Like a Challenge

[mvexel]

This is a new feature for any logged-in user to "like" a challenge. This would be represented by a "thumbs up" icon like this one . Color, yellow.

The like icon would appear on the Challenge browse page to the left of the flag icon (#1868)

UI Flow

1. User clicks the "like" button
2. A cute animation confirms the like action
3. The like counter increments and the icon changes to a filled thumbs-up icon.
4. If the user already liked the challenge, clicking the icon will remove the like and the counter decrements instead, and the icon reverts to its outline state.

Conditions

1. Number of likes is displayed next to the
2. Challenge owners can not like their own challenges
3. A user must have completed at least one task of the Challenge to be able to Like it
4. Challenges that are liked more will be sorted higher in the default sort in Find Challenges
5. There will be a new sort option to sort by number of likes.

[mcliquid]

Personally, I don't see any added value here. You can already mark challenges as a favorite. A Like is a kind of recognition for the challenge creator. But the completion of the challenge is from my point of view the much nicer recognition.

[mvexel]

@mcliquid agreed that completion of a challenge you created is the biggest compliment and reward!
Favoriting is just for yourself. If many people Like a challenge, it could for example pop up higher in the list of challenges. It would also inform us as to which types of challenges people particularly enjoy, and it would give the challenge author more granular positive feedback.

[mcliquid]

@mvexel A Like is definitely an easy way to interact for the topics you mentioned.
I could only imagine that this can also be achieved with other data that is already available.
For example, it could be counted how many people have favorited a challenge and display that next to the favorite button, as well as be able to filter after that.
Also, the total number of people who have already participated in the challenge could be displayed as a total.
These are all indicators that are already available without having to introduce another function.
But this should not speak against the Likes. Just as another thought.

[mvexel]

@mcliquid thanks for the additional thoughts on this.
You are correct -- we have the Favorite function already today. We did however make a contract with the user that this would be a private-to-them flag, and I don't want to break that contract.
I very much like the idea of exposing the number of participants in a challenge. We currently have "popularity" which is based on recent task activity, but this may be an interesting metric to make public.

[mcliquid]

That is a very valid argument to reserve the favorite function to be private. Then a Like function is a nice addition to the product.
To give the link to issue #1868, I would then lean even more towards the wording "Report", because then "Flag" and "Favorite" do sound very similar and could describe the same function, depending on user understanding.
And in the end it really is a report in GitHub and also connected with effort on your side to check this.

[mvexel]

After discussion there and elsewhere, I am now leaning towards "Report" as well.