From the discussion on MacInTouch on pause:
It seems this is not the first time there has been confusion about the 
. Some take it as a shortcut way to say no (despite what then tooltip says), but others also use it to show their dislike for a post. Not sure the latter is even needed/desired. But perhaps, choosing different icons could be used to clarify. Often yes/no uses something like 
while like/dislike uses 
My vote would be to remove the custom emoji reactions and leave only the default heart/like.
That way the only choice is positivity.
As an aside, I don’t see the thumbs up/down icons. I read the site on an iPad with Orion or Safari. Where are they or how do I make them appear?
I agree with that. If people object to a post, they can make a proper argument. But just crapping onto somebody’s post without leaving any argument or opposing viewpoint serves nobody and just spreads negativity. There’s enough of that already on Twitter, FB, X, whatever.
I also agree. I think a disagreement should be supported by text rather than the negative dislike/disagree symbol. This site is much more mature than other social media platforms, which through their friend/unfriend responses remind me of high school cliques. I had enough of that 65 years ago.
If I ran a message board, I would make viewing the icons an option for each member. Then those who like the icons or are ambivalent can see them but those who are opposed don’t have to be exposed to the reactions.
Tap and hold on the heart
I strongly disagree. There are a lot of times when a written response just fuels the flames of an essentially useless argument (ie, Yet Another Apple Is Awful thread). A quick “I disagree” icon makes the point and hopefully moves on from it. I also don’t think forcing people to respond is going to mean things are always positive – rather the opposite, I would think. Finally, I’m not in favor of a forum where “the only choice is positivity,” which sounds rather Orwellian to me. The thumbs down icon works, isn’t that much of a negative statement, and gives people something to do that isn’t just a pointless reply.
A single binary (up or down) bit doesn’t convey much information.
I know enough about the rules and conventions of this forum (strongly frowns on flame wars) to not respond strongly to a post I disagree with. But at least a written response conveys so much more information. After the response, I simply stop posting on the subject (unlike now…)
In a technical-leaning discussion, I the think there is value in being able to flag a post as being a correct answer with a thumbs up, instead of having to reply with a message that says the same thing over again.
Writing text is important if you have something to add. But if you just want to express agreement or disagreement without adding any new content, a new comment (“me too”) is a waste of everybody’s time.
This is precisely why the “agree” and “disagree” icon was added in the first place.
I think we might be able to pick a better icon than thumbs-down.
Thanks for Facebook and other social media services, the thumbs up/down icons have come to mean “like” and “dislike”, meaning “I think others should/should not read this”.
But I’m not sure what icon would be best able to embody that concept. The default heart icon seems (to me) to convey “I think you should read this” without additional connotations. I know that some sites use “+1” and “-1” icons that I think works better for “agree”/“disagree”, but I’m not sure if others would agree.
Speaking of wasting time, who says anything needs to be added at all?
Social media has perverted people into thinking they need to broadcast all the time. But they don’t really.
If you really have nothing to add, you can keep your agreement/disagreement to yourself because it’s really not important for everybody to know how everybody else feels about everything. Or to make it real simple: if you have nothing to add, well, you have nothing to add. Go outside or enjoy your hobby.
I do have something to add – my disagreement with someone’s point.
We had a huge discussion in December 2022 about this.
And after I wrote about it in TidBITS, additional comments encouraged me to refine it further.
As I wrote in that thread:
I also put some effort into adding the tooltips over the icons. Here’s how I interpret them:
Good post (points for contributing and making TidBITS Talk more valuable)
I agree (best used on a solution or opinion with which you agree)
Amusing (for funny posts)
Thank You! (rather than creating another post to say just that)
Confused (for when you don’t understand what’s being said or find it confusing)
I disagree (for when you disagree with something that was said but don’t wish to argue)Note that I very much do not see as Dislike because that gets dangerously close to commenting on the person rather than the post. Which we never do, right?
The main alternative I can see for the is 
(the interrobang), perhaps with a tooltip of “Really?”
I remember that discussion, and despite the explanation given there for the “thumbs down” emoji, I have to admit that it seems to carry more of an emotional punch than it’s rotational counterpart. I think that (as someone alluded earlier) the thumb down’s meaning has been skunked–most people will tend to think of it as “Dislike”.
I guess I’m leaning toward getting rid of it entirely. If you have constructive criticism, say so. If you are affirming something or agreeing with an opinion but have nothing to add, use the thumb’s up.
At the risk of being overly pedantic, that’s not technically an interrobang, it’s an exclamation mark followed by a question mark. An interrobang is a single character: ‽
Perhaps this represents a lack of imagination on my part, but I’m having trouble conceiving of a situation where using a gesture to express “I disagree with you… but I’m not going to say why” could be interpreted as anything but hostile.
I agree on some forums hostile intent probably is common but given the consciously maintained calm and civil atmosphere on TidBITS Talk, I’d say most instances of here are expressions of disagreement without malice.
I disagree.
I’ve seen many instances of people using as a synonym for 
I’ve also seen new users who only seem to post promotional content and responding with emoji rather than engaging in any meaningful and civil discussion.