Originally posted by FlySolo

Originally posted by popsmayhem
i dont like the idea.....

no ones business what i star and flag
maybe if only the admins can see it
for statistics other then that why do
you need to know>>? so you can get a gripe with them
because they star and flag something you disagree with??

I would star that if I could.

How ironic, that you would feel no problem in admitting to wanting to star a post which says its no ones business to know which posts you starred.

Stars and flags are ATS's equivalent of both voting and agreement. To list those publicly would outwardly define what should be ours alone - out thoughts on diverse issues and personality quirks and interests - and would allow others to get a much fuller picture of who we are and what we believe, nobody's business really. So keeping it like it is both lets the fun continue and gives people a thrill when they see that what they have to say is enjoyed by others. But which others does not need to be broadcast to anyone on the innernest who cares to look.

Originally posted by Cyanhide
Quite ironic coming from you " AnonymousCitizen"

Bah. you beat me to it!

This is a terrible idea. People have the right to anonymously star & flag.
Imagine how many more arguments would brew because of this.

A Star Is Borne

Just my personal opinions...

I know quite a few boards out there do it that way, and don't think it's necessarily an issue per se, but I think there would be problems trying this on ATS.

One issue is implementation. I'm certainly not an expert, but since I became an admin, I've poked around the knobs, dials and gizmos quite a bit, and haven't seen any way for admins (or anyone else) to know who has starred or flagged what. For whatever it's worth, I also haven't seen any "Suppress Truth" or "Report To TPTB" buttons, but I doubt anyone would believe me on that.

Bill might be able to do database queries on who gave stars and flags, but I doubt that kind of detail is stored, because necessity has forced him to keep things as streamlined as possible to minimize performance overhead (such as with thread view counts, for example). This site and its database sees a lot of activity.

So it may not be possible without some major changes and performance hits, and even if everyone thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread, it probably wouldn't be worth the hassle.

As for the question of whether who starred/flagged what should or shouldn't be visible, I tend to prefer not, mainly because I'm a privacy fanatic and assume members would post in the thread itself if they wanted to expound on their reasons for starring/flagging a thread, but I can see why folks would want to know anyway, and I can't knock that either, so I guess I'm agnostic about it.

Anyway, there's my two sugarcubes. YMMV.

Originally posted by VeniVidi
Not to single you out, but I believe that therein lies the problem with identifying who Stars and Flags a particular post. Simply because one group finds the post ridiculous does not mean others should have the same view. Providing this information would certainly add fuel to derailing a lot of threads.

I agree with this. This is exactly why it is a terrible idea. We have enough incessant bickering and thread derailments on ATS. Knowing who starred what would only add to the problem.

Originally posted by zorgon
As to tracking flags, I know that you USED to do it... because there was a "Threads I flagged" list on profile. Seems that is now gone... but I know it was there...

Considering how my memory is, I can't say that's wrong. There may indeed still be some means of tracking/identifying flags, and perhaps stars as well.

Something does, after all, keep us from just continually adding more stars and flags to threads without limit, though admittedly I'm not sure exactly how that is handled. So when I say I doubt that kind of detail is stored, that doesn't mean it isn't, just that I doubt it, and I have been known to be wrong every now and then -- and sometimes a lot.

Now where did I leave that "Suppress Truth" button...

Originally posted by Majic
A Star Is Borne


One issue is implementation. I'm certainly not an expert, but since I became an admin, I've poked around the knobs, dials and gizmos quite a bit, and haven't seen any way for admins (or anyone else) to know who has starred or flagged what. For whatever it's worth, I also haven't seen any "Suppress Truth" or "Report To TPTB" buttons, but I doubt anyone would believe me on that.

Well, I think most forum software has a "like" button. Or you could mod it to include one. No not a Facebook "like" button. Cringe... Just one for this forum. Not certain if you are running a heavily modded software program (very heavily modded), or if this is custom. Who ever would have done your custom job could add a like button very easily. This way if you want to show you like a post, then you can. You can still keep the stars to make those against a "like" button happy.

My personal feelings about a "like" button is that it will promote friendships. It gives one a warm fuzzy feeling to notice that another person "likes" their post.

Originally posted by elouina
My personal feelings about a "like" button is that it will promote friendships. It gives one a warm fuzzy feeling to notice that another person "likes" their post.

but....but... isn't that what stars are? the "like this post" button

This suggestion came up last year and in the end there was no benefit to be had.

All such information would do is give fuel for predetermined judgements.

What good would it do outside satisfying the odd voyeur? What sane person would scan through profiles tracking other users flagging and starring?

Maybe the stalker constituency would find such information useful. Beyond that group it's just useless info tracking. Do we really need more behavioral cataloging in our lives?

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Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

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I think it was an obnoxious suggestion from the OP or perhaps just not thought out well.

In any case, and especially on alternative sites, most people enjoy posting anonymously for many reasons.

What the OP is asking is *intrusion of privacy*, much like all the new anti-democractic measures proposed in europe and north america in regard to piracy.

If you like a given topic then flag it. If you like a post then star it. They SHOULD also have developed a negative system of stars to show displeasure with certain viewpoints. Some of the material I have witnessed during several years on ats ranges from extremely informative to horrendously vile.

Also I think they should do away with removing flags AFTER they have been issued by someone. People need to learn and read through an entire original post before committing anything. The system encourages superficial feedback and is not desirable.

Why do you want to know who stared or flagged a thread?
It's not really important.

It should be about CONTENT not flags and stars.

Originally posted by Xaphan

Originally posted by Cyanhide
Quite ironic coming from you " AnonymousCitizen"

Bah. you beat me to it!

This is a terrible idea. People have the right to anonymously star & flag.
Imagine how many more arguments would brew because of this.

Exactly. Not only would more fights brew here on ATS, but more importantly I would start fearing for my own safety. An unballanced and delluded moron could take exception to some comment and pay me an unwelcomed visit.

You NEVER share personal information with ANYONE on the internet, unless you specifically solicit for something in the first place. To think otherwise means you are young/naive and prone to exploitation!