The thanked counter

[Zero999]

Ultimately it's Dave's decision, but it's interesting to see how popular it is.


I hope MrMobodies doesn't mind me using his image as an example. I'll change it to my own, if he wants.

[RoGeorge]

The "Say Thanks" button was meant to express gratitude without polluting the forum with non technical "Thank you" replies.

Last week, Dave decided to display and use the thanks counter as a "value" score to classify the users, and/or to increase the addiction to the forum, which I don't like at all, so I voted no.

\[\star\ \star\ \star\]
My speculation is Dave wants to increase the "engagement" and to bring new users, so only good intents, yet I strongly believe the TikTok/Onlyfans/Facebook kind of platform engagement studies and recipes does not apply well to the EEVblog crowd.  I mean not well for the long term.  Might increase the numbers for this year, but at the cost of turning the forum into trash in 5 years.

To attract new users, I'll rather say to extend the software related sections of the forum, that's the opposite of collapsing them for the sake of less scrolling in the main page.  Who reads the main page anyways.  As a side note, I've started paying attention to EEVblog forum after Google searches pointed me to forum topics with very high quality answers.

I think those search results might have been influenced by Dave's videos I was watching on YouTube at the time.  Then I've register because this EEVblog platform was a forum, with meaningful community and interesting discussions, and not just a rigid Q&A platform like stackoverflow.

Back to increasing forum's audience, I'm no expert and made no studies, but it looks to me like analog electronic is more about the past hobbies.  Digital electronics is the norm now, though the IC integration scale is so high that the digital electronics became out of reach for the average enthusiast, except maybe for the most tenacious ones or for those that are also doing that for a living.  So it all turns to mostly software now.

The joke that for each 1 analog engineer there are 10 digital engineers for each there are 100 software engineers is funny because it's true.  Building your own radio or stereo amplifier as a popular hobby has long gone.

The areas that are expected to show growth in the near future, IMHO, are all about software.  The interest in hardware is only expected to shrink.  I expect that because the complexity is increasing very fast, and the entry bar is higher with each decade, if not with each year.

Electronics will be dealt with more and more in terms of functional blocks, rather than in terms of electronic components.  So the interest will be about controlling such blocks to achieve a given project, which control right now means writing software.

I think the next "Popular Electronics" will be "Popular Programming".

EEVblog already has a foot in this with all the embedded/programming/computers sections, and with some very knowledgeable software people contributing to those topics.

Another way to add more users might be by adding sections/subforums about more generic making/crafting/learning skills, not necessarily electronics related.  IDK if that would be a good idea, in the sense that there is a certain limit of newcomers, in terms of numbers and areas of interest, that can be welcomed to any community without annihilating it.

[mc172]

Pff, I don't care either way.

[NiHaoMike]

Back to increasing forum's audience, I'm no expert and made no studies, but it looks to me like analog electronic is more about the past hobbies.  Digital electronics is the norm now, though the IC integration scale is so high that the digital electronics became out of reach for the average enthusiast, except maybe for the most tenacious ones or for those that are also doing that for a living.

FPGAs have become very affordable in the last few years, so now an engineer can design digital circuits without having to use a soldering iron or breadboard. (Tiffany Yep would be one example - she doesn't really do much with the hardware other than plugging ready made modules together.) What we need is an easier way to learn FPGA programming.

The joke that for each 1 analog engineer there are 10 digital engineers for each there are 100 software engineers is funny because it's true.  Building your own radio or stereo amplifier as a popular hobby has long gone.

The latest amplifier chips like the TPA3255 are in fine pitch SMD packages which are quite difficult for a beginner to solder, and that's before even getting a board designed and manufactured to solder it onto. Much more economical to just buy premade boards and possibly mod them for better performance. For some reason, those boards are a lot cheaper than similar boards already mounted in an enclosure.

As for homemade RF circuits, there's a good reason RF is often called "black magic".

