GitHub implements much-requested +1 button

GitHub has made a first noticeable change to one of its most sought-after features: adding a +1 button. In addition to the possibility to give a comment a +1 with a ‘thumbs up’, other reaction options have also been added.

The other reactions converted into icons are a thumbs down or -1, a ‘smile’, ‘thinking face’, ‘heart’ and ‘tada’. The functionality works for pull requests, issues and comments. With that, GitHub is somewhat responding to the complaints that hundreds of developers expressed in an open letter to GitHub in January. They believed that GitHub is ignoring them and not heeding suggestions for improvements from the community.

GitHub has now responded to this with the new Reactions. According to the GitHub developers, the icons that can be used are relevant to conversations that people have via the platform. Using emojis, which was already possible, would only add noise to discussions.