Feature request: no more emoji reaction.

It was the worst thing that happened to Lichess forum.

Yeah, that's right.

I would like to add some changes, that might leave everyone satisfied? (Or at least I can't find any counter arguments to these changes)

1. The thumbs down 👎 currently remains even after a post is edited.

-My augment why this is bad:
What if someone said "racism is good" and I down vote that comment, and then later, they change their comment to "It's bad to judge people for the colour of their skin"
My thumb down is still visible, but now it just makes me look like a horrible person. (Because people can't see the original comment, which was the cause of my downvote) And therefore it destroys my original intention.

2. Allow players to remove emoji reactions through our Lichess settings. (Remove from our view and also our ability to cast)

Why is this bad:
-All that "emoji reaction colour" is an eye sore, plus when you play on a phone, like I do, sometimes we may accidentally cast an wrongful emoji reaction, because we use a touchscreen.
(I don't mean Lichess should remove other players ability to cast or view emojis, just remove it from those of us, who don't like this feature)

@NaturalBornTraveller,

For #1:
I agree with this one, except maybe instead of having the feature COMPLETELY removed, there should be a thing where it is only removed after an edit, therefore your "-1" (that's what Lichess calls it) wouldn't destroy your intentions. You can exit the forum knowing that you made someone edit their post for the better, and what's better is that no one will know because your -1 reaction was removed automatically.

For #2:
Might just be the fact that we are different (and I don't use forums on phone) but even at full brightness my PC cannot give eye strain unless I intentionally look at the faces and heart and horsey for HOURS on end. The point about a misclick might be refutable if what I can do on PC is possible on mobile. On my computer, if I ever use the wrong reaction, I can click the reaction again and it just goes away (this is possible however many times you want, across all reactions and with more than one), allowing me to do the right one next time.

I hoped this helped, since a lot of people use reactions and it might not be the best idea to remove something that so many users use.

@MathWizKid #3

1. Not sure if I understood you correctly?
Do you mean that: emoji reactions should automatically be removed after someone makes an edit?
-Currently they are, all, except the down vote.
For some reason, the down vote remains, even after an edit.

2. On a mobile phone, I can see and change an emoji reaction, (if or when if notice it) but I don't always notice it.
If I scroll down, I sometimes might accidentally touch the screen, and cast an emoji.
(They just take up to much space, both visually, but also on a touch screen)
-----------------------
I never myself use "emoji reaction", I have no opinion about other people using them. I just would like to disable it for myself.

Also, I have no intention of making "someone edit their post". Other people's post, is not my concern.
We all have our own opinions, and when I write, I am not trying to convert people, I am merely trying to convey a point of view.

I second this suggestion.
In the past, I've had a couple of people who literally would downvote all of my posts on principle in an attempt to bully me. While that seems to have become a thing of the past, it was nonetheless highly aggravating (although it was kinda funny when I realized how much time they were wasting with this tactic).
I still occasionally get downvoted as a hostile action. I personally don't care about it too much, but I've seen users become very upset over massive numbers of downvotes.

Horsey emoji just confuses the heck out of everyone.

Laughing and thinking emojis are fine, I guess, but rather pointless.

Upvotes are often used as a way to justify what someone says, even when the post is inaccurate or unethical. For example, a post alleging something unsavory about another player might receive quite a few upvotes and tarnish that player's reputation, even if the thread is closed.

And really, what benefit do we get from the reactions? Forums are for discussion, not for emoji reactions. It's an unnecessary ornament that makes posts look tacky.

I disagree, and think the reactions can play an important role. For example, I was heartened to see one schmuck downvoted for spreading COVID medical disinformation - even when confronted with a sourced direct contradiction of his claim, he would just reiterate the same incoherent nonsense, repeated ad nauseum.

A downvote isn't much, but it's better than nothing when it comes to dangerous misinformation deliberately being spread.

Well it may makes you feel better to see stupid posts being downvoted, but really what does it achieve? Does that spread less misinformation because it got a lot of downvotes?

How many people would have written a rational debunking of that misinformation, but instead they just downvoted because they had the option to do so?

And if you're saying 'people see there is a lot of downvotes so they are less likely to believe it' then in a way you are relying on / promoting instinctive thoughtless emotional reaction over rationality and critical thinking.

#6 Down voting leaves a "dangerous" precedence in assuming that the majority is always correct.
And it disable the chance of an open and honest discussion. Because of how other people's emojis affect the readers.
Example: A serious post, might seem like a joke, when 10 people laugh, rather that reply with an argument.

Last year (before the emojis) Lichess eventually started to close threads and occasionally chatban people who continues spread disinformation about the pandemic. (I think this was a necessary thing)
So the alternative, to a removal of a down vote isn't doing nothing. (as stated in #6)

There is a difference between downvotes and chat censorship.

Downvotes (and any other kind of reactions) can influence a thread, in the same way, as public/political opinions can influence a courtroom jury verdict.