[RoGeorge]

FPGAs have become very affordable in the last few years, so now an engineer can design digital circuits without having to use a soldering iron or breadboard. (Tiffany Yep would be one example - she doesn't really do much with the hardware other than plugging ready made modules together.) What we need is an easier way to learn FPGA programming.

That is biggest pitfall, indeed.  The prices became very tempting, but learning FPGA, or using one in a hobby project, is far from easy.

Maybe software compilers able to generate HDL schematics would be the way to put FPGA in the hands of enthusiasts, but the FPGA manufacturers doesn't seem interested, they keep all closed source, and often their toolchains cost a fortune even without the high level syntheses translators from programming to HDL.

I bet a "Python FPGA" devboard would be very attractive, if that would be possible.

[SiliconWizard]

I don't care.

I suppose Dave added this as an experiment for "answering" the query of some people to add an 'expert' flag to users allegedly worth of it. I'm not sure it's more than an experiment, so it might disappear as fast as it appeared.

While it doesn't mean much per se, extreme values of the ratio thanks/total number of posts are likely to be indicative of a problem with a particular user's contributions. In either direction. But that's pretty much it.

[PlainName]

Just moments ago I saw in a thread an applicable answer to a newby question, and the poster got zero thanks. The following joke post (which was so low hanging fruit I'd resisted posting something similar) got two thanks. What possible relevance could the thanks counter have for demonstrating expertise?

[thinkfat]

To the OP, would you add an 'I don't give a damn' so I can cast my vote?

[jpanhalt]

To the OP, would you add an 'I don't give a damn' so I can cast my vote?

The real question is whether anyone else gives a damn.  There is already a poll on "exspirts" that seems to give the same consensus. Criswell predicts the No's will be about 69% with a margin of error of about 3%.

[MrMobodies]

I hope MrMobodies doesn't mind me using his image as an example. I'll change it to my own, if he wants.

I don't mind.

Generally if I see something I find distracting or don't like I just use an element hider such as Adblock, Ublock or whatever to hide like counter class element below to stop it showing there:

eevblog.com##.thankscount

I may not like the appearance of it sticking and being noticeable or maybe it is just me but as long as it doesn't interfere with the rest of the contents I'd just hide the above like I normally do.

Not everything is going to be perfect and I know you can't please everybody.

What I would add, why are they doing this? maybe I don't understand fully, are they trying to be helpful (or even too helpful) trying to please everyone and want to do something like promote this board to look more appeasing to others with an official answer or give it a professional appearance that maybe they think it might be lacking at the moment.

Either ways I am happy with the way it is so far and little things like that can be hidden if one finds it a distraction.

Joke: Dave go and fix that Keithley 2400 SMU.
I find that more entertaining to watch than this official answer and thank counter thing.

[PlainName]

as long as it doesn't interfere with the rest of the contents I'd just hide the above like I normally do

Disabling it for oneself it trivial (actually, just ignoring it - it's not big). But this is about it being visible to everyone else, and no amount of HTML hacking is going to change it for them, despite your skillz

[MrMobodies]

Yes I know I can't fix it for everyone else but myself as I tend to get very distracted by things including the recent rise in decorations that appear and annoy me like the stuff on this Pastebin list:
https://pastebin.com/sCrFH1Rc

Unfortunately some things I can't hide if they have child elements that I may depend on.

I do have a text file I edit which is set as local network blocklist so it updates automatically across computers, different browsers and profiles.

[Rick Law]

While software may be more popular, electronics is more foundational.  Electronics is the foundation of almost all modern technology.  You can't build a building without aids from modern electronics.  You can hardly name any modern complex devices that doesn't use electronics.

I am no expert in electronics, I come here to learn.  I read this forum regularly and shared what I know as others shared their knowledge with me.  Sometimes I am wrong and others corrected me and as a result, I became more knowledgeable.

StackExchange (or the likes) may be a better Q&A place, this is a great place to gain more understanding.  There is a huge difference in having the answer verses understanding the problem and the solution.  Here, one may not get an answer but one can gain understanding.

