Agreed, I noticed that as well. I thought about putting this link in that thread, but figured it was better to just let it fall off the radar. I'm glad you bumped this.

Aye, Jenn and Jen I think I treated one comment in that thread because, in my opinion, it was good and to the point. Personal feelings, I won't negatively treat unless someone is being, apparently, intentionally (ignorantly) way off base with their advice. Like my dogs, I give a treat for the good stuff and try to ignore the bad.
Since the OP there has never commented, I'm assuming that he never came back ... thanks for bumping this.

It very well could have been a troll, too.

When are the new people allowed to join a discussion and give/take away treats? Just curious, as I've noticed that I have yet to have that option.

You have to reach 100 posts before that I believe.

blueeyedghost wrote:

Bumping once again, looks like they're being tossed around like a "like" button again    

Yep, and again ....

I would like to remind everyone again of the proper way to use Treats.

They are NOT to be used for vindictive or petty reasons. Sometimes they are accidentally hit on a mobile device and most times the person will apologize and we will try to even out the treats.

If the Treats system continues to be abused, we will remove it entirely.

Koda wrote:

What treats are NOT:

-Something to take away when someone posts a training method that differs from your own. (So long as a training method isn't dangerous, misleading or harmful, there is no reason to take away a treat. There is more than one way to do everything and our forum is about education and owners making the best decisions for themselves and their dogs.)

-Something to take away just because you disagree with someone's opinion. (There is a difference between an opinion and a fact. There will always be opinions that differ from our own. As long as the information is not WRONG, there is no reason to "take away treats" simply because someone does not agree with you. See Rule #1 of this forum.)

-Something to give to your friends. (They aren't population points. They are designed to help members know when they are appreciated and to help new members recognize knowledgeable members of the forum.)

-Something to give without reason. (If treats were given out willy-nilly, they would hold no purpose. We hope that they are helpful to others. If treats start to become meaningless, the staff will discuss deactivating them from the forum.

@simplify Ash, on my forum, I've implemented something similar to the Thanks system.

It gives people a place to say "thanks" without it becoming a contest of good -vs- bad - which I've seen all too often on other forums as well as here. It's always bothered me that someone can give a bad rating to a post wihtout being required to post why they think it's bad.

Just an item for your consideration ....
... and yes, I know I'm being ignored.

Personally, I'd like to see the treat system revisited and replaced with something similar to what Al mentions, or removed altogether. The "button" has always been in a bad place for people using some mobile devices. Just yesterday I did an accidental tick of a bad advice and before I could even rectify it, a member gave me a bad advice tick in a different thread, where I didn't even offer advice.

Personally, I don't think we need treats to enforce someone's credibility in here, the post/advice should speak for itself and normally does. In the time I've been here, I've also seen where member/s then thank that person who gave advice they could use rather than tick the treat. A "thanks" or "like" button would be more useful I think. The other side to that is I've seen some members getting good advice ticks whenever they are logged in, even though the thread is filled with other members giving good insight on the subject. It just doesn't seem to be a system that has been working very well and could use some updating. And in the process, moving the "button" from a scrolling side, haha.

I'm looking into the Thanks option and taking away the good / bad advice buttons. I believe that will work out better and they will still work out as "treats" in a way and can't be as easily "accidentally" clicked on.

I like the idea of a "like" button...sometimes somebody says something you find funny, wise, helpful, etc and it is nice to be able to give them a LIKE without polluting the thread by writing "Great post!"

Sometimes if you can see the names of the members who Liked your post, you realize that you have 'friends' on the forum who seem to read your posts and share your views, which is nice.

Does a "Bad Advice" button promote hostility? I haven't been here long enough to know!

@R_shepsky, besides being a member here, I also run a forum on a completely different topic.

There are people here from several generations, different backgrounds, different countries  (read: different ways of training, feeding, breeding) ... all in all it makes for an interesting group with the ability to compare notes on how things are / were done here and there.

But, when someone puts their experience into an answer, others may agree with it - - - or disagree.  Rule one, in part, says that "here we prefer to talk out our differences in a respectful manner." I may disagree with you, I may adamantly disagree with you, but we need to respect each others opinions - hopefully, based on experience.  I also think it's human nature that when someone says, in essence, "You're full of it!" that we "get on our high horse" when we respond.  Absolutely nothing is gained from those types of discussions.

On my forum, I simply have a "Thank you!" button  so that folks can say thanks when a comment is well received.  The thanks button here (on this software) seems to operate differently - and I'm not sure yet just how differently.

When someone here intentionally ticks the "bad advice" button, the OP's hackles are raised - it's just nature. The problem that I've seen here - and on other forums with the same good / bad set up - is that a "bad mark" tends to be invoke a negative response without any attempt at resolution of the unspecified differences.

There was one thread here where I was out in left field - and got told about it.  The good thing was that even though I received several "bad advice" ticks, there was a good discussion about why my advice wasn't good and what would be better.  That's how it's supposed to work - but all too often that isn't how it works.

And, as you note, when you can see that someone said "Thanks" it just makes you feel better about posting.

I can't seem to find the treat buttons. Can someone help me out? Thanks

Thanks, that makes sense.

I'm going to bump this. It's not happening a lot but it always seems to happen a little from time to time. The treats (the little good and bad bar that turns green or red by a comment) is not a like or dislike button. It's for good or bad advice that could affect someone down the road that may read that post and may use it. It's not a like as on facebook where you like it or dislike it according to whether you find the news good, was the answer you simply wanted to hear, or bad because it wasn't what you wanted to hear or you thought it was rude. It's also not technically a thank you button. If you're going to use it as such make sure that you are using the advice first and instead treat it as a confirmation of it working sort of thank you.