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I feel that both upvotes and downvotes have a negative effect on conversation, but having seen way too many "me too" and "+1" replies to things on other platfor

I feel that both upvotes and downvotes have a negative effect on conversation, but having seen way too many "me too" and "+1" replies to things on other platforms, I can't really think of a good replacement.

kuroguro 6y ago
I feel like github's emotes (thumbs up etc) are good enough if you don't want a full blown upvote/downvote system.
- MaxBarraclough 6y ago
  There's also the SoylentNews approach, based on the Slashdot approach. Positive scores are capped at +5, negative scores are capped at -1 (iirc), a reason must always be selected for a positive vote (e.g. Insightful) or a negative vote (e.g. Flamebait), and you also have the option of neutral votes (+0 Agree and -0 Disagree).
- jonfw 6y ago
  I like these on slack as well, and it's particularly nice that they're almost always positive or celebratory
martin_a 6y ago
Clear rules and an active moderation can help solve this. If posters of "me too"-answers will receive negative feedback for those kind of posts, they will probably stop. Maybe an idea for YouGotBlockedBecau.se/me-too ;-)
falcolas 6y ago
Perhaps a like/dislike button pair that just adds a single EM height bar in the thread with your username and a + or -, without moving comments around otherwise. It could be collapsable, with a "overview" of likes/dislikes.
zug_zug 6y ago
Really? This is inconceivable to me. I think they are essential for sorting good comments from bad. Here's an experiment -- Try reading your next HN thread from bottom (most downvoted) to top, and see if it's an equal experience. I find that any service that doesn't do vote-ranking (e.g. newspaper forums) usually turns atrocious almost immediately.
- loceng 6y ago
  The problem is downvotes allow for people to affect the environment with very limited effort, so there's selection bias that gives you that view point that better comments are at the top. Likewise, those comments at the top arguably would already be at the top simply with the upvote mechanism - the "lower quality" comments would be at the bottom anyway, no?
lightgreen 6y ago
Reddit is interesting: its default (?) sorting is by controversial. Really bad universally unacceptable comments get buried. But comments with mixed upvotes and downvotes ("controversial") are shown higher than simply upvoted comments. This promotes interesting conversations and exposes readers to broader world views without shattering readers faith in humanity.

kuroguro 6y ago

I feel like github's emotes (thumbs up etc) are good enough if you don't want a full blown upvote/downvote system.

MaxBarraclough 6y ago
There's also the SoylentNews approach, based on the Slashdot approach. Positive scores are capped at +5, negative scores are capped at -1 (iirc), a reason must always be selected for a positive vote (e.g. Insightful) or a negative vote (e.g. Flamebait), and you also have the option of neutral votes (+0 Agree and -0 Disagree).
jonfw 6y ago
I like these on slack as well, and it's particularly nice that they're almost always positive or celebratory

martin_a 6y ago

Clear rules and an active moderation can help solve this. If posters of "me too"-answers will receive negative feedback for those kind of posts, they will probably stop. Maybe an idea for YouGotBlockedBecau.se/me-too ;-)

falcolas 6y ago

Perhaps a like/dislike button pair that just adds a single EM height bar in the thread with your username and a + or -, without moving comments around otherwise. It could be collapsable, with a "overview" of likes/dislikes.

zug_zug 6y ago

Really? This is inconceivable to me. I think they are essential for sorting good comments from bad. Here's an experiment -- Try reading your next HN thread from bottom (most downvoted) to top, and see if it's an equal experience. I find that any service that doesn't do vote-ranking (e.g. newspaper forums) usually turns atrocious almost immediately.

loceng 6y ago
The problem is downvotes allow for people to affect the environment with very limited effort, so there's selection bias that gives you that view point that better comments are at the top. Likewise, those comments at the top arguably would already be at the top simply with the upvote mechanism - the "lower quality" comments would be at the bottom anyway, no?

lightgreen 6y ago

Reddit is interesting: its default (?) sorting is by controversial. Really bad universally unacceptable comments get buried. But comments with mixed upvotes and downvotes ("controversial") are shown higher than simply upvoted comments. This promotes interesting conversations and exposes readers to broader world views without shattering readers faith in humanity.