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Please stop downvoting arguments you disagree with. There are a few bad posts, simply calling someone an idiot, etc. Good: downvote. But a lot are being downv

Please stop downvoting arguments you disagree with. There are a few bad posts, simply calling someone an idiot, etc. Good: downvote. But a lot are being downvoted because they express arguments that are disagreed with.

Funes- 7y ago
>But a lot are being downvoted because they express arguments that are disagreed with. In my experience, that's always going to happen with voting mechanisms on comment sections. I tend to have disagreeable or extreme views on most subjects, and while I try to be considerate and not show any rudeness in my comments, I still get a lot of downvotes from time to time.
- kjakm 7y ago
  I know this opinion gets thrown around a lot but after coming back to HN after a few years away the discussions have changed a lot. I feel in the past the downvote mechanism was used less frequently and debates were possible without them. It's still far better than a lot of discussion boards and like all communities growth creates change but as a heavy user in the past (I think I hit the top 100 users at one point) it's definitely much more 'reddity' now depending on the subject.
  - Funes- 7y ago
    I honestly don't know why there's a downvote function to begin with. I cannot downvote (yet?), but I wouldn't use it if I could. In the case that I disagree with someone and I happen to be knowledgeable on the subject at hand, I'll write them a reply if I have the time to do it. What downvoting does, instead, is fostering polarization and bias, on top of silencing controversial comments that could very well be absolutely sensible and truthful.
    - simias 7y ago
      I sort of agree, there's already a semi-hidden "flag" feature for guideline-breaking content. Still, the mindset of "I downvote good comments I disagree with" also generally leads to "I upvote bad comments I agree with" and that's not much better.
    - ISL 7y ago
      I think the reason for the two mechanisms for signaling is to differentiate between "this person is being a jerk/is misinformed", and "Nuke this comment from orbit with extreme prejudice". That way, the flag function's significance for spam/malevolence/badness doesn't get diluted by people who would be content to downvote.
    - KerrickStaley 7y ago
      I downvote things that seem poorly thought out, poorly argued, incendiary, or in general seem to be adding noise to the conversation without adding anything meaningful. It seems like there has been a rise in this sort of low-effort posting in the past few years, and I think downvoting is helpful to combat it. When I downvote something, I usually write a comment explaining why I think it's not useful, although I don't always have time to do so.
  - simias 7y ago
    Eternal September will happen sooner or later. The current pandemic is probably speeding the process up given how many generic news article about the coronavirus are making it up the frontpage at the moment. I feel like the admins and moderators do a decent job generally but they're not proactive enough IMO. I remember how we had a temporary moratorium on political stories around the time Trump was elected for instance (or was it just before? I don't remember exactly). The karma threshold for enabling downvotes should probably be increased given the "karma inflation" over the past few years. Users caught disagree-downvoting should lose their downvote privileges, at least temporarily. Of course the natural process of any such forum is to eventually turn into Reddit but we don't have to sit idly by and watch it happen.
  - tekkk 7y ago
    It's not just you. At times it feels people downvote out of spite, to reciprocate how they feel they've been treated. It's annoying since instead of having a discussion or even replies that would make you see "aha, I might have been wrong", you just get a series of downvotes. Of course it's not like that always. But I do see a lot more reasonable comments that aren't inherently inane/flame-wary get downvotes for no apparent reason. Perhaps there should be a mechanism in place to reduce its use eg having to pay downvotes with your own karma.
- Retric 7y ago
  It’s useful to have a thick skin. As a longtime forum user I generally assume many people are simply trolling. If I see a controversial and poorly supported argument I will sometimes downvote for this reason even if I agree with what their saying. I will also upvote an usually well supported arguments I disagree with. However, I admit my personal bias makes me harsher on people I disagree with.

Funes- 7y ago

>But a lot are being downvoted because they express arguments that are disagreed with. In my experience, that's always going to happen with voting mechanisms on comment sections. I tend to have disagreeable or extreme views on most subjects, and while I try to be considerate and not show any rudeness in my comments, I still get a lot of downvotes from time to time.

kjakm 7y ago
I know this opinion gets thrown around a lot but after coming back to HN after a few years away the discussions have changed a lot. I feel in the past the downvote mechanism was used less frequently and debates were possible without them. It's still far better than a lot of discussion boards and like all communities growth creates change but as a heavy user in the past (I think I hit the top 100 users at one point) it's definitely much more 'reddity' now depending on the subject.
- Funes- 7y ago
  I honestly don't know why there's a downvote function to begin with. I cannot downvote (yet?), but I wouldn't use it if I could. In the case that I disagree with someone and I happen to be knowledgeable on the subject at hand, I'll write them a reply if I have the time to do it. What downvoting does, instead, is fostering polarization and bias, on top of silencing controversial comments that could very well be absolutely sensible and truthful.
  - simias 7y ago
    I sort of agree, there's already a semi-hidden "flag" feature for guideline-breaking content. Still, the mindset of "I downvote good comments I disagree with" also generally leads to "I upvote bad comments I agree with" and that's not much better.
  - ISL 7y ago
    I think the reason for the two mechanisms for signaling is to differentiate between "this person is being a jerk/is misinformed", and "Nuke this comment from orbit with extreme prejudice". That way, the flag function's significance for spam/malevolence/badness doesn't get diluted by people who would be content to downvote.
  - KerrickStaley 7y ago
    I downvote things that seem poorly thought out, poorly argued, incendiary, or in general seem to be adding noise to the conversation without adding anything meaningful. It seems like there has been a rise in this sort of low-effort posting in the past few years, and I think downvoting is helpful to combat it. When I downvote something, I usually write a comment explaining why I think it's not useful, although I don't always have time to do so.
- simias 7y ago
  Eternal September will happen sooner or later. The current pandemic is probably speeding the process up given how many generic news article about the coronavirus are making it up the frontpage at the moment. I feel like the admins and moderators do a decent job generally but they're not proactive enough IMO. I remember how we had a temporary moratorium on political stories around the time Trump was elected for instance (or was it just before? I don't remember exactly). The karma threshold for enabling downvotes should probably be increased given the "karma inflation" over the past few years. Users caught disagree-downvoting should lose their downvote privileges, at least temporarily. Of course the natural process of any such forum is to eventually turn into Reddit but we don't have to sit idly by and watch it happen.
- tekkk 7y ago
  It's not just you. At times it feels people downvote out of spite, to reciprocate how they feel they've been treated. It's annoying since instead of having a discussion or even replies that would make you see "aha, I might have been wrong", you just get a series of downvotes. Of course it's not like that always. But I do see a lot more reasonable comments that aren't inherently inane/flame-wary get downvotes for no apparent reason. Perhaps there should be a mechanism in place to reduce its use eg having to pay downvotes with your own karma.
Retric 7y ago
It’s useful to have a thick skin. As a longtime forum user I generally assume many people are simply trolling. If I see a controversial and poorly supported argument I will sometimes downvote for this reason even if I agree with what their saying. I will also upvote an usually well supported arguments I disagree with. However, I admit my personal bias makes me harsher on people I disagree with.