Binding downvote to two clicks

Question

I can remember that in the early days of the current comment system of Youtube, downvote button at comments had no effect unless you had a double-click on those.

Indeed, this prevented, let's say, "less intelligent", or at least, enraged and otherwise inexperienced users from mass downvoting.

On the other hand, I have doubts about whether it's fair. It's tricky and non-obvious, fooling users.

In general, what are the circumstances and factors that define, whether it's a good or a bad idea?

I believe there are apps out there that prevent you from drunk-texting by making you answer a maths question before you can send (one example: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.launch.drunkmodenew&hl=en_GB) - It has a similar deterrent/delaying effect but is much more visible. Maybe that's the way to go. — Roux Martin, Nov 25 '16 at 08:31

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 25 '16 at 12:32

2

Something like this, which requires the person to think about their action and to confirm it, in a similar vein to SO.

answered Nov 25 '16 at 12:32

DarrylGodden

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One can then instruct the user that a double-click will skip this confirmation step. – bloodyKnuckles Nov 25 '16 at 14:31
I'm with @bloodyKnuckles - while it seems to be a nice solution, it'd be a bit frustrating in a longer term without the ability to get away with it. – Zoltán Schmidt Nov 26 '16 at 20:11
That's a good idea. – DarrylGodden Nov 28 '16 at 20:12

Alvaro · Answer 2 · 2016-11-25T15:00:28.257

Adding some cognitive load strain can be a good idea in certain situations.

"This might prevent enraged users": I am quite sure if an enraged user wants to leave his negative feedback he will do a second click.
"This might prevent inexperienced users": If the upvote is present and has the same visibility I guess we could argue the same about it.

It depends on the experience the app wants to give to the users voting and to the users reading:

If the goal is to have "quality" votes, don't let the vote be easily done. Adding an extra step (however the form) makes users take an extra second to think about it and know what they are doing. Lower number of votes but higher quality.
If the goal is to have more votes then the more visible and accessible (the vote control) the better. Whether upvote or downvote more users will vote if it is easier. Higher number of votes but lower quality.

About binding the second step to a second click I don't believe it is a reliable method. In Stack Exchange for example, a second click undoes the action. Rather than a second click I would think more of a confirmation dialog.

Binding downvote to two clicks

2 Answers2