Froth Goth said..
Honestly red thumbs do work for reddit laurie... i think you were onto something there originally.
The 5 count should be replaced with a % of all users to have accessed/read the topic.
I think most people don't even bother to green thumb. The red thumb thing became one of those things like internet reviews; people would not bother to green thumb/upvote but would happily red thumb away when they wanted to, whether it was a bad comment or if they dislike the person.
I think whoever measured it said some people were absolutely hitting the limit on red thumbs but not even using the green thumbs at all.
Even now, I feel like I am the only one that bothers to green thumb some posts. On the funny images people use them, but elsewhere?
Reddit uses thumbs a bit differently though I think and hides posts if they are downvoted enough.
It's a forum though. There are plenty of people out there reading posts, but not actively posting. How do you change that?