Why do you come to Gransnet?

Not so much a 'Like' button, Eloethan - more an 'I Agree'. I think most of our threads move on a lot quicker than FBs. I don't think there'd be time to collect them.

I am loathe to disagree with you Eloethan as I know how thoughtful your posts are but the hide button seems better to me than people not feeling able to go on to the thread and I have seen it work where you have someone you feel is being unnecessarily inflammatory, personal or off-topic. Without the replies that people might otherwise feel provoked into making they soon either choose to join in at a proper level or stop posting. I am sure we should just ignore that provocation but sometimes just leaving the thread and not bothering is the only way to do that and it seems I am not the only one who feels that way.

I do agree that piling up 'likes' is not the way to discuss. I have only seen that used on one forum (although obviously on FB) but it was a specific hobby and business site and the moderators changed it to 'thanks' on the request of the members as that was basically what is was being used for. When it comes to a political discussion, on here, it seems to me gathering 'likes' or even 'I agree' reduces the discussion to even more of a feeling of a baying crowd than it sometimes feels at the moment. I think that would be more likely to encourage me to leave GN again rather than want to add to the discussions.

I don't agree with 'like', 'ignore', 'hide' or anything else buttons. If you feel you have something worth saying, what's wrong with just saying it? If you don't have anything to say, or don't want to say anything, then don't. Where's the difficulty/hardship/problem? Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. If you feel another GN member has really overstepped the mark, there is a report button and Granset guidelines ... No need to be publicly vicious to anyone.

Says you

You would not have to use it Swanny. What you are saying is you don't want anyone else to have that choice.

One forum I'm on has a hide button so you don't have to read anything posted by those who you know will annoy you

I don't know if that would be useful on GN - surely most posters contribute to a wide variety of topics?

Also, you can just skip comments by anyone who annoys you, but can any poster be so awful that you need to be spared even looking at their posts?

No GracesGranMK2 that is not what I'm saying.

I didn't think it was what you were saying Swanny but if would be the outcome of what you are saying.

I come on ro read Indonesian adverts!

Doesn't everyone Kitty ?

Just come to this thread after deciding not to respond to a post on another thread because, IMO many of that particular person's posts are ill-informed and irritating and a response is generally unproductive. But I still want to give myself the opportunity to read them and I would never abuse her and anyway on some subjects her views are quite unexceptional.

I avoid post's on some subjects because discussion is one-side and repetitive. But really what delicate flowers we must be and what sheltered lives we must have led if we cannot cope with reading posts now and again by someone whose views we do not agree with or think ill-informed.

Also even when you diagree fundamentally with another poster on one thread, you can find that you have a lot more in common than you expected on a different type of thread, or that they have problems of their own which can make you feel more inclined to be accepting.

Has the Indonesian recipe gone?

M0nica

I should behave like a good MIL on GN and keep my mouth firmly zipped
Not rush to the defence of others.
Or just retreat to a 'bubble'.

That's true devongirl

Very good point devongirl. I can think of at least one person like that!

I am not sure why some of you don't understand. I must be explaining it badly. You do not HAVE to 'hide' a persons comment. If this is not what you want you just wouldn't use it. As you would have to go into your own area on GN and, physically put in the GN name of the person it wouldn't happen by accident. You may have the opinion that this would not be something you want to use but, it seems, a couple of you think the world should live by your rules and not have a choice. Why would that be fair?

I would like it if folks names could be dark blue. Not quite black. I find it difficult sometimes not knowing whether to refer to a poster as he or she. And several post on Mick's morning thread about what the weather is like without any indication of where they are. Just an approximation would be nice. I mean they could say I'm a bloke from London without giving too much away.

Blue is those with profiles, black those without isn't it? Or have I misunderstood?

Sometimes a poster has an interesting viewpoint and it would be good to read what they have to say on other topics.

Could we please have search facility which enables you to enter a poster's name and see all her posts on different threads in reverse chronological order?

Yes, Elrel, but a lot of folk stay black because they want to stay anonymous. That's fine, but it would be nice to know if they should be addressed as he or she, and roughly where they are. Very roughly. As often their posts would then make more sense.

I think they can guess where we are from, NFK.

I think when I talk about a hide button I mean a whole thread Swanny so my active list would only be filled with those threads I am interested in.

I think it can be done on Mumsnet ( but happy to be proved wrong lol) .

That would leave room in my active list potentially for more things of interest to me especially if the algorithm that does it can learn from what I like?

After all Google/FB etc have all cracked it

It is possible to have both NannyandGrampy. On one forum I visit they have an ignore for both individual and topic. I am not sure that they have it for a single thread though.

So would that mean that potentially you could get to a point where someone was simply posting to themselves, if everyone else had chosen the 'Ignore' button several times on various topics on that person's posts? Not sure if that's where we wan to end up?

It could mean you only see the posts of like-minded people.
You see all the posts if you don't hide anybody.