IMHO i think that likes prove nothing except for the fact that it shows that person has a random posts that other people liked, it doesnt prove knowledge on deals, CC's, etc...
HT's usually prove knowledge on deals and stars and posts usually prove experince on DDF and therefore more trusted on a variety of questions that pertain to for example CC's etc...
the only thing that would work is if a specific thread(not individiual) has likes or thumbs up and down, to prove the importance of the thread or how good of a deal it is.