When I first started interacting with the DNDBeyond forums, I treated the "Thanks" feature as a challenge to maintain a high "quality" of post. I wanted to aim for some unreasonable ratio of "Thanks" to "Total Posts", so that I could sit comfortably in the knowledge that my contributions were generally positive. (It quickly became apparent that just because a post is "good" doesn't mean anyone actually cares.)
Some members manage a ratio greater than 1.0, which is very impressive, while many others sit below 0.04, which is not so impressive. (I'm only checking those with >500 posts.)
I'm sitting at around 0.44, which I'm happy with.
On one hand, a user who really wants to optimize their "Thanks Ratio" could hold back and choose only to Post/Comment where there would be an appropriate yield, such as "Support Sniping", being selectively opinionated in a controversial thread, or joining a circular Thank group to deliberately inflate the numbers. On the other hand, users who do PbP, or participate in discussions more casually, tend to get skipped over because they are either progressing an existing narrative, or no one is invested enough to show support.
So, my questions are:
What is your "Thanks Ratio"?
Why do you think it is what it is?
Do you care?
Does it influence your engagement in the forums?
Do you think DNDBeyond should include alternative reactions? (Positive/Negative, Happy/Sad, Reddit-style awards, or Comments)
What would motivate you to use this kind of feature more regularly?
Considering DNDBeyond's current interest in Digital Dice, maybe they would be interested in paid forum features as an additional source of micro-transactions. It could be a way of recognizing individuals as having a reputation for being helpful/creative/entertaining/etc. (Keeping them positive and/or toggleable would be warranted). Perhaps it could unlock restricted titles to replace those that only indicate total post count.
Mine's around 0.7% of my posts. I'm pretty happy with that, considering that most of my posts are on a roleplaying thread in Adohand's and don't contribute to the forums.
I'm at 45% and until very recently mainly posted in the Rules and DM's Forums. It's nice to be recognized, but it's not a huge motivator for me to post "strategically"
(also, using the website on a smartphone in portrait mode hides the button, so not everyone has the ability to see/activate the button. It took me months to find it for that reason).
I find negative reactions to be a potential problem...using the facebook "angry" face as an example, people can use it when they disagree, and people can use it when they agree, but angry about the topic. So mitigating that issue would be a challenge.
Something they could do right now would be to correlate the button with "thanks" because the hover-over says "click to like this" rather than "thank you"
Mine is about 32%. I think the real main reason for that is that more than half my posts are on a roleplaying thread so they're not often upvoted. When I do post elsewhere across the forums, my posts are usually upvoted so I'm happy with that.
EDIT: It is a bit weird to be on the first page for highest post count and still have fewer upvotes than a lot of people with fewer posts (looking at you, Third).
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew (Mostly Outdated):Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
Post #1001 for me, so it's an appropriate time to ask! My ratio is 63%.
Running a short game in the play-by-post brought it down a bit, but most of my posts are answers to people's questions about how to run/play their game, most of which boil down to "D&D is a game with friends, one way or another. Trust your friends and talk to them, and you can resolve the problem." Those get likes from OPs and similarly-minded posters fairly often.
Do I care? Not much, but it makes me happy to see a like for answering someone's question helpfully.
Does it influence my engagement? Not really, I of course still post silly jokes, controversial opinions, and other stuff that won't likely get a Thanks. But I do enjoy giving a helpful response and getting a like for it. Plus, I always throw a like to someone who gives the same answer I would've given, or who agrees with my answer—they saved me some time!
Please, no alternative reactions. D&D Beyond is nice because it's not Reddit. Don't make it Reddit.
What would motivate me to use it more regularly? Nothing, really. It's nice to have, but it's not that important.
...I find negative reactions to be a potential problem...using the facebook "angry" face as an example, people can use it when they disagree, and people can use it when they agree, but angry about the topic. So mitigating that issue would be a challenge.
Something they could do right now would be to correlate the button with "thanks" because the hover-over says "click to like this" rather than "thank you"
...Please, no alternative reactions. D&D Beyond is nice because it's not Reddit. Don't make it Reddit.
How about something like a "Best Answer" flag that would either raise the most popular answer to the OP, or would give it a frame similar to a Dndbeyond Staff/Mod post?
Something to visually distinguish important posts, for the purpose of making skimming easier.
