Like + Dislike Ratings of Contributions

Rating of Contributions at 12manage
Jaap de Jonge, Editor, Netherlands
Thank you for your suggestion. Regarded the ratings (thumbs up/down) the main ideas behind them are:

1. We wanted to make ratings ANONYMOUS, so the rater can feel free to up- or downvote a contribution by someone else. On some social platforms you can see who voted for and against your contribution. They even send alerts for that. We don't like that for privacy reasons and we don't want to bother you with that. Most importantly, it also makes people vote differently from what they really think. This is not what we want (we aim for quality and reliability).
2. We chose for a COMBINED number mainly for 2 reasons:
   
   1. SORTING BY QUALITY: We use the rating to sort the contributions by quality. This does require a combined number.
   2. SIMPLICITY. Having 2 numbers would be more complex and in our opinion in most cases will not provide much additional information.

Like V Dislike Information
Maurice Hogarth, Consultant, United Kingdom, Premium Member
@Jaap de Jonge: Re point 1. I agree totally. I am not suggesting such changes. Consider: A single number only indicating "Likes", might put some people of "Disliking" due to worrying that they are a lone voice and not wanting to trigger acrimony or dissent.
Re point 2a. Again, understood and agreed with.
Re point 2b. Agreed the programming would be more complex. Consider: A single rating number (of e.g. "10") is ambiguous. Does it mean that only ten people have voted? Or have 20 people voted; 10 liking and 10 disliking; or have 15 voted with 5 dislikes, or 25 voted with 15 dislikes? I would find this informative.
Options, show:
1 The 'likes' & 'dislikes' numbers.
2 The current display + total number voted; so readers can do a calculation if they want to.

Likes + Dislikes Ratings per Posting
William E. Linzey, Business Consultant, United States, Member
@Jaap de Jonge: Would you consider using a dialogue approach versus a voting system or use a method to encourage dialogue between commentary? The topics and comments discussed on 12manage are all positive in my opinion due to the bevy of personal experiences and knowledge and most importantly perspectives.
I find it useful if someone has a different perspective to share that perspective as it is always great for the community to learn why and engage through a meeting of the minds versus a + or - vote. Such sharing of opinions, as they vary from experiences and geography, only strengthens the knowledge base of all participants. An upvote or downvote seems to move away from the concept of discussion on a platform intended to promote discussion.

How to Rate Contributions | Using the Rating Buttons
Jaap de Jonge, Editor, Netherlands
@William E. Linzey: Thank you for your reaction. You hit the nail on the head in how you describe some of the ideas behind 12manage.
But there seems to be a misunderstanding around our rating mechanism (represented by thumbs up/down icons). Let me try to explain.

THE RATING BUTTONS: INTERESTING OR NOT
If you hover your mouse over a rating icon you'll see a pop-up saying that the rating is meant to vote: “Interesting / Not interesting“. Please note that it does NOT say: "Like / Dislike". There’s a difference!

THE DIFFERENCE AND WHY IT MATTERS
By using the word “interesting” as criterion the voter is reminded that 12manage's primary aim is to be a knowledge network, rather than a social network (yes, of course we also facilitate social and professional contacts between our members). At 12manage we share and discuss know-how, skills and perspectives about management ideas, models, approaches, methods, etc.
Whether you actually like certain people or sympathize with their contributions is not what we are looking for. Instead we try to find out what you regard as the most interesting contributions from a learning / knowledge sharing perspective.

EXAMPLES
Here are some examples to make the above more concrete:

1. You are visiting a forum discussion in which there are 2 reactions: A and B. They both represent a totally different view on the issue, as is so often the case in management as a complex practice. Both A and B are well motivated with arguments, background information, examples or sources.
   How should you rate / vote? +1 for A and also +1 for B.
2. You are visiting a forum discussion in which there are 2 reactions: C and D. C is supported by arguments, background information, examples or sources. D is not. But you personally agree with D.
   How should you rate? +1 for C.
3. You are visiting a forum discussion in which there is a reaction E which (in your opinion) is nonsense or off-topic.
   How should you rate? -1 for E.
4. You are visiting a knowledge center and you see a contribution F (forum topic, best practice, expert tip or resource) that you think is particularly useful and/or interesting.
   How should you rate? +1 for F.
5. You are visiting a knowledge center and you see a contribution G (forum topic, best practice, expert tip or resource) that you think is totally useless, off-topic, or even outright spam.
   How should you rate? -1 for G.

CONCLUSION
At 12manage, rating is all about the informational / learning value of the posting. Other members can use your ratings to quickly:

• Find the most interesting topics in a knowledge center (forum).
• Within a forum, find the most interesting reactions to a topic.

I apologize for the length of my response, but hope it clarifies the ideas behind our rating function and how you should vote to help others.

Contribution Rating Explanation
William E. Linzey, Business Consultant, United States, Member
@Jaap de Jonge: Appreciate the explanation, it is much clearer to me how the ratings are utilized within the context of the forum. Fact-based comments with information backed up with references from literature combined with experience and specific examples to arrive at a conclusion. Again, thank you!

Interesting Likes
Maurice Hogarth, Consultant, United Kingdom, Premium Member
@Jaap de Jonge: Thank you Jaap, interesting and helpful.
I consider all the contributions to be "interesting" and on this basis would want to tick all of them. 'Thumbs-up' to those that are particularly so and particularly if perceiving the topic from an 'off-beat' pov. 'Thumbs-down' to those that exhibit prejudice or bias towards 'old-style (command & control) management; but which are still interesting because of this.