These forums

Well, the hands mean only one thing.

The upward hand is an expression of approval.

The only reason that the downward hand is there is to express the fact that David Lyga is both a miscreant and a scumbag. The reason why we MUST use the downward hand is because if we were to dare to express our feelings toward David Lyga with words, the moderators would be compelled to remove the scatological impress without delay. David Lyga

On a topic, the up hand means approval or means you have posted to that thread. The down hand means hide it from your feed. This doesn't mean you disapprove, only that you are not interested. If you "ignore" a user, their thread will not appear on your feed either.

Filter Noise brings the popular stuff to the top, but in no particular order... this can be confusing, especially for new users.

All Topics lists everything in chrono order... i prefer seeing the grid this way...

1. The thumb-up feature is (essentially) a vote of approval.
2. The thumb-down feature is (essentially) a vote of disapproval.
3. There is also the option of not voting and not using the thumb feature.