The 10-Second Like

I like most every comment people make on my blog. At least for 10 seconds. After I read a comment, I usually hit the “Like” button. Then a white star below the comment turns blue, and the word “Like” changes to “Liked.” For 10 seconds. And then WordPress plays a trick on me. After 10 seconds, the blue star turns white again, and the “Liked,” turns back to “Like.”
I suspect it may be a bug in WP’s programming. I noticed it a few months ago, and since then I’ve patiently tolerated it, with occasional smoke pouring out of my ears, while expecting WP to fix this bug soon. But so far they haven’t fixed it. So lately I’ve been wondering if the programmers really want our likes to go away. Maybe WP doesn’t like us to like each other.
It doesn’t happen to posts. When I like someone’s post, my “Liked” remains a “Liked,” unless I decide, “meh, on the other hand, I’m gonna dislike this featherbrained post.” No, it only happens with comments. It’s crazy and confusing. So I did some playing around with liking comments, to figure out the scope of this issue, and what I can do about it. Here’s what I discovered:
- It only happens when I’m on my own blog. It doesn’t happen when I’m on someone else’s blog and like a comment. There, the like remains “Liked.”
- After I like a comment, and the “Liked” reverts back to “Like,” I can re-like the comment, and then the “Liked” remains permanent.
- If the “Liked” reverts back to “Like,” and then I type a reply to the comment and hit “Send,” the “Like” returns to “Liked,” and remains permanent. Weird.
- If I type a reply to a comment and hit “Send,” and then like the comment, the “Liked,” will revert back to “Like,” after 10 seconds.
- If I unlike a comment, and then like it again, the “Liked” reverts back to “Like” after 10 seconds. And then I have to like it once more, to make “Liked” permanent.
I want to know if this bullshit has been happening to others, also. It’s easy not to notice, so you have to pay attention after liking someone’s comment. You have to hang around for 10 seconds, and watch what happens to your “Liked,” and I suspect a lot of bloggers are in too much of a hurry to do this. So, unbeknownst to them, their likes of comments are not going through, and not providing the positive feedback they hope their followers are receiving.
I feel annoyed, but it’s a minor annoyance. I’ve figured out a somewhat inconvenient workaround. If I have a bunch of unread comments stacked up, I go through and like each one, without reading them. Then I go back through again. By this time, all the “Liked” indicators have reverted back to “Like.” Then I read each comment. If I like a comment (which I almost always will), I hit the “Like” button again, and this time the “Liked” will remain permanent.
But it’s a pain in the ass. I dislike all this liking. I dislike liking, only to be disliking and having to like again. Come on, WP, get it together! Don’t you want us to like each other?