That’s a good point. Engagement is indicative of a more serious investment in a story or post then the more simple recommends and what not.

Ha, I recall your post on swearing. Yes, I did disagree/agree with it on various accounts, when I got to the end of it, the disagree won out! Honestly though, it was thought provoking enough that I should have recommended it.

That’s the bizarre thing about that button, does it indicate an explicit agreement with the post? Is it as simple as a polite gesture when one is engaging in a back and forth conversation such as we are here? Is it an explicit indication of disagreement if it isn’t given in such a conversation? Or does that person just reserve them only for true stories? There are so many sub reasons for people recommending a post or comment that analyzing them is a bit maddening.

The swearing aspect is fascinating. From a standpoint of writing comedy pieces, only one of mine has any curse words in it and they are used as exclamations of surprise. That is, they are used for a specific purpose, not as filler. I can’t stand it when a curse word is the punch line, because that shows a lack of imagination or ability to write actual comedy. If the joke isn’t funny if the curse word is replaced with a non-vulgar exclamation then it isn’t a funny joke.

This short comedy of mine uses strategic curse words, about 5 of them:

And this one doesn’t use any:

To be honest, the latter seems to be enjoyed by more people then the former.