Not being an electronics expert or electronics professional, and hardly a hobbyist as my ancient eyeballs don't work so well any more.  Reading about electronics interests me.  I suppose it is like a monk reading Playboy magazine -- may not be able to do a whole lot but it is stimulating.  I assume there are many more like me.

Yeah, there may be more software people out there, but keep the main focus on electronics.  I suspect many others similar to me learned and appreciated this forum, (while may or may not click "say thanks" enough).

[rdl]

It doesn't really make much difference to me. I think it was always available on the member's profile for anybody who actually wanted to look.

[richnormand]

I don't mind and appreciate when thanked by someone that was actually helped by my posting. I do the same.
However putting the thank counter upfront like that will serve the kharma seeking people that feed on it.
I am sure we all noticed some posters that milk the system to burnish their image and this will only embolden them.
Quantity is not necessarily equal with quality or vice versa.

[tom66]

That is biggest pitfall, indeed.  The prices became very tempting, but learning FPGA, or using one in a hobby project, is far from easy.

Maybe software compilers able to generate HDL schematics would be the way to put FPGA in the hands of enthusiasts, but the FPGA manufacturers doesn't seem interested, they keep all closed source, and often their toolchains cost a fortune even without the high level syntheses translators from programming to HDL.

I bet a "Python FPGA" devboard would be very attractive, if that would be possible.

But this isn't really true.  Sure, Vivado is proprietary, but it is free for most devices that hobbyists would ever target (Spartan, Artix, Zynq, etc.)  I commercially develop FPGA designs and we use the standard edition of Vivado.  It includes most of the infrastructure needed to make complex designs, complete timing closure and device planning and integrate with software/Linux for the Zynq.   

Also, the Vivado software includes a schematic and device plan overview, that lets you see the elaborated HDL as an RTL netlist, as well as the synthesised and implemented netlists.  You can see the device plan to see how the compiler has placed logic and nets on the design and once you dive into this, you start to get a pretty good appreciation as to how FPGAs work and what common pitfalls there are.

If you want open source, then there's nextpnr and the IceStorm project which has a pretty complete package for Lattice and some Altera devices.   

In my opinion learning the basics of FPGA design isn't really hard (especially with Verilog, as VHDL is definitely more of a pain to understand), but there is a big step up from blinking an LED or making a little digital clock to completing an AXI-compliant master, for example.   It requires a completely different mindset to writing software, and a willingness to think out of the box when debugging issues.

[Zero999]

I hope MrMobodies doesn't mind me using his image as an example. I'll change it to my own, if he wants.

I don't mind.

Generally if I see something I find distracting or don't like I just use an element hider such as Adblock, Ublock or whatever to hide like counter class element below to stop it showing there:

eevblog.com##.thankscount

I may not like the appearance of it sticking and being noticeable or maybe it is just me but as long as it doesn't interfere with the rest of the contents I'd just hide the above like I normally do.

Not everything is going to be perfect and I know you can't please everybody.

What I would add, why are they doing this? maybe I don't understand fully, are they trying to be helpful (or even too helpful) trying to please everyone and want to do something like promote this board to look more appeasing to others with an official answer or give it a professional appearance that maybe they think it might be lacking at the moment.

Either ways I am happy with the way it is so far and little things like that can be hidden if one finds it a distraction.

Joke: Dave go and fix that Keithley 2400 SMU.
I find that more entertaining to watch than this official answer and thank counter thing.

Not everyone uses Adblock. Many people prefer not to, because they want to support sites such as this. I know it's possible to enable adverts which aren't annoying, but most people don't bother. I don't think Dave would like it, if the thanked counter increased the use of adblock.

[ebastler]

I am sure we all noticed some posters that milk the system to burnish their image [...]

How would one do that? I have noticed some users who give thanks very (overly?) generously, but have not noticed anyone begging to receive thanks.

