If these people weren't blocking 80% of the Fediverse, maybe they would find out about emoji reactions and realise why _likes fucking suck_.

Likes are meaningless by themselves. “Oh, so you've read what I wrote? Well, I assumed as much, given that I had just _mentioned_ you in my post.”

In my opinion, these people are addicted to the dopamine rush, which is precisely why I ask people NOT to like my posts. If you really, _really_ liked it, leave a comment. That way a real connection can be established between us, which is the point of a social network. And if you think it might be of interest to others, boost it. But likes? They make no sense.

@josemanuel That's your opinion. I like it when people like my posts, thank-you-very-much! Comments are better if you want a discussion/conversation going, but a like can be sufficient.

If you want emoji reactions, hop over to a Misskey server or one of those others allowing those. I wouldn't mind Mastodon having those either, but this instance just doesn't have it.

@trinsec I don't feel the need to have emoji reactions, but at least they carry some meaning. A like, on the other hand, has none, and even if it did, it would be a very shallow one.

I could be liking your post to signal acknowledgement, or maybe to bookmark it. I could also be liking it ironically, as a lot of people did with my OP.

Whichever it is, my point stands. I get no dopamine rush from likes and no connection with other people either, so, to me, they're useless.

@josemanuel Ok, to you they're useless, noted. To me they're usually a form of acknowledgement (since Mastodon has an actual bookmark feature and I think other servers too). To someone else it means something else again. It doesn't really matter, they all convey a message of some sort anyway which is better than a silent treatment.