I also like this idea. In addition to the effect you describe, I think it could help your eyes track the conversation more easily. It would also add more color to the site. Here are some reasons why I currently think itās a little too much work. First, itās more work than it seems, because the current layout of these comments feels very unsuited for slapping in all but the tiniest of avatars. So weād need to substantially update the comments UI as well as build the profile upload. Also it makes the experience of engaging in the comments nicer, but my current guess is most of the value comes from people writing good posts and more people reading them. I donāt see the strong causal pathway between pictures and more of that happening. ā Having written that, if it caused authors to find the comment section friendlier, I could imagine them having a smaller barrier to posting. OTOH, I could imagine authors being more intimidated by the āoh crap these are real peopleā feeling. Iād be curious to hear thoughts from authors.
Hey JP, thanks for your thoughts! When youāre saying itās a little too much work, how many weeks are we talking about? I can understand how the profile upload part might take a bit long (1-2 weeks?).
For adding in the profile pictures beside authorās usernames, I would think there isnāt any big UI updating that has to be done there. Itās only in the comments section that things might be a bit trickier. Iāve made mockups for my own suggestion here, including mockups for showing these on the frontpage, post header, and two different options for how to show pictures on comments. Even just showing pictures on the frontpage and beside the authorās names in a forum post page would be great, if those are easier to do than adding on the comments.
But yeah itās good that you flag that the value of the forum comes from people writing posts and more people reading them. Iām also curious about what authors think on if they would prefer to have their face in posts, as well as if they prefer to see commentersā faces!
I think this has bad effects also. Itāll make the site appeal more to ānormalā people, and look less serious. It also doesnāt give us any useful information, but take up real estate and use up attention. It might make groupthink more prevalent, too; I personally have found my thinking is most honest when I am thinking alone and donāt plan to share them socially.
I also like this idea. In addition to the effect you describe, I think it could help your eyes track the conversation more easily. It would also add more color to the site. Here are some reasons why I currently think itās a little too much work. First, itās more work than it seems, because the current layout of these comments feels very unsuited for slapping in all but the tiniest of avatars. So weād need to substantially update the comments UI as well as build the profile upload. Also it makes the experience of engaging in the comments nicer, but my current guess is most of the value comes from people writing good posts and more people reading them.
I donāt see the strong causal pathway between pictures and more of that happening.ā Having written that, if it caused authors to find the comment section friendlier, I could imagine them having a smaller barrier to posting. OTOH, I could imagine authors being more intimidated by the āoh crap these are real peopleā feeling. Iād be curious to hear thoughts from authors.Hey JP, thanks for your thoughts! When youāre saying itās a little too much work, how many weeks are we talking about? I can understand how the profile upload part might take a bit long (1-2 weeks?).
For adding in the profile pictures beside authorās usernames, I would think there isnāt any big UI updating that has to be done there. Itās only in the comments section that things might be a bit trickier. Iāve made mockups for my own suggestion here, including mockups for showing these on the frontpage, post header, and two different options for how to show pictures on comments. Even just showing pictures on the frontpage and beside the authorās names in a forum post page would be great, if those are easier to do than adding on the comments.
But yeah itās good that you flag that the value of the forum comes from people writing posts and more people reading them. Iām also curious about what authors think on if they would prefer to have their face in posts, as well as if they prefer to see commentersā faces!
+50 points for making UI mockups, makes it much more likely to get the feature.
I think this has bad effects also. Itāll make the site appeal more to ānormalā people, and look less serious. It also doesnāt give us any useful information, but take up real estate and use up attention. It might make groupthink more prevalent, too; I personally have found my thinking is most honest when I am thinking alone and donāt plan to share them socially.