Plea for a "Thanks" Button Addition

[BobH]

First, I hope all the admins will know and understand how much I like Eileen's Lounge and how much I appreciate their efforts. I am NOT complaining. I am making a suggestion that I know will improve the Lounge's utility and ease of use for me and might do so for others. I'm talking about a Thanks button discussed on the page in the link.

Here are my reasons/rationale for change:
1. I've used the feature on other boards (see image) and like its ease of use to provide feedback to other posters. It serves as acknowledgement that I've read their post and that I like and/or agree with its sentiments or simply appreciate their efforts. The other forum software is vBulletin, not phpBB.

Thanks.JPG

2. I find that the feature stops me creating additional posts to add to threads whose only purpose is to acknowledge or thank the poster. I was raised by parents from the Edwardian Age.

3. I believe that the feature would lessen pressure on resources for the lounge, perhaps, although I know nothing about phpBB and how it utilizes resources. Intuitively (which is always dangerous with computers and code, I know), it seems to add very little to storage resource requirements, though, admittedly, it might require a few more cycles in use. Intuition tells me that the feature probably entails a tag on post records for which it's used that would contain either the IDs of those thanking or pointers - I hope - to the IDs of users. Naturally, displaying the information would require a bit more bandwidth when in use. In my view the utility vs. resources trade-off is worthwhile. If its use causes fewer posts, it might - possibly - be an advantageous trade off.

If I can be of any service researching the issue or testing its implementation, I'm doing what they tell you not to do in military service . . . volunteering.

Respectfully,
BobH

[HansV]

The "Thanks button" is not a native feature of phpBB...

[BobH]

Yes, I researched that and found that it is an extension; therefore subject to malfunction on version upgrades. There are others using the feature in phpBB, but I don't know how successfully or how much maintenance it entails. I was not aware that the admins had a policy on the issue. Besides, it costs little to ask.

[viking33]

Yes, I researched that and found that it is an extension; therefore subject to malfunction on version upgrades. There are others using the feature in phpBB, but I don't know how successfully or how much maintenance it entails. I was not aware that the admins had a policy on the issue. Besides, it costs little to ask.

[HansV]

We do have a few extensions/mods (the portal and digests, to name two), but we tend to be reticent introducing new ones, for the reason you mention...