> The majority of the down votes I have seen are for disagreement, and not for the quality of the post. It often looks like there is no other explanation than

> The majority of the down votes I have seen are for disagreement, and not for the quality of the post. It often looks like there is no other explanation than mere dislike or disagreement, which is unfair and calls for improvement. My policy: never downvote any post, and on the contrary, upvote posts that are contrary to my views but have merit and thus are worthy of consideration. I wish there were better ways to highlight thought-provoking posts, yet moderation is essential. A popular voting system is better than nothing. Let's compare this with the ability to block people on Twitter just because they disagree with you. That's stupid and not conducive to having a discussion—but then again, this wasn't the point of Twitter in the first place. At the same time, this is also a blessing for people who want to avoid negativity. In the long run, ignoring problems doesn't make them disappear. Suppressing exposure to bad ideas also comes at the cost of blocking the unpopular good ones.