Board of Directors Paul Posted June 28, 2020 Board of Directors Share Posted June 28, 2020 Hi all, You may have noticed that we've removed the ability to "laugh" as a reaction to posts. We had some folks reach out privately today regarding this change, and wanted to share with everyone our rationale for this difficult decision. After receiving a number of messages from various participants in the community, we were alerted to an issue that some individuals were frequently using that reaction to laugh at someone, instead of with someone. Often, these individuals would see something posted that they didn't agree with and use the "haha" reaction on those posts. For example, in an instance where someone was discussing infidelity and knowingly being in a relationship with a person in a committed, monogamous relationship (an affair), participants would use the "haha" reaction as a way to scoff at, or laugh at people for things that were not intended to be funny, but simply contradicted their perspective on the matter. We also saw this happening when people expressed a political viewpoint that was different than their own. After carefully considering the various reactions available, we saw that the "haha" reaction was the one that stood out the most as giving people the ability to be abused in such a way. We discussed this, reviewed its recent usage, and saw that it was being used more for bad than good. As such, it's been disabled for now. I'd encourage you instead to write out your thoughts or use the "like" reaction when you encounter something where you want to express your appreciation for some humorous moment and appreciate your understanding. While we know that most of the people here are well intentioned, unfortunately it was too easily and frequently abused and too difficult to prevent through monitoring. We appreciate your understanding and are happy to hear your thoughts on the matter. Best, Paul 9 Link to post Share on other sites
preraph Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 I think the "confused" one is being used the same way. I had it used on me twice just the last 24 hours by the same poster. Let's think of some good replacements. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
preraph Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 (edited) How about this one? It's one of my favorites. 😝 or this one How about "hear no evil." 🙉 I also like a thumbs up. 👍 Edited June 28, 2020 by preraph Link to post Share on other sites
Emilie Jolie Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 33 minutes ago, preraph said: I think the "confused" one is being used the same way. I had it used on me twice just the last 24 hours by the same poster. Let's think of some good replacements. I used the confused button twice on your posts because I was confused about your post. That's not the same thing as scoffing at someone. 4 Link to post Share on other sites
Emilie Jolie Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 Thank you, Paul and moderation team. Excellent decision. Link to post Share on other sites
K.K. Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 36 minutes ago, preraph said: I think the "confused" one is being used the same way. I had it used on me twice just the last 24 hours by the same poster. Let's think of some good replacements. Yea, I agree. That one’s even worse than the laughy one. The confused smiley is like coming out and saying “what kind of idiot are you?!” If you’re so “confused” ... ask somebody. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
FMW Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 The shocked emoji also gets used in some questionable ways. There will always be problems playing nicely in the sandbox together I guess 🙂 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
preraph Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 (edited) Boy, I really need that laughing emoji right now. Oh, wait. 😂 Edited June 28, 2020 by preraph Link to post Share on other sites
Author Board of Directors Paul Posted June 28, 2020 Author Board of Directors Share Posted June 28, 2020 35 minutes ago, preraph said: I think the "confused" one is being used the same way. I had it used on me twice just the last 24 hours by the same poster. Let's think of some good replacements. Thanks for the feedback, @preraph! Would you please share a little more about what the "confused" reaction means to you when you see someone use it? We tried thinking of ways that people could use each of the available options in a negative fashion and weren't able to think of a way that "confused" would be disparaging to the poster, yet the more perspectives on these the better! 33 minutes ago, preraph said: How about this one? It's one of my favorites. 😝 or this one How about "hear no evil." 🙉 I also like a thumbs up. 👍 Thanks for the suggestions on these! I can see that the face with it's tongue out and the sick face could be used in the same way as the "haha" reaction: The tongue out represents the same as the laughing face we removed, and the sick face could easily be used to say you make me sick. I'm sure that's not how you were thinking of them being used, yet I think that's a likely outcome of adding those. It'd probably have limited use, perhaps posts where someone describes something growing inside of dirty socks, buried deep in a dating partner's fridge, as an example. The "hear no evil" emoticon looks a lot like I'm ignoring you, or choosing to not listen to you. Thumbs up is what the "heart" like is now, I think. Given the theme of the community, we went with the heart icon over a thumb's up. Link to post Share on other sites
FMW Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 Hee Hee 😝 2 minutes ago, preraph said: Boy, I really need that laughing emoji right now. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author Board of Directors Paul Posted June 28, 2020 Author Board of Directors Share Posted June 28, 2020 3 minutes ago, K.K. said: Yea, I agree. That one’s even worse than the laughy one. The confused smiley is like coming out and saying “what kind of idiot are you?!” If you’re so “confused” ... ask somebody. Thanks, @K.K.. This helps provide the context I think we didn't consider. This was a question that came up in our discussions: When is the shortcut used by a reaction lacking the necessary communication to continue the conversation? "Like" and "thanks" are easy to justify, as 20 people saying I agree with what you said, or thank you for your contribution to the discussion can quickly get repetitive and drown out the topic of a thread. Link to post Share on other sites
