Thanks Warriors - 100 times + I Love You

Here's my slant on the use (or not) of the THANKS Button.

THE NEWBIES GUIDE TO WARRIOR FORUM INTERACTION

(Naff title)

First, I want to express my appreciation to the 100 Warriors (& newbies) who have left a thanks on my posts - and a special thanks to Lady Z for the "I Love You". (Perhaps Paul, we need an I LOVE YOU Button now?)

I just wanted to give my views on how the Thanks button can help with the interaction of the Forum.

This is how I see it.

1. If someone has gone to the trouble of writing a truly useful post, which I, or the OP would benefit from, I hit the THANKS button.
2. If I want to join the conversation, I write a reply post.
3. If both of the above apply, I hit the THANKS button, AND write a reply post.

Why?
Because a little thanks goes a long long way.
I love the Forum, and what it's capable of, and I feel that abuse of the system depreciates the quality and value it offers.

Do you look at Warriors' profiles on the left hand side?
I always do. This way, to me, I can get an idea of the experience and contributions that Warrior has made during his or her membership.

Post Count Abuse
I do not write "Thanks Buddy" type posts in an effort to boost my count. We could all bulk out our post count with these. (I report any I come across too). Having said that, I do join in some of the stupid ofr funny conversations which appear sometimes (I don't expect a thanks for those).
In the past, I have spent (like many others, I'm sure) quite a long time writing what I believe is a useful reply to, perhaps a newbie's, genuine call for help. I get a lot of satisfaction, (and a warm feeling) believing I'm genuinely helping.
Next day, when I see a lot of, "great point", "thanks I agree", type replies, but not one Thanks below, I feel a little frustrated. I love it when someone hits the Thanks button, as it makes me think my effort's worthwhile.

Take a look. You will notice that many of the experienced Warriors, people with thousands of posts to their credit, leave a simple, but effective Thanks on posts.

The Name Panel on the left, just below your name, serves a useful purpose.

Each statistic indicates:

Join Date: How long you've been a Warrior
Posts: How much you've participated in that time
Thanks: How much you appreciate the advice posted by others
Thanked: How fellow Warriors view your contributions

I would like to add some extra buttons here too:

• I Love You
• You're A Star
• I'll Buy You A Beer
• You'll Be In My Will
• I Want You To Have My Babies

I'd love to hear your views on this stuff. I'm sure there are differing points of view.

THANKS

Alan