As of typing this, my thanks-per-post ratio sits at a little over 1.53, i.e. 153%. That sounds tremendously impressive and I'll admit that it fluffs my feathers some, but the majority of those come from the same subset of roughly a dozen individuals. Not all of them, but the majority. I don't discount the number, but I also don't treat it as proof of my Perfect Superiority on the forums. It's great to have that super high ratio, but I know it'd be a shitload lower if there was any sort of 'reverse thanks' feature.
I don't find the Thanks thing to be an ego stroker. At least, not primarily. I see it as a way of tacitly showing support for points you strongly agree with, since it visibly signs your name to somebody else's post. When someone says something I find particularly on point or insightful, I push the button. For my own posts, if I get enough thanks on a post I know I either said something awesome or provided useful information. My most thanked post is the PSA I did explaining why the CFVs UA was taking forever and a week. If I see a specific individual thanking many of my posts, I know that individual is someone who agrees with me and whom I can more-or-less count on interacting positively with in the forums.
It doesn't change how I engage with the forums, but it does give me a few information points I wouldn't otherwise have. I don't interact with it much because I hate the 'Like my shit!' culture of places like Facebook and people fishing for likes with the same fervor as a beggar scuttling for coins, and it's taken me a while to get over that ingrained inversion and start clicking the button more. Due to that, I don't know what DDB could do to get me to use it more, or if they even could. I really hate that shit on social media, this system is honestly about as far as I'm comfortable going in LikeQuest as it is.
Well, thousands of my posts are in play by post, and most of my other posts are asking not giving help, although I occasionally give help. and homebrew. I have quite a few posts sharing homebrew, which also get thanked only rarely.
not really.
no
no! no no no. just no.
well, remembering would about it would be a good start. mainly that really. I often find myself think "wow, this was a really cool, helpful, or insightful comment," but forget about the thanks feature.
...I find negative reactions to be a potential problem...using the facebook "angry" face as an example, people can use it when they disagree, and people can use it when they agree, but angry about the topic. So mitigating that issue would be a challenge.
Something they could do right now would be to correlate the button with "thanks" because the hover-over says "click to like this" rather than "thank you"
...Please, no alternative reactions. D&D Beyond is nice because it's not Reddit. Don't make it Reddit.
How about something like a "Best Answer" flag that would either raise the most popular answer to the OP, or would give it a frame similar to a Dndbeyond Staff/Mod post?
Something to visually distinguish important posts, for the purpose of making skimming easier.
I don't necessarily think that's a bad idea (at least for information based forums like Rules and Game Mechanics), but it would be a challenge for controversial/highly argumentative threads. Maybe setting a higher than average threshold before a post would raise just to make sure there was some sort of consensus
My most thanked post is the PSA I did explaining why the CFVs UA was taking forever and a week.
42 clicks on a single post is pretty impressive, though I suppose it makes sense for a comprehensive post on a cyclical issue.
Looks like the time between your OP and the most recent "Thanks" was 1 year 3.5 months (Feb 20th, 2021), and it averages about 3 per month, so it has some pretty good legs on it.
I don't necessarily think that's a bad idea (at least for information based forums like Rules and Game Mechanics), but it would be a challenge for controversial/highly argumentative threads. Maybe setting a higher than average threshold before a post would raise just to make sure there was some sort of consensus
Yeah, as a feature, it would probably need to be sub-forum restricted.
I imagine an algorithm could be implemented to set a delay and mod override, so that a "top answer" is selected only after the thread has started to go cold, the OP flags a response, or the upvote count is significantly higher than any other post.
I don't necessarily think that's a bad idea (at least for information based forums like Rules and Game Mechanics), but it would be a challenge for controversial/highly argumentative threads. Maybe setting a higher than average threshold before a post would raise just to make sure there was some sort of consensus
Yeah, as a feature, it would probably need to be sub-forum restricted.
I imagine an algorithm could be implemented to set a delay and mod override, so that a "top answer" is selected only after the thread has started to go cold, the OP flags a response, or the upvote count is significantly higher than any other post.
that actually would be really cool and helpful. maybe even a toggleable feature that makes you only see the top vote and the original post, so you can quickly find answers others already posted.
I'll be honest, I don't think there's enough likes given on the average thread for that to actually help people find the best answer.
That's generally true. Most PbP threads don't have any upvotes at all.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew (Mostly Outdated):Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
I throw a lot of posts out there. It’s nice to know that someone appreciates at least some of it. Yeah, I appreciate getting thanked. I’m batting .426 at the time of this posting. I mostly post Bug troubleshooting, Homebrew How Tos. I get thanked more for my opinion pieces and debates. 🤷♂️
I thank people as often as I remember to when I particularly agree with them, or specifically wish to thank them.
