesting. I see voting up a post as a way of thanking the poster for something useful, funny, etc. As it works right now I have no way of knowing who finds my posts interesting enough to award me with the greatest honor available to any single post on LAVA...the vote up! (Except for you Mr. Brooks...Thank you!...+1 from me )

[jcarmody]

I'm not sure I understand why that's important.

When I get a kudo on the dark side it means more to me when I see that it's from a LabVIEW Champion or a Proven Enthusiastic Zealot. It's not important, but it sure makes me feel nice.

[Michael Aivaliotis]

Hmmm, you guys hang out on the dark side? Admitting that should cost you -1 vote. Hey crelf maybe we should enable negative voting?

[crelf]

That's a stretch...

I don't think it is - for exmaple: I post, then contact ppl directly with a "hey - I think you'll find my post uber interesting" and then they don't kudos it. I supposed that does sound like a bit of a stretch, but this example has actually happened several times to me - someone has skyped/PMed/d tweeted me with a link, I read it and find it less interesting than they thought I would, then they question me on why I didn't give it a thumbs-up (or "thums-up" if you're in India). It sounds a bit out there, but it's a natural process for those who are addicted to getting kudos.

When we were designing LAVA 2.0, we toyed with the idea of the kudos system, and there are definately negatives like this, but we figured we needed something better than post count as a status symbol, so we choose to implement it. That said, it's only as accurate as the seriousness in which it is applied and perceived

Hmmm, you guys hang out on the dark side? Admitting that should cost you -1 vote. Hey crelf maybe we should enable negative voting?

I wonder if we can set up a script that counts the number of posts someone makes on the dark side and automatically decrement the kudos here by that amount...

PS: I am, of course, completely kidding.

PSS: Or am I?

PSSS: Yes, I am.

[TobyD]

It sounds a bit out there, but it's a natural process for those who are addicted to getting kudos.

I didn't realize this could become an addiction. I'm cutting myself off. No more trying to artificially inflate my kudo count.

Still, I think it's cool to see who kudoed a post. Not even my posts necessarily. If I see a post that strikes me as particularly interesting/funny/useful (or particularly offensive/stupid) I like to see who kudoed it. It gives me a little insight into the people here on LAVA...and since my company seems determined to keep me away from NI Week where I would actually get to meet some of you, those little pieces of insight mean even more.

[Yair]

PSSS: Yes, I am.

Or are you?

Great, starting with -6000 points is all I need.

To be honest, I have to admit I don't notice the LAVA voting buttons. Unlike the NI ones, they're not "in your face" and so I don't use them. Even if I would, I'm the type to only vote on posts which are either out of the ordinary, show real commitment or have real value for me personally.

[crelf]

It gives me a little insight into the people here on LAVA...

Hmmmm - I think I see what you mean. So, for example, you really like a member's posts and you'd like to follow what they think is valuable, you could view what they gave kudos to. I think that could be valuable. I'm not sure if it's doable though.

[jcarmody]

[...] only vote on posts which are either out of the ordinary, show real commitment or have real value for me personally.

Me, too, but I also give kudos when a post makes me laugh. I have a very sophisticated sense of humor so this doesn't happen very often!

[Kurt Friday]

I can see some value, or curiosity in who votes your posts, but I think many would like to be anonymous in their voting.

I can see situations where posters get upset that certain users don't vote their posts, or that users will vote because they might feel that the poster will be upset that they didn't.

I personally like it the way that it is.

[Daklu]

I supposed that does sound like a bit of a stretch, but this example has actually happened several times to me - someone has skyped/PMed/d tweeted me with a link, I read it and find it less interesting than they thought I would, then they question me on why I didn't give it a thumbs-up (or "thums-up" if you're in India). It sounds a bit out there, but it's a natural process for those who are addicted to getting kudos.

Hah! I knew there was a reason I hadn't signed up for twitter!

On the slightly more serious side, I have a real hard time feeling bad for somebody who got skunked while blatently fishing for kudos. And if they then get offended because you didn't vote it up? Puh-leze. That person needs to get out a little more and develop a sense of self-worth that isn't based on an arbitrary rating from strangers.

PS: I am, of course, completely kidding.

PSS: Or am I?

PSSS: Yes, I am.

PPPPS: Are you misusing the abbreviation for 'post script'?

PPPPPS: Yes, you are. ("Post script script script?")

PPPPPPS: Am I a total lamer for calling in the grammar police?

P^7S: Yes, I am.

I can see situations where posters get upset that certain users don't vote their posts, or that users will vote because they might feel that the poster will be upset that they didn't.

This issue really makes me question the point of having kudos in the first place. Kudos are meant to reflect that someone has contributed to the LAVA community--either with humor, by helping others solve problems, sharing tools, etc. The minute social pressure contributes to the decision to give kudos is the minute they become absolutely worthless.