That being said, users apply the "say thanks" button in very different ways. It can mean anything from "this was valuable advice" to "good joke" or "I agree". I would not overstate its value. I preferred the prior state where one could look up the thank-you count in a user's profile, but it was not presented with every post.

[Ice-Tea]

I am sure we all noticed some posters that milk the system to burnish their image [...]

How would one do that? I have noticed some users who give thanks very (overly?) generously, but have not noticed anyone begging to receive thanks.

That being said, users apply the "say thanks" button in very different ways. It can mean anything from "this was valuable advice" to "good joke" or "I agree". I would not overstate its value. I preferred the prior state where one could look up the thank-you count in a user's profile, but it was not presented with every post.

Essentialy: post pictures of cute kittens or whatever the electronics engineering equivalent is...

[Zero999]

It's also abused, by treez/Faringdon, who thanks every post, even those telling him he's wasting their time. Fortunately many people see through this and don't bother with pointless posts/threads, even though they know their thanked counter would get a boost.

Whilst I do appreciate genuine thanks and I admit not being thanked (whether it's by a reply, or the button is a little off-putting), I'm not bothered about the number. In some ways a reply saying thanks, is better than the button, because it's more personal, although too many of them does clog the thread up.

Getting a high thanked to post count is easy, just only reply to users who use the thanks button, whether it's appropriate or not.

[wilfred]

The poll will give a value for those who choose to respond and like the thanked counter or those respondents who don't like it. But it excludes those who neither like nor dislike it.

I hardly notice it and don't really care much even when I do unless it is a rare occasion I read someone replying in a particularly helpful way. Then I'll consider thanking them, if I'm logged in at the time.

[PlainName]

Essentialy: post pictures of cute kittens or whatever the electronics engineering equivalent is...

Which seems to be pictures of cute kittens 

[Labrat101]

I think it is a good idea in 1 respect as it shows up the spammers. User with a very high post count 4kplus  and only 1 or 2 % of Thanks . There are quite a few that have got 1k's of posts that only consist of 3 or 6 word replies. Of zero relevance to the subject..  .
..
Ok,  You can shout at me.

[Zero999]

The poll will give a value for those who choose to respond and like the thanked counter or those respondents who don't like it. But it excludes those who neither like nor dislike it.

I thought the level of response to the poll, or lack of there off would indicate the strength of opinion, but since it's a popular request, I've added don't care.

I think it is a good idea in 1 respect as it shows up the spammers. User with a very high post count 4kplus  and only 1 or 2 % of Thanks . There are quite a few that have got 1k's of posts that only consist of 3 or 6 word replies. Of zero relevance to the subject..  .
..
Ok,  You can shout at me.

I don't think that's a very good indicator. There's nothing to stop a spammer from setting up multiple accounts and thanking each other, and/or making lots of replies to users who thank a lot. I suppose that would make it easy for the moderator to check, but it's an extra thing for them to look at.

[Labrat101]

The poll will give a value for those who choose to respond and like the thanked counter or those respondents who don't like it. But it excludes those who neither like nor dislike it.

I thought the level of response to the poll, or lack of there off would indicate the strength of opinion, but since it's a popular request, I've added don't care.

I think it is a good idea in 1 respect as it shows up the spammers. User with a very high post count 4kplus  and only 1 or 2 % of Thanks . There are quite a few that have got 1k's of posts that only consist of 3 or 6 word replies. Of zero relevance to the subject..  .
..
Ok,  You can shout at me.

I don't think that's a very good indicator. There's nothing to stop a spammer from setting up multiple accounts and thanking each other, and/or making lots of replies to users who thank a lot. I suppose that would make it easy for the moderator to check, but it's an extra thing for them to look at.

Maybe when I used the word Spammers I didn't actually mean spammers as such maybe a bad choice of word more Like Number cruncher's  .
 I did not want to give names or hints . But every one knows there are those who just have a thing about having a finger in every pie .
 Every single post topic in this forum has "1" entry by the same people    .

I would have Thanked you But I want to stay unbiased