[*Beth*]

(EDIT: I apologize. I typed "Likes," but meant "Thanks.")

I often find the "thanks" option that's available on every post confusing. To me, "hug" is more clear. Hug means I support you or I'm sending you a hug or You've done well, good for you!

But then there's "thanks." Does like mean I like your post, thanks for it or I agree with you or I don't necessarily agree or disagree with you, but I support you for posting your thoughts/experiences or ???

What about you? Hugs? Thanks? What do they mean to you? Do you feel hurt when a friend "thanks" the post of someone who has written something negative about you?

Do you like "thanks" or would you prefer the option wasn't available? If not, why not?

[Nammu]

My only options are thanks or hug. Thanks I use when I’m glad someone said something or was information I didn’t know. Hug is I support you, I hear you. I have no other social media so just msf.

[Skeezyks]

Likewise, I have only Hugs and Thanks as options... no "like". But then, I use an old laptop computer. So perhaps it's the device you're using, or the screen style you're using that's giving you the "like" option? I don't know... just a couple of ideas.

I use "Hugs" mostly for members I'm familiar with and "Thanks" for new members or members I've had no previous contact with.

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by Nammu

My only options are thanks or hug. Thanks I use when I’m glad someone said something or was information I didn’t know. Hug is I support you, I hear you. I have no other social media so just msf.

I edited my OP. I apologize; I meant "Thanks," not "Like." I was confusing this forum with Facebook.

That's an interesting take, Nammu, about someone providing information you didn't know. Actually, there's an example of how "Thanks" may be confusing. Thanks on the Current Events board (when a news link is posted, for example) could be very different than Thanks on this board.

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by Skeezyks

Likewise, I have only Hugs and Thanks as options... no "like". But then, I use an old laptop computer. So perhaps it's the device you're using, or the screen style you're using that's giving you the "like" option? I don't know... just a couple of ideas.

I use "Hugs" mostly for members I'm familiar with and "Thanks" for new members or members I've had no previous contact with.

No, my mistake...I have edited my OP - we have only "Thanks" and "Hugs" on this forum.

So your Hugs and Thanks have quite a different meaning than, say, Nammu's do. That's why I made this post. I'm trying to sort out the Thanks and Hugs options, and what they mean to various members. I wonder if they do more harm than good?

[Victoria'smom]

I usually use thanks for writing to me or thanks for writing at all and hugs as souport not necessarily agree. More I can see your point of view.

[downandlonely]

I seem to use them differently. I use Hugs when someone share something sad and Thanks when it's something positive. If someone is sharing something painful, I would use Hugs and not Thanks.

[Skeezyks]

I guess, to me, it's a difference in familiarity. It's like seeing someone in person who, for example, did or said something nice. If it were a person I knew and felt close to I might hug them. But if it was someone I'd just met, or didn't know well, I'd simply say thanks. I'm not a hugger in real life. (Actually, I'm mostly a hermit and hardly know anyone besides my spouse.) So for me, both in real life as well as on-line, hugs is something I give out sparingly.

[bizi]

Interesting thread.
I use hugs for supporting some one who needs a hug. like in real life I would offer you a hug. I sometimes over use thanks.
Like thanks for saying that.
bizi

[Moose72]

I use Thanks to say thank you for posting what you did and that I like or agree with you. I use hugs when someone seems to need a real hug or to say "I like you".

[*Beth*]

I choose Thanks when I appreciate the feedback I've been given and occasionally when I appreciate the feedback someone has given to someone else. I often use Thanks when I'm happy that a person has done something good for themselves. That's when I really enjoy using a big Thanks!

Hugs...I'm a hugger IRL. I love to give hugs. Maybe it's a maternal thing? When I hug someone I hold them and visualize transferring loving energy from me to them/from them to me. An exchange of loving energy. Hugs are very important to me.

[tecomsin]

I find myself often puzzling over which one to use and then pick more or less randomly.

[Sunflower123]

Originally Posted by *Beth*

I choose Thanks when I appreciate the feedback I've been given and occasionally when I appreciate the feedback someone has given to someone else. I often use Thanks when I'm happy that a person has done something good for themselves. That's when I really enjoy using a big Thanks!

Hugs...I'm a hugger IRL. I love to give hugs. Maybe it's a maternal thing? When I hug someone I hold them and visualize transferring loving energy from me to them/from them to me. An exchange of loving energy. Hugs are very important to me.

I’m a hugger myself…here and IRL. I’ve given over 95,000 hugs now since I’ve been here. I use it to say I hear you and I support you. I see you. You matter.

I’m not as comfortable with thanks. Something like 14,339 given. I usually use it when someone says what I would have tried to get across if I’d got there first.

I have more I want to say but I’ll leave it there for now.

[Nammu]

I’m a hugger on here as it’s a means to support but in real life I’m very reserved and have a huge personal circle around me.

[*Beth*]

This thread has turned out to be really intriguing.

Does anyone feel like "Thanks" can become a popularity contest? Or that Thanks can be hurtful in any way?

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by Nammu

I’m a hugger on here as it’s a means to support but in real life I’m very reserved and have a huge personal circle around me.

That's really interesting! I would have pegged you as a big-time hugger. You're so nurturing.

[Nammu]

I’m also very German. My grandparents came from Germany and were very very reserved as is mum. Dad was always working so I modeled on mum. We’re closer to her side of the family though. And they show care by doing. Lots of cooking and cleaning for a sick or grieving person. Not much on words, just do it, is their motto my daughter was raised with lots of hugs though, she was just so huggable.

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by Nammu

I’m also very German. My grandparents came from Germany and were very very reserved as is mum. Dad was always working so I modeled on mum. We’re closer to her side of the family though. And they show care by doing. Lots of cooking and cleaning for a sick or grieving person. Not much on words, just do it, is their motto my daughter was raised with lots of hugs though, she was just so huggable.

Aww, how sweet about your daughter.

Fascinating, about your family!

[Soupe du jour]

I think any form of recognition in the form of a hug or thanks is nice. I have read some say that they were even incapable of selecting the "hug" option (only "thanks") because of the mode they log in through, so just clicked "thanks" to click something. But to more specifically answer, I tend to give hugs either when someone is struggling and they need a hug of support, or they write or do something that is sweet. The latter can also mean "thanks" in many cases, but it's a bit more personal and affectionate, in a sense. I do click "thanks" in mostly the same cases (clicking both), or when the thanks is less emotionally charged, such as if a member shared an interesting online article or fact/answer, or book suggestion. If you wrote "Soupe, it would be better if you put mayonnaise in it than catsup", I might only "thank" you rather than "hug".

[MuddyBoots]

I use hugs to give support/love/encouragement and thanks if it's something helpful, that I agree with, someone's asking a good question, or if it's a follow-up on something they posted earlier.

[unlived]

I only have the thanks option and I click it when I like what the person has said or if I agree with it or when I’m offering support.