[shakespeare47]

I'd love to have one.

[music junkie]

Me too. Great idea.

[venusss]

That could be misused though. One writes something serious and somebody presses this button....

[Silent Void]

Good idea.

[ifst5]

Hmm. It's a good idea in principle but would probably be open to abuse as much as the thanks button and personally i feel this place could do with less drama, not more.

[Silent Void]

What's dramatic about making someone laugh?

[bronzeowl]

Originally Posted by Silent Void

What's dramatic about making someone laugh?

The fact that someone could use it on a topic that has to do with something serious (say.. depression, or sharing an unpopular opinion). I could see it happening, and many of us here are hypersensitive to things like that.

I just don't think it would be a good idea myself.

[Silent Void]

This place is already ridiculously restrictive.

I agree that there is too much drama around here though.

[Wysteria]

As much as I've wished before for such a button when you know someone is obviously saying something funny....I think too that it would be abused when someone wants to be cruel and laugh at someone else's opinion.

Perhaps just reply with a great emoticon or a grin and a hug let them know you appreciate them and their funny. Sometimes laughter is a great healer and can break the tension.

I like the idea behind the post and wish we could...nice to see positive suggestions!!

Hugs,
Wysteria

[-jimi-]

I think it is sad people are so addicted to button pressing. It actually gives people a kick on a neurological level. I was on another site and we lost buttons for a while because a tech mishap and people went crazy!

[shakespeare47]

Originally Posted by bronzeowl

The fact that someone could use it on a topic that has to do with something serious (say.. depression, or sharing an unpopular opinion). I could see it happening, and many of us here are hypersensitive to things like that.

I just don't think it would be a good idea myself.

Sad, but true. I hadn't thought about that.

Do people really misuse the other buttons, though? If so, why not add the laugh button? Would that somehow be more damaging than the misusing the other buttons?

And if someone really is that cruel, wouldn't it be a good thing to expose them as the cruel people they are? I can see painful backlash for anyone who would use the "you made me laugh" button for nefarious purposes.

[unaluna]

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/07/27...-of-words.html

There is an article in this weekends nytimes.com about emoji, including a test to see if youre an emoji master.

[sabby]

Buttons can be great and all, but remember, we're a forum in which written communication is key to how the forums work.

Personally, I think we have enough emoticons that can be used to suggest that we are laughing at someone's joke or funny story. But that's just me.

[Yoda]

I love to laugh.

[venusss]

Do people really misuse the other buttons, though? If so, why not add the laugh button? Would that somehow be more damaging than the misusing the other buttons?

it happens with the thanks button.


Person A: writes something

Person B: snarky response to person A
(Person C thanks for this)

[shakespeare47]

Like I said. If people already misuse other buttons.. how would the "you made me laugh" button be any worse?

[unaluna]

You are right - the smilies used to be on the same screen for me and clickable, if i remember correctly - now i have to edit my post to add one, after i look up its spelling. You hardly ever see good posting or funny post anymore, whereas we used to see them more. Now people use thanks to acknowledge a joke, and the humor is usually more subtle. You can ALWAYS say thanks - one time my nephew told me i had a chubby butt - i said, uh, thanks!

[Perna]

I do not think "thanks" can be misused. Someone else can interpret its use as negative but if I "thank" you (your post, it is not about the post you are replying to or what others think they see/understand about what I am doing, it is about your post and what I think/feel) that is all positive. However, "you made me laugh" can be used to directly hurt someone.

[lizardlady]

<- This does the job for me. Yoda, love the pic!

Originally Posted by Yoda

I love to laugh.

[DocJohn]

Sorry, as we've said in the past when people have proposed new buttons, we can only support the two we have now.... Which we believe are the most important two to have in an emotional support community. My apologies.

DocJohn