Indeed, not only do we get more and gentler feedback in real-life, but we get more-on-point feedback than the downvote. We have cues for boredom, skepticism, an

Indeed, not only do we get more and gentler feedback in real-life, but we get more-on-point feedback than the downvote. We have cues for boredom, skepticism, annoyance, confusion. Of course then again, all of this body-language pales in comparison to a well-written response.