I think the reason the up and down votes aren't shown publicly is so people don't focus on the votes so much. It shouldn't be a game. I can see how it might be

I think the reason the up and down votes aren't shown publicly is so people don't focus on the votes so much. It shouldn't be a game. I can see how it might be useful. I've thought about the utility of making flagging (for uncivil, unsubstantive comments) the only way to dim comments. I think people want to be able to express agreement and disagreement separate from whether they think the comment is worthwhile or not, though admittedly the disagreement part is harder to distinguish honestly. In that case seeing the vote count would be useful. I don't know. It's hard to predict how community behavior would change as a result, and whether it would be for the better.