Thumbs up, thumbs down

Dear readers,

I've heard some concern about the functionality of our Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down function that I'd like to address. The new-ish function can be found after every comment our lovely readers and contributers post on the GardenWise site; see the image at left for an example.

Unfortunately, however, we've been experiencing some issues with random (and rampant) Thumbs Down votes for seemingly innocuous comments that, knowing our readers, do not reflect the culture or tone of the GardenWise site.

After checking with our development team, it turns out that the issue is indeed a glitch in the system, whereby Google is tripping the switch every time it indexes our site. This means that many of the Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down votes are being made by non-humans, not conscious, thinking, feeling readers with a range of opinions and feelings on all manner of gardening subjects.

Hotbeds blogger Sharon Hanna was concerned readers' feelings might be hurt by the volume of Thumbs Down votes their comments were receiving and therefore be discouraged from participating in the conversation. Hence my post. (Thank you, Sharon, for your concern!)

Our team is working on the issue, but in the meantime I appreciate your understanding and hope you'll feel safe to air your thoughts and reactions to the content you find on our pages. We love hearing from you and believe honest discussion amongst gardeners of all levels benefits us all.

I'll post a follow-up once the issue has been resolved. Thanks for your patience!

Sincerely,
Hilary Henegar
Digital Editor
GardenWise Online