If people’s Thanks were displayed under their number of posts in the Member Details, I bet people would use it more.
What is your "Thanks Ratio"? - 218 posts to 176 thanks. It's like a .807 ratio.
Why do you think it is what it is? - I don't post in every single thread to just post, and either people are thanking it because its fruitful, its funny, or its about ****ing time someone said it.
Do you care? - No.
Does it influence your engagement in the forums? - No.
Do you think DNDBeyond should include alternative reactions? (Positive/Negative, Happy/Sad, Reddit-style awards, or Comments) - Yes. One specific option where something can be marked as "An answer" by either Mods or trusted people in the community determined by Mods so that there is some weight behind said answer. Opinion threads would not have this, but question threads should have some sort of answer.
What would motivate you to use this kind of feature more regularly? - If, like Reddit top thanked posts were moved to the first post section of a thread - but only if being used as presented in question 5. A factual answer to a legitimate question.
Now, Upvoting/downvoting is just silly. There are any number of websites where people out there that will create dummy accounts just to boost their numbers and try to stifle conversation. Fortunately, the only way to stifle conversation on this site is with logic destroying "feelings" or with DDB employees stepping in.
What I would be interested in is what percentage of registered avatars have posted here in the past 3 months, 6 months, 12 months. What is the typical length of time an avatar is active? Demographics like that interest me, and only DDB can provide that.
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When I first started interacting with the DNDBeyond forums, I treated the "Thanks" feature as a challenge to maintain a high "quality" of post. I wanted to aim for some unreasonable ratio of "Thanks" to "Total Posts", so that I could sit comfortably in the knowledge that my contributions were generally positive. (It quickly became apparent that just because a post is "good" doesn't mean anyone actually cares.)
Some members manage a ratio greater than 1.0, which is very impressive, while many others sit below 0.04, which is not so impressive. (I'm only checking those with >500 posts.)
I'm sitting at around 0.44, which I'm happy with.
On one hand, a user who really wants to optimize their "Thanks Ratio" could hold back and choose only to Post/Comment where there would be an appropriate yield, such as "Support Sniping", being selectively opinionated in a controversial thread, or joining a circular Thank group to deliberately inflate the numbers. On the other hand, users who do PbP, or participate in discussions more casually, tend to get skipped over because they are either progressing an existing narrative, or no one is invested enough to show support.
So, my questions are:
Considering DNDBeyond's current interest in Digital Dice, maybe they would be interested in paid forum features as an additional source of micro-transactions. It could be a way of recognizing individuals as having a reputation for being helpful/creative/entertaining/etc. (Keeping them positive and/or toggleable would be warranted). Perhaps it could unlock restricted titles to replace those that only indicate total post count.
Mine's around 0.7% of my posts. I'm pretty happy with that, considering that most of my posts are on a roleplaying thread in Adohand's and don't contribute to the forums.
I have a weird sense of humor.
I also make maps.(That's a link)
I'm at 45% and until very recently mainly posted in the Rules and DM's Forums. It's nice to be recognized, but it's not a huge motivator for me to post "strategically"
(also, using the website on a smartphone in portrait mode hides the button, so not everyone has the ability to see/activate the button. It took me months to find it for that reason).
I find negative reactions to be a potential problem...using the facebook "angry" face as an example, people can use it when they disagree, and people can use it when they agree, but angry about the topic. So mitigating that issue would be a challenge.
Something they could do right now would be to correlate the button with "thanks" because the hover-over says "click to like this" rather than "thank you"
I didn't even know there is a thanks feature. I suspect that most folks don't notice it.
Mine is about 32%. I think the real main reason for that is that more than half my posts are on a roleplaying thread so they're not often upvoted. When I do post elsewhere across the forums, my posts are usually upvoted so I'm happy with that.
EDIT: It is a bit weird to be on the first page for highest post count and still have fewer upvotes than a lot of people with fewer posts (looking at you, Third).
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
Post #1001 for me, so it's an appropriate time to ask! My ratio is 63%.
Running a short game in the play-by-post brought it down a bit, but most of my posts are answers to people's questions about how to run/play their game, most of which boil down to "D&D is a game with friends, one way or another. Trust your friends and talk to them, and you can resolve the problem." Those get likes from OPs and similarly-minded posters fairly often.
Do I care? Not much, but it makes me happy to see a like for answering someone's question helpfully.
