Elsewhere: http://www.diigo.com/annotated/29ac02c18afc2c76cdde2eb7091586b3 is an example of how easily icons can be misinterpreted.

Here in Diigo: I'm 99% sure that 'thumbs up' and thumbs down' are never misinterpreted.

However: I do wonder whether rankings, ratings, measures *ultimately* add significant *long term* value to

* we users of Diigo

* service providers.

I wonder what makes something buzzy or hot http://www.diigo.com/buzz/hot but I don't expect an answer; making explicit the criteria could lead to misuse/abuse ;)

In other groups in which I participate, there was previously a very user-friendly star rating system (AFAIR, click any one of five stars to rate at that point in the scale), I enjoyed using that system, and I used it religiously. However: when I looked behind the scenes at how the ratings were used, it was clear that use was negligible. Interestingly, when the entire forum system was improved, the developers quietly replaced the five star sub-system with: no rating system. (There's a flag, which fits perfectly with the flagging standard in IMAP, and a flag is all I need.) The result of this loss? The outcry? AFAIR, not a whisper of discontent. And this was in an extremely active group of forums.

However: if someone had polled the masses on whether ratings should be deprecated, before the decision was made, I'm sure that there would have been an outcry ;)

The reality, as I see it: people prefer to discuss, comment.

Last, but not least - and I prepare to be literally (in words) assaulted on this point (I don't expect agreement) - I treat rating systems as one of those things that a) makes the individual feel good, or allows quiet venting steam, but b) has little positive affect on the 'life' of a bookmark. Or the life of a discussion. Etc.. In a word, I often (not always) treat ratings as:

* clutter.

(Food for thought: does that word 'clutter', that cat amongst the pigeons, make you wish to (a) press a thumbs down icon, or (b) express yourself in words?)

And on that provocative note (!) I'll leave this topic and, and nudge back to the foreground the topic that deserves most current attention: Joel's invitation to discuss 'read later'…

Hilary Reynolds wrote:

> I went there looking for information on social constructivism and
> find it lacking so I rate it 2.

> Someone else goes there and thinks the tech aspect is great and
> gives it a 4.5.

> So by averaging apples and pears we arrive at 3.25 fruits.

What a lovely metaphor.

To Hilary's thought: I publicly award:

* 4.85 truffles

and a nylon rosette of some sort :)

Subject: thumbs up, thumbs down

In Diigo fora:

* I'd LOVE to give thumbs up, often

* I'd make far less use of thumbs down.

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In Diigo boomkarks and lists:

* I'd not bother with thumbs up or down. I would, instead, Do A Diigo (annotate)

* I'd not disagree with the introduction of a thumbs up/down feature; it's clear that some users will enjoy using it.

http://groups.diigo.com/educators/bookmark?sort_by=3 reveals around twenty-four items thumbed up.

Of the twenty-four: nine have comments.

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http://groups.diigo.com/search?group_name=educators&what=c%3Athink reveals around twenty-one items in which (I guess) people express what they think.

A glance at the number of orange-outlined comments suggests that at least some of the group are, or were, keen to write.

Of the twenty-one: not one had a thumbs up. (I added just one, to test.)