preraph Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 When I see the "confused" icon, I figure they're not confused, they're just disagreeing, because it's been used during disagreements. If they were confused, they could seek clarification. I don't think it's a good one for this. I think in lieu of the "confused" emoji, a person might just simply choose no emoji at all or ask for clarity, which many times has already been provided. Link to post Share on other sites
preraph Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 (edited) To me, since we're keeping it positive, an extra positive emoji wouldn't hurt anything, like the thumbs up. I mean, we do have a mad emoji on there and that kind of covers the negative reaction, in addition to simply not liking something and using no emoji. I was looking for a "stoner" emoji, but didn't find one. Thought that might be humorous without being too insulting. We can always use the sick emojis, as I often do, in our response. I usually use them in the context of reacting to graphic sexual content or bad food, personally. I think the "confused" one may be being used sometimes like the "rolling eyes" one, which is one of my favorites, but not suitable for the "like" selection. Edited June 28, 2020 by preraph 1 Link to post Share on other sites
K.K. Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 1 minute ago, Paul said: Thanks, @K.K.. This helps provide the context I think we didn't consider. This was a question that came up in our discussions: When is the shortcut used by a reaction lacking the necessary communication to continue the conversation? Yea maybe this and maybe they’re just following the rules of the board which include but are not limited to not being able to curse somebody straight out. 😛 1 Link to post Share on other sites
K.K. Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 I second a stoner emoji !! 😁 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
preraph Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 (edited) 🤩😜 Maybe we could replace the laughing emoji with one of these. The "big grin" isn't quite as laughy and looks friendly enough. Edited June 28, 2020 by preraph 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Cornholio12 Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 2 minutes ago, preraph said: I was looking for a "stoner" emoji, but didn't find one. Thought that might be humorous without being too insulting. I'm going to call it like I see it. Fantastic idea but someone's almost always going to find it insulting. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
K.K. Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 (edited) 15 minutes ago, Anonymous1 said: I'm going to call it like I see it. Fantastic idea but someone's almost always going to find it insulting. Erased my smiley which could be seen as ‘offensive’ maybe? Edited June 28, 2020 by K.K. I play too much. :-/ 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author Board of Directors Paul Posted June 28, 2020 Author Board of Directors Share Posted June 28, 2020 The exercise we put in place was: Is there a chance I would feel disrespected if someone reacted like this to me in a face-to-face conversation, and said nothing more? With that measure, I think if someone made a "this is what a person under the influence of a drug looks like" face at me, and added nothing more to the conversation, I'd think it entirely reasonable to think that person was not treating me with civility and respect. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author Board of Directors Paul Posted June 28, 2020 Author Board of Directors Share Posted June 28, 2020 Also, for clarity--we're talking about these reactions in this thread. The giant library of emojis to use within the context of a post has not been altered. Link to post Share on other sites
preraph Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 (edited) I guess there are those would would direct that at the other person, but I would use it as "I'm still chill". Truth is I guess people who are looking for negative will find it, even in a laughing emoji. But pretty sure 99 percent of the time it's used, at least, it's used honestly. Edited June 28, 2020 by preraph Link to post Share on other sites
Emilie Jolie Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 (edited) 22 minutes ago, preraph said: When I see the "confused" icon, I figure they're not confused, they're just disagreeing, because it's been used during disagreements. If they were confused, they could seek clarification. I don't think it's a good one for this. I think in lieu of the "confused" emoji, a person might just simply choose no emoji at all or ask for clarity, which many times has already been provided. Hi Preraph, Since you are addressing my 2 uses of the 'confused' button in the last 24 hours in the open forum, and I don't want ambiguity or bad blood, I'll try and justify my use of it. I thought your post was rude and I was confused as to why you were using a personal attack to make your point. I used the emoji to convey that. I'm sorry that it has offended you. In hindsight, I should have alerted moderation on this post but I feel like I am delating on fellow posters when I do, so I use this function very sparingly (probably only twice in all the accounts I've had on LS). I thought using a 'confused' emoji was better than reporting. Clearly, I was wrong. This may actually be a good example as to why use of the emojis besides like and thanks can be confusing, to add to the discussion on emojis. Edited June 28, 2020 by Emilie Jolie Link to post Share on other sites
elaine567 Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 Just now, preraph said: But pretty sure 99 percent of the time it's used, at least, it's used honestly. I agree. However there is no "I disagree" emoji for those who would want to use it. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
preraph Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 I trust you've made sure none of the complainants are ever disrespectful to people in other ways, not just emoji use. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
eleanorrigby Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 I really enjoy the like system. I like "liking" posts, and I hope the enhanced "like" system is not disabled altogether, however I wouldn't want to be the recipient of a snub "laugh" because it just feels and looks like a drive by slap in the face. I can't stand venom disguised as good humor. I prefer the slaps, snideness and condescension to be direct. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
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