There is a lot of great material on this forum. Lots of information and ideas from a variety of perspectives. The “Like” button provides a way to indicate a positive response to posts you like and show your support. Ever so often there is a post that seems a little out there. Wondering if a dislike button might be a good idea or not. Pros are it’s a way to express disapproval of posts not consistent with the intent of the forum and to disapprove of dangerous suggestions. Cons are it could divided the community into factions and devolve into tit for tats. There are forums that use them, apparently without issue. Wondering what the community thinks.
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I’ve been on different platforms that have it or don’t have it.
Like everything else, it can be useful. It can also be abused. It can also be confusing.
It’s hard to get everyone to agree on what a dislike button means. Does it simply mean “I disagree”? Is it similar to flagging an offensive post? What about when someone posts a sad headline; does the dislike button mean I feel sorry for the people in the story, or does it mean I think the story should not have been shared? Could dislike also mean the reader didn’t find anything of value in the post, or didn’t like the joke? …or frequently, didn’t get the joke?
I think it was Reddit that would suppress posts that had downvotes. An unintended consequence was that if the first couple of readers downvoted a post, no one else would ever see it.
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Just ignore the post or mute the thread.
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For a few hours one day in the past a full range of Facebook emojis was available. For some reason they took it down.
Now I use the scroll wheel!
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Agree. I go on Reddit, and don’t see any benefit to the ‘dreaded downvote’. You want to disagree, state your case. Otherwise, Bean counter has the right response.
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I like that approach.
A concern about dislike buttons is that it might discourage someone from posting something controversial to avoid being ‘Disliked’. One reason the idea came to mind is there have been some posts
lately that have been pretty disparaging of people with differing views as well as disrespectful (Let’s Go Brandon is an example). Maybe I’m wrong but this doesn’t seem appropriate.
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Oh… now, that’s funny.
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Does this satisfy the interrogatory?
Why cause grief with a “downer” button, you no like, you move on or prove your case!
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I have been here for more than three years, and I have used the 
twice, I have used the “Ignored” setting more. 
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I think having just the like button keeps things moving in a more positive direction. A lack of likes on a topic whose other posts are getting a lot of likes is sometimes a good indication that the content isn’t resonating well with other members. But it does that without making people feel they are getting voted off the island just because others disagree with their opinion:)
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No icon. If someone wants to complain, let them work for it.
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Yes, a button. Yes, stop threads that get a few. This place is turning into F-book.
More positivity. Less negativity.
As others have said, state your case. Regain the art of articulating rather than just downvoting. Dialog.
Even if I disagree with you, I can still learn something from your perspective. I might like a post that I vehemently disagree with just because it made me think or because it was funny.
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Another thought: I’ve been surprised at some of the topics that get traction here. What I thought didn’t matter, matters to someone else which makes me think about it more.
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I think it is important to analyze and not just immediately ignore positions we disagree with to ensure our reasons for disagreeing are sound. I know my opinions have evolved based on opinions expressed here and elsewhere that I may have originally disagreed with.
This would be a very boring place if everyone here agreed on everything!
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I also think as we engage we gain respect for one another. There are certain people on this forum (including you @Shamrock ) who, when they post, I read and think because they’ve proven they have a reason for their position. Learning makes us better.
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If you want upvotes, just pretend you’re a grumpy old man.
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I’d like to think my reasons even occasionally make some sense to other people;)
I definitely value and respect the opinions of the majority of people here. Even when we don’t always agree. Our conversations always help me to either affirm or revise my current positions.
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I have always enjoyed this site, because we are able to have discussions. It is OK to disagree and debate about stuff. I’m not a big fan of negative emoji’s or buttons. If someone posts something, we should be able to post a dissenting opinion, respectfully. If a post is offensive or clearly inappropriate, it should be reported to the moderators, or you can just block it.
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EOG is real!