Fair question. - Hiding comment scores prevents bias. I get a chance to fairly read at your contribution as it is without ever being biased by the opinions of

Fair question. - Hiding comment scores prevents bias. I get a chance to fairly read at your contribution as it is without ever being biased by the opinions of others. If you you're curious about cognitive biases, there's a good list on wikipedia and you'll see a number of them apply (Herd Effect, Focusing Effect, ...). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases - Hiding comment scores prevents turning a discussion into a game of winners and losers. Forcing a discussion into being a measured win/lose debate encourages competition, animosity and opposition. I am perfectly content listening to opinions different than my own, and I encourage people to voice them. I actually want to know what they think and why they think as they do. I may or may not ever change my own mind, but learning and knowing differing views gives one more perspective. If the discussion was escalated into an adversarial competition, I might not ever get the chance to hear your side. - There is really no universal definition of up or down votes. To the person making the vote, it could be a measure of agreement, usefulness, appreciation, insight, merit, or many other things. If you don't know what was intended by the voter, letting their views taint your own is entirely foolish. I care far more about being fair to you, than I care about what other people MIGHT think of you or your opinions.