==  Regular User Likes a Story

=== Actor: **Regular User**

A regular user likes a published story on the platform, and the writer receives a notification about it.

**1.** The regular user browses the platform and opens a published story.

**2.** The system displays the story details along with the current like count.
{{{#!sql
SELECT s.story_id, s.short_description, COUNT(l.user_id) AS total_likes
FROM STORY s
LEFT JOIN LIKES l ON s.story_id = l.story_id
WHERE s.story_id = 1
GROUP BY s.story_id;
}}}

**3.** The user clicks the "Like" button on the story.

**4.** The system checks if the user has already liked the story to prevent duplicates.
{{{#!sql
SELECT * FROM LIKES
WHERE user_id = 4 AND story_id = 1;
}}}

**5.** The system inserts a new like record.
{{{#!sql
INSERT INTO LIKES (user_id, story_id, liked_at)
VALUES (4, 1, CURRENT_TIMESTAMP);
}}}

**6.** The system creates a notification for the writer.
{{{#!sql
INSERT INTO NOTIFICATION (notification_content, content_type, is_read, user_id, story_id, notification_created_at)
VALUES ('Sara liked your story "The Chronicles of Eldoria"', 'like', FALSE, 2, 1, CURRENT_TIMESTAMP);
}}}

**7.** The system updates the like count displayed on the story page.