Does it influence my engagement? Not really, I of course still post silly jokes, controversial opinions, and other stuff that won't likely get a Thanks. But I do enjoy giving a helpful response and getting a like for it. Plus, I always throw a like to someone who gives the same answer I would've given, or who agrees with my answer—they saved me some time!
Please, no alternative reactions. D&D Beyond is nice because it's not Reddit. Don't make it Reddit.
What would motivate me to use it more regularly? Nothing, really. It's nice to have, but it's not that important.
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
How about something like a "Best Answer" flag that would either raise the most popular answer to the OP, or would give it a frame similar to a Dndbeyond Staff/Mod post?
Something to visually distinguish important posts, for the purpose of making skimming easier.
As of typing this, my thanks-per-post ratio sits at a little over 1.53, i.e. 153%. That sounds tremendously impressive and I'll admit that it fluffs my feathers some, but the majority of those come from the same subset of roughly a dozen individuals. Not all of them, but the majority. I don't discount the number, but I also don't treat it as proof of my Perfect Superiority on the forums. It's great to have that super high ratio, but I know it'd be a shitload lower if there was any sort of 'reverse thanks' feature.
I don't find the Thanks thing to be an ego stroker. At least, not primarily. I see it as a way of tacitly showing support for points you strongly agree with, since it visibly signs your name to somebody else's post. When someone says something I find particularly on point or insightful, I push the button. For my own posts, if I get enough thanks on a post I know I either said something awesome or provided useful information. My most thanked post is the PSA I did explaining why the CFVs UA was taking forever and a week. If I see a specific individual thanking many of my posts, I know that individual is someone who agrees with me and whom I can more-or-less count on interacting positively with in the forums.
It doesn't change how I engage with the forums, but it does give me a few information points I wouldn't otherwise have. I don't interact with it much because I hate the 'Like my shit!' culture of places like Facebook and people fishing for likes with the same fervor as a beggar scuttling for coins, and it's taken me a while to get over that ingrained inversion and start clicking the button more. Due to that, I don't know what DDB could do to get me to use it more, or if they even could. I really hate that shit on social media, this system is honestly about as far as I'm comfortable going in LikeQuest as it is.
Hopefully that's at least some insight.
Please do not contact or message me.
I am an average mathematics enjoyer.
>Extended Signature<
I don't necessarily think that's a bad idea (at least for information based forums like Rules and Game Mechanics), but it would be a challenge for controversial/highly argumentative threads. Maybe setting a higher than average threshold before a post would raise just to make sure there was some sort of consensus
42 clicks on a single post is pretty impressive, though I suppose it makes sense for a comprehensive post on a cyclical issue.
Looks like the time between your OP and the most recent "Thanks" was 1 year 3.5 months (Feb 20th, 2021), and it averages about 3 per month, so it has some pretty good legs on it.
Yeah, as a feature, it would probably need to be sub-forum restricted.
I imagine an algorithm could be implemented to set a delay and mod override, so that a "top answer" is selected only after the thread has started to go cold, the OP flags a response, or the upvote count is significantly higher than any other post.
that actually would be really cool and helpful. maybe even a toggleable feature that makes you only see the top vote and the original post, so you can quickly find answers others already posted.
I am an average mathematics enjoyer.
>Extended Signature<
a "See top answers" toggle would be a nice way to implement that feature without re-organizing the entire thread.
I'll be honest, I don't think there's enough likes given on the average thread for that to actually help people find the best answer.
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
That's generally true. Most PbP threads don't have any upvotes at all.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
I throw a lot of posts out there. It’s nice to know that someone appreciates at least some of it. Yeah, I appreciate getting thanked. I’m batting .426 at the time of this posting. I mostly post Bug troubleshooting, Homebrew How Tos. I get thanked more for my opinion pieces and debates. 🤷♂️
I thank people as often as I remember to when I particularly agree with them, or specifically wish to thank them.
If people’s Thanks were displayed under their number of posts in the Member Details, I bet people would use it more.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Karma/Thanks are worthless on forums.
I imagine that if upvotes had a practical function, people would be more inclined to take an active role. Kind of a "soft mod" role.
I have no idea what a "thanks" even is.
Now, Upvoting/downvoting is just silly. There are any number of websites where people out there that will create dummy accounts just to boost their numbers and try to stifle conversation. Fortunately, the only way to stifle conversation on this site is with logic destroying "feelings" or with DDB employees stepping in.
What I would be interested in is what percentage of registered avatars have posted here in the past 3 months, 6 months, 12 months. What is the typical length of time an avatar is active? Demographics like that interest me, and only DDB can provide that.