Personally, I think it is interesting to be able to trace kudos on the dark side. It gives me another way to find people and topics that match my interests. It also lets me discover that AQ's 29 kudos were all given to him by Darren and a lurker named 'Aristos Notifier.' It's a feature that would be nice to have.

[Michael Aivaliotis]

I think it would be nice to be able to locate the top voted posts. That would be worth implementing.

I'm not in favor of adding features that would allow others to track member behavior. For example, I've disabled the forum features that allow you to track which member is looking at what forum, what post and is browsing who's profile (actually this last one is user configurable). I'm in favor of a little privacy when it comes to this sort of thing.

[TobyD]

I have a real hard time feeling bad for somebody who got skunked while blatently fishing for kudos. And if they then get offended because you didn't vote it up? Puh-leze. That person needs to get out a little more and develop a sense of self-worth that isn't based on an arbitrary rating from strangers.

Well put.

It also lets me discover that AQ's 29 kudos were all given to him by Darren and a lurker named 'Aristos Notifier.' It's a feature that would be nice to have.

That's funny

I think it would be nice to be able to locate the top voted posts. That would be worth implementing.

That's better than nothing. A well used voting system is a powerful filter tool. If can see a list of the top voted posts for the last day/week/month there is a pretty good chance that post is worth reading - either because it will make me laugh or teach me something. This would be especially useful after a vacation or something where I haven't followed the site for a couple of weeks.

I can understand the desire to maintain some anonymity on the site. Still, I think the more metrics we have the more likely it is that people will use the vote system. I would still like to be able to see, for example, which posts recently received votes. If I show up to LAVA and see that my reputation points have just gone up by 20 it would be nice to know which posts are getting all the hits.

[Daklu]

Also I suggest everyone update their LAVA profiles with their twitter account names so we can all keep in touch.

I'm in favor of a little privacy when it comes to this sort of thing.

Huh?

I guess I don't understand how tracking kudos or seeing what forum a member is reading invades privacy. Sure, if we had a 'LAVA Pr0n' forum I might not want someone else to know I was oogling the connector pane of a naked vi, but we don't. (Maybe that's reserved for premium members?) Although I can see how someone would be embarrassed if caught reading the Alfa thread.

The decision not to do it doesn't bother me... it just seems like an odd reason for the decision.

[Michael Aivaliotis]

The decision not to do it doesn't bother me... it just seems like an odd reason for the decision.

There is no "decision" really. The feature you're requesting has to be built from scratch. If we were ever to implement it, then it would have to include an option for the member to opt-out of showing what they voted for.

Are you implying that making votes public would increase the credibility of them? In any case, like any feature here on LAVA, it's mostly community driven so if the masses want it then we can make it happen. I was just expressing my opinion.

You mentioned twitter. This is something you can opt-out of. You don't have to join twitter or display your twitter name on LAVA if you don't want to.

[Daklu]

The feature you're requesting has to be built from scratch.

Now THAT'S a reason I understand.

Are you implying that making votes public would increase the credibility of them?

No, not on purpose anyway. I did say that giving kudos as a response to social pressure renders them worthless, but social pressure can be applied regardless of whether the voting records are public or private.

Regarding Twitter, it's my perception (since I'm not a Twitterer) that a stranger subscribing to your feed would likely learn a lot more personal information about you than they would by looking up what posts you kudoed, hence my confusion. I see now that your concern is to provide kudo privacy to those users who want it, not to enforce a blanket privacy policy out of principle.

But as I said earlier, this is a 'nice to have' feature that I would use occasionally, not a 'gotta have it now' feature.

Edited July 29, 2009 by Daklu

[crelf]

That person needs to get out a little more and develop a sense of self-worth that isn't based on an arbitrary rating from strangers.

I never said it was strangers

PPPPPPS: Am I a total lamer for calling in the grammar police?

Do you really want to start playing that game? Because, if you do, bring it!

The minute social pressure contributes to the decision to give kudos is the minute they become absolutely worthless.

...and that's why I don't think it's a good idea.

I guess I don't understand how tracking kudos or seeing what forum a member is reading invades privacy.

Because what posts/threads/etc I read is none of your damn business.

Maybe what we're looking for is more like tagging? It's like kudos, but with data.

[TobyD]

Maybe what we're looking for is more like tagging? It's like kudos, but with data.

I am actually just looking for kudos with data, not tagging I find kudos with metrics far more useful than tagging on a site the size of LAVA. Tagging only seems to work well if you have a large group actively tagging and following some sort of "best practices" when it comes to choosing the tags to use. Even if a relatively small group is actively giving out kudos, the best posts/posters will quickly rise to the top of the charts. I can see in an instant where the activity is happening and what people like to read.

[crelf]

Tagging only seems to work well if you have a large group actively tagging and following some sort of "best practices" when it comes to choosing the tags to use.

Yeah - that's true.