> No, I'd feel the need to politely excuse myself from that person's company. I have better things to do than blather on to bobble-heads. I'm guessing that you

> No, I'd feel the need to politely excuse myself from that person's company. I have better things to do than blather on to bobble-heads. I'm guessing that you participate in remarkably few conversations then, since that just about characterizes every conversation I've ever had. > You can ask why you're downvoted. I've seen that asked and answered many times. No you can't, it's even mentioned in the guidelines. You'll also notice that requests like that are usually immediately downvoted, again without comment (or with a link to guidelines). Even requests on somebody else's behalf are treated like raw sewage. Resist complaining about being downmodded. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading. > I can only assume you've never actually had a real beating or helped tend to the injuries of someone who's actually experienced a beating. Otherwise, I can't imagine why you would use such melodramatic terms to describe the mere act of strangers not following your personal protocols if they dislike one of your comments. The melodrama does not end with me apparently ;) What I mean by that image is that beatings are usually provided with little commentary, and if commentary is provided, it's usually of the epithet variety. I'm equating the downmod not so much to the beating I suppose but to the abject lack of reasoning as to "why the beating?". Beatings are usually rather senseless and provided without much reasoning. A comment that's immediately downvoted several times without comment is certainly a comment that's being ganged up on. And I can tell you that when a gang of people has set themselves on somebody, there's usually not a whole lot of interesting conversation during the altercation.