I noticed a while back that people tend to use the hubwheel to sort of acknowledge the other person/conversation when said conversation is coming to a close. Like a I have nothing left to add here but I want you to know I saw this and I feel like it’s a natural human reaction like nodding or smiling at somebody to acknowledge you did in fact make eye contact instead of just blankly turning away. Considering the community vibe here I think it’s bound to happen in some fashion. I mean, I’ll bet people who clicked that post also agree it’s not a like or upvote button. I think we are conditioned to acknowledge things in general and that goes way back. I don’t know, it’s like we’re just humans trying to connect with people online as we might in the real flesh n’ blood world. You show people you are welcoming of future interactions by acknowledging them with a smile/nod/whatever. I have a habit of picturing everybody in a room together when I read through threads though so maybe I’m over analyzing this.
Having just done this I can agree. This place has meaning to me. I love that I have actual faces and voices to match usernames. (I'm having a little hubski meet up afterglow...)I have a habit of picturing everybody in a room together when I read through threads
This is the meat of it, isn't it? There are two distinct needs, it seems: 1. Acknowledge the good conversation/point, 2. Bring others into the discussion. These two functions are being conflated into a single device, rather than separate actions. "...acknowledge the other person/conversation when said conversation is coming to a close. Like a I have nothing left to add here but I want you to know I saw this and I feel like it’s a natural human reaction like nodding or smiling at somebody..."