Hi Jack,
There is a "like" button of sorts for thread starters. If you look at the bottom of the post that begins a thread, you'll see a series of stars. You can rate the thread from 1-5 stars. The star rating is averaged. You'll also see on the right side of the screen, beneath the ads and Users Online, a box titled Thread Details. Inside it is a Rate This option with the stars. Same thing.
The star rating has been used extensively on the forums for our other magazines and have seemed to cause some controversy, so some of the titles are considering disabling the option. We haven't seen a lot of use here, so we don't really have feelings one way or the other.
As an FYI, we are on version 6 of this particular community software. The vendor is working on version 8 and is beta testing a LIKE button similar to Facebook's. So, it may be coming in a future update. However, in the current version, a like button is not an option.
Regarding other comments ...
As for "sticky" threads, we do have them. For instance, if you click into the Ready Room, you'll see two threads by Aaron that are permanently sticky.
However, the issue is that too many sticky threads means a buildup at the top of a particular forum, which can be a pain, especially for those who aren't interested in the threads that are sticky. So, we try to keep them to a minimum. And if a thread is popular enough, it will stay at the top of the rotation on its own.
Nathan - I'm not sure about the Future Group Build forum idea. It's come up in the past, but for us to add another forum there would have to be a reason to do it. It seems to me that the Group Build forum already accomplishes this task without making a separate silo. PM me and expand on your thoughts regarding how this would be helpful and let's see what we can do.
Thanks,
Tim
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