I was all set to write a post about my reaction buttons. You might recall I recently gave them a full makeover—not just a new plugin and visual style, but also a refreshed set of five text-based labels to better reflect the range of reader responses. And it worked well: the current version—the five text reactions 1—received votes almost immediately after their introduction. So, everything seemed in order… until I finalized their appearance with some CSS refinements. That’s when the silence began.
Since then, not a single vote. That puzzled me. I mean, I tested the buttons—they work! Could the new background color be off-putting? Unlikely. It’s meant to help frame the reaction buttons, subtly guiding the reader’s eye. Another possibility is legibility: although the buttons use vector graphics to scale cleanly on all devices, the text itself might appear too small—especially on mobile. I find it readable, but the font size isn’t exactly generous. Along those lines, maybe the issue lies with the tooltips 2. Or rather, their absence. Possibly. While the buttons are still readable (even on small screens, I’d argue), removing the hover text might’ve hurt usability more than I expected. Perhaps the tooltip had been doing more heavy lifting than I realized.
So there I was, about to write a quick post asking for your feedback—just a simple “Hey, are these buttons giving anyone trouble?” I was prepping this post when—it happened. A vote!
My momentary joy, though, evaporated fast. The reaction? “Useless.” That one stung.
Now, let me be clear: I didn’t include “Useless” as a reaction by accident. I know not every post I write is groundbreaking. Some are light on substance, others more filler than feature. So yes, that label has a valid place in the reaction set—and I welcome honest feedback. But this particular vote? It landed on a post that, frankly, doesn’t deserve it.
The article in question was a comprehensive guide on migrating from Skiff to Zoho Mail. It walked through the entire process: exporting your data from Skiff (complete with a practical tip), setting up a Zoho account, and even using a clever trick to import your emails rather than rely on Zoho’s migration tool. It was detailed. It was “Informative.” Or “Interesting,” at the very least. Maybe even a “You made my day!” kind of post.
Was it long? Sure. It wasn’t a quick tutorial—it was a story, a walkthrough, a real-world account. Had the vote been “Not worth it,” I would’ve nodded and taken the hint—length can be a barrier. But “Useless”? Really?
So if you, the person who clicked that, is reading this, I genuinely want to understand your reaction. I’m always open to constructive criticism, and I’d love to know what missed the mark for you. You can leave a comment below—feel free to indicate if you’d prefer it to remain private.
And to all my readers: if the reaction buttons are unclear, or if something about them isn’t working for you, please don’t hesitate to let me know.
Thanks.
CogitActive
1 They’re actually images—vector graphics, in fact—so they scale nicely. ^
2 I removed the tooltip feature only because it felt redundant. When the buttons were emoji-based, tooltips made sense to clarify meaning. But now that each button clearly says things like “Informative” or “Interesting,” a tooltip would just echo the label. That seemed unnecessary—and honestly, unesthetic. ^