
Hacking Facebook to remove the social value facade - ari_elle
http://hackaday.com/2012/10/23/hacking-facebook-to-remove-the-social-value-facade/
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collypops
The same principle is applied here on HN too. You no longer see scores on
comments and it seems to be working out quite nicely. I wonder if PG would
ever go a step further and take them off submissions too.

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brackin
Liking a post is a signal, especially when you're the first 'liker'. If it was
posted by someone you don't see every day it's unlikely you'd immediately like
something.

People are like a heard of sheep, when others that starting something it makes
them feel like they can too. These people that don't speak to you every day
now feel like they can like it too and it's no longer a direct signal to you.

Getting rid of the number of likes would change this dynamic (getting people
to break down social barriers) but Facebook's answer is the 'Promote' button
which really just changes the context of the post as it becomes an ad.

