Reactions for Forum Posts

I get how this could swing both ways – good and bad, but I think having a reaction system on the forum would be cool. For the silent lurker, I think this is a good way to participate without commiting to a full post. I do not fall into that camp (ofc), but for us yappers I think it also allows us show love for things that may walk the line of needing a reply. IC posts specifically, IMO, would benefit from this.

Pilgrim AND pof Zahra, if you see this, do consider it my laugh reaction to your memes <3

I approve of this. Just don't give us a negative reaction option and I think that'd be all good! Maybe just a way to heart something or laugh, etc.

I also have been missing a laugh reaction, because I really wanted to laugh at all those memes. And I've also wanted other reactions several times. But Mistsparrow and I talked about the idea of having forum reactions a while ago and decided we didn't want to implement reactions, because of two things... 

• If people feel strongly enough, they'll make a post to say something in words, rather than just expressing that with an emoji --
• And reactions kind of serve as a way for people to use ... popularity contest mechanics, in a way. They can make for a kind of a chasing-likes atmosphere, rather than a just-communicating atmosphere.

So in the end, even if I have the impulse to 'react' sometimes, the implementation of reactions is probably not what we want long-term. (Also, I've seen people in the past even using laughing reactions to low-key make fun of someone.)

But thanks for bringing up this suggestion, and we might think about it some more.