I was the one who mentioned the emoji system but I am actually against them myself
I think that your intent is noble and understandable, however a 1-bit system would not prevent people from "thanking" offensive posts.
I think that posting "thanks" maybe is the best thing. Not all people are polite/empathetic enough to thank devs for their hard work on free software but I think that just one people thanking you as a free software developer can change your day, perhaps your life!