guests being allowed to 'like' posts

[arnica200]

Forum URL: homeopaths.proboards.com

Hello, I am wondering if there is a way to enable guests to 'like' posts (without having to log in) - whether this exists already or if it can be achieved in some way.

Thanks. Joy

[yogibearbull]

From Forum Settings, "Like" is a member-only feature. Your site allows postings/replies by nonmembers (many sites don't), but even then "Likes" are not allowed for nonmembers.

[arnica200]

Sadly I don’t understand why it has to be so. If non members were allowed to ‘like’ posts there would be more interaction and a sense of appreciation. It seems people cannot be bothered to log in and become a member so our forum misses out. Thanks for replying

[Lynx]

Oct 16, 2021 21:38:21 GMT -8 arnica200 said:

Sadly I don’t understand why it has to be so. If non members were allowed to ‘like’ posts there would be more interaction and a sense of appreciation. It seems people cannot be bothered to log in and become a member so our forum misses out. Thanks for replying

I could be wrong, but I think when a member likes a post, it's somewhat tied to the member's (user's) ID - so the system know who liked a post (as you can see by their name when the a post is liked by them and their name disappears if the person then "unlikes" the post). Guests don't have an ID associated with the forum, so the system can't tell who liked the post.

Also, IF guests could like posts, how would the system know which "Guest" to remove if it's unliked? Imagine seeing this:

Guest, Guest, and 12 others liked this post

Guests also don't have micro-profiles - which gets shown when clicking on the "12 others" to see the full list of who liked the post.

PB Admins work Mon-Fri, 9am to 5pm Pacific Time (USA). Maybe one will give a better answer for you on Monday (or earlier, if one decides to pop in on the weekend).

[arnica200]

I for one would not mind not knowing who the guest is that likes a post but I also get the points you make. It’s just that it is gratifying when people like what is being posted, it means all is well. Thanks for your reply

[yogibearbull]

I think that it should be allowed if a guest is a PB member (but not signed up/logged in to a particular PB forum) AND the PB forum allows guest postings/replies. Then PB can do its "Like" tracking.

If the guest is not even signed up at PB, then may be no due to issues noted by Lynx.

So, PB should consider this as a possible feature.