Thumbs Up “Like” option for BPL posts

[Monte Masterson]

Recommendation

Such a great website with probably the most knowledgeable ultralight backpackers anywhere, BUT 8 plus hours can go by without any posts and there really aren’t that many replies overall. YouTube, social media and r/Ultralight reddit all have the “like” option and it increases participation immensely. It lets posters know if what they are saying resonates with the masses.

I think adding such a feature would greatly increase membership and activity (and income). I don’t know how hard or expensive it would be to implement but I’d sure do it if possible. Just an opinion mind you.

[dirtbag]

[William Chilton]

BPL did, briefly, have a “like” button. Unfortunately, it was combined with a “dislike” button, and I think the feature was removed due to the possible negativity.

I, too, think a like button would be a useful addition; it would allow us to show our agreement with a comment, where we don’t want to actually post on the thread as we don’t have anything significant to add.

[Marcus]

Ditto. We need some more engagement on the Forum. Ive been reading posts from 5-10 years ago because not much new content is posted day to day. Seems like the forum was busier in the past. A like button couldnt hurt.

 

[David Thomas]

Once you needed to join in order to post (implemented to control spam), newbie usage dropped a lot and it’s the newbies who have all the basic questions and whom people are motivated to help out.

We were doing “+1” posts as a “ditto” for a while and while that refreshes the post, it adds no new  content.

[Dan]

While we are making suggestions …

It would also be nice if one could reply directly to another post, including a quote. That’s a pretty common functionality, and makes threads easier to follow.

Also, much of the content on the site could also benefit greatly from photos, which are not easy to incorporate into posts. I’ve learned how to do it, but it’s clunky, and I notice that many people do not include photos, even when they could be very illustrative.

[Monte Masterson]

Huge numbers of people live for “Likes” on all types of internet forums. It makes you feel good when you write something that a lot of people show their approval for. Provides a motivation to post more, and perhaps it’s merely seeking validation, however I say the masses give us the best gauge as to whether or not what we’re posting is worthwhile. No “dislike” button is needed because if you see almost zero likes you know the post may not have hit home with readers.

[Bill Budney]

+1

[Terran Terran]

Likes become a popularity contest that trumps expertise. Often they’re just mandatory. Save them for Facebook. I can often find information here that I can’t find elsewhere. The volume of cottage manufacturers posting has seemed to have dwindled. Some of the originals are here still.

[David D]

There is very often no correlation between utility/insight and “likes” on reddit ultralight, but the opposite.  It breeds groupthink, popularity contests and not fresh thinking.  So many of the most useful posts on reddit are 1 like and many old wives tales get liked through the roof

The like button has turned the internet into a sewer, there are studies linking plummeting teen mental health to the like button, I’ve seen it chase away all the subject matter experts at other sites.  Its absence is one of the most attractive aspects to me of BPL

No doubt this post would not be liked much

[Dondo .]

+1   ;-)

[Bill Budney]

+1

My primary reason for wanting a like button is that I don’t want my name to appear as the most recent post in the Recent Forum Topics view. I would prefer that the actually-interesting message show in that view.

I wonder whether BPL would suffer the same problem as Reddit because we have to pay to post here?

Without a like button I am forced to choose between two unattractive alternatives: Say nothing at all, which is sometimes slightly rude, or say “+1” which is mostly a wasted post and clutters the Recent Forum Topics view.

[Monte Masterson]

I can see how young people seeking “Likes” on social media could be detrimental to their mental health but this is ultralight backpacking. I trust the first-hand experiences of the gear buying masses out there (who have used items extensively in the field) over a select few “experts” who may or may not have an inherent bias. Same with philosophy and technique. I trust the perspective of the many backpackers who are actually putting on the miles and spending many nights in the backcountry over influencers.

As far as a popularity contest, I don’t know. There certainly are some gear proprietors here on BPL who have a lot of credibility and many believe just about anything they say, however I think the posts from the rest of us would be judged strictly on content, regardless of who we are. I have a lot of faith in just how smart most BPL members are and I don’t see them as being easily persuaded by herd mentality.

 

[BlackHatGuy]

I agree with Terran Terran and David D, a ‘like’ button is simply unnecessary on this site. I don’t see how it would increase membership or activity — are people really going to pony up $5 just so they can like a post? And if someone is coming to BPL for validation of their input, they’re coming to the wrong place (IMNSHO). We already have enough threads where various people say the same thing others have already said in the thread, like buttons would encourage even more of that which just junks up a thread.

There are a number of reasons site participation has dwindled (or seems to have to some): longstanding and persistent site problems have driven some people away, having to pay to post keeps some people away, and simply moving on from a gear-centric site when gear is no longer that important to your backpacking keeps some people away. I’m sure there are other reasons as well (chaff often had more interaction than the main forums when chaff was around, I always found that a bit humorous, and perhaps a bit telling).

[W I S N E R !]

As a fairly long time user and once frequent contributor, it’s not the lack of a like button that’s dulling my interest. Frankly, it just feels like an ever narrowing demographic swimming in a shrinking pool. Once upon a time there were far more personalities here: adventure racers, ultrarunners and FKT chasers, budding gear developers/designers, photographers and aspiring writers, climbers, packrafters, ultralight hunters…Even some good old curmudgeons that boasted of 70+ pound packs and 20+ day unsupported trips. Needless to say, a lot of people trying to do things that were quite out of the box.

There were also some seriously credentialed staff writers and forum contributors (Did you know Roman Dial used to write here?). I had casual forum conversations with Mike Clelland. I sold a pad to Erin and Hig McKittrick. I met my real-life ultralight hunting mentors on this site. Thanks to Mike M. and Dave C. for bringing me into the Montana fold. And the R2R2R crew. And the GGGs (interestingly, something site leadership never attended). It goes on and on.

Where did everyone go?

I used to regularly post trip reports. I still get out a lot, I still write. Looking at my forum profile, it appears my last was two years ago. It got two responses. There used to be a little more love, a little more stoke around here. And frankly, after the forum paywall and a dozen personal email solicitations for a Supreme Level Lifetime Uber Membership, things start feeling a little less community and a little more like I’m a cog in a revenue machine. Did you know BPL actively discouraged forum anonymity in the early days? I liked that.

Hey, maybe we did it to ourselves, I sure don’t comment on trip reports anymore either. The thrill is gone…well, at least for me. I feel like I’ve done my bit to try and keep it alive. My last post seeking a fastpacking partner here was 3 years ago. Nobody responded. Yet a week ago I spent the Solstice on a local peak with over 30 bikepackers; I get my jollies, gear advice, and trip invites elsewhere now.

Alas, a broken ultralight backpacker still chasing some dreams, reminiscing on the olden days and waxing about where it all went…and probably breaking the Forum Guidelines by doing so.

(FYI, I don’t think it went anywhere, it’s just not here on BPL anymore).

 

[W I S N E R !]

I will add: very grateful for all the continuing friendships that were sparked by this place…and there are many. I still lurk in hopes of finding a few more…you never know.

[Matthew / BPL]

I enjoy your trip reports quite a bit, Craig. Maybe I should have spoken up more when you were posting them regularly.

[Monte Masterson]

Maybe you guys are right, perhaps adding a “Like” button would turn BPL into more of a circus, but when you’ve gotten to the level of sluggish inactivity we’re at now anything is worth a try. I still think it would increase participation, however I could be wrong.

Yet I’m very appreciative for everything BPL has provided. A lot of members pony up the basic $7 in order to post on Gearswap.

[Todd T]

I don’t think a feature that encourages thoughtless and compulsive participation is a solution to a lack of meaningful participation.  My 2 cents.

[Bill in Roswell]

I agree with Monty and Wisner. Ive noticed a dwindling in participation the past two years. It may due in part to several issues. I don’t see a Thumbs Up being abused as there isn’t that much participation now. BPL really can’t be compared to Reddit UL where anyone can post. A Thumbs Up would be worth trying on BPL for 6 months to cover change of seasons participation.

[Bill Budney]

BPL really can’t be compared to Reddit UL where anyone can post.

A Thumbs Up would be worth trying on BPL for 6 months

+1

[Bruce Tolley]

+ 1. A like button would not hurt as an experiment. But the solution must fit the problem and lots of people seem to have voted with their feet.  I think the paywall pushed them out but do not have the data to prove it. For example, the two Scouting oriented forums have been mostly dead for two years now

@ Craig. yes there is a whole host of content creators that started here and moved elsewhere.  I still follow Alan Dixon’s blog.  What other forums do you get jollies and gear advice from.  There used to be an axiom that good content drives web traffic.  But how many times do we need to discuss whether silpoly is superior to silnylon ?

[David D]

Has anyone experienced other valued forums improving after introducing the like button?  If so, in which ways?

For me, I’ve only ever seen the opposite.  While volume skyrockets, the like button seems to punish open-mindedness by breeding some factional hostility and/or conformist trampling.  I don’t know that any forum can be resilient to it.  But every individual’s tolerance will be different.

[Monte Masterson]

The UK has 20% the population of the US and trek-lite.com has about 20% as many members as backpackinglight, yet there are approximately 5 times more posts on that lightweight backpacking site than here on BPL. The like button on trek-lite hasn’t produced any “factional hostility and/or conformist trampling” whatsoever. Actually the site is more enjoyable than BPL on just about every level and that’s no slur against BPL staff at all. Henry S just linked a thread regarding the Dipole 1 DW from trek-lite.com and as you can see its members do a much better job at doing a deep dive analysis of the tent than you’re likely to ever see on BPL. But you also don’t notice the passive aggressiveness, smugness and cranky old Boomer types (of which I might be one) who sometimes dwell on BPL either. People have a more collective sense of getting along and perhaps it’s simply in contrast to the rugged American individualist who is easy to spot in a crowd with his loud dress, loud talking and air of superiority. (I’m American born and raised by the way…. America the Violent).

And I don’t understand what’s so wrong with r/Ultralight Reddit. I still think the most knowledgeable ultralight people are here on BPL, however it’s just you only see about 1/20th as many posts.

 

 

[Bill Budney]

I can’t think of another forum without a like button.

(but I agree that Reddit is prone to noise; not so sure about the toxicity thing because I don’t hang out there much — because of the noise).

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