4 ms·

The glaring issue in this article (which I couldn't bring myself to finish) is that he equates downvoting to "evil or incorrect post(s)". Which would be true i

by elhudy 6y ago

The glaring issue in this article (which I couldn't bring myself to finish) is that he equates downvoting to "evil or incorrect post(s)". Which would be true in an ideal world, but the reality becomes downvotes are equivalent to "I disagree with you". If plentiful downvoting is allowed, discourse becomes a popularity contest. Fortunately most of the experienced users here seem to understand this and reserve their downvotes for appropriate situations.

robbyking 6y ago
I moderate a reddit community with ~200k subscribers, and I really wish I could disable downvoting. Automod takes care of most posts that violate our community rules, and I usually catch the ones that slip past within an hour or so. On the opposite end of the spectrum, quality posts are almost always downvoted immediately. (I assume it's by self-promoters hoping that it will cause their content to rise in the rankings.) Hiding posts scores has helped with bandwagoning, but I wish the two options were "upvote" and "report to mods."
- FpUser 6y ago
  >"...upvote and report to mods." This to me seems like the best approach.
- mjevans 6y ago
  Further: A) It would be nice if the mods had a way to flag the post to make it require additional work to see on most / default clients. B) If multiple mods sign off on a given post being a poor match for constructive discourse that is when most clients wouldn't even display the existence without a special viewing mode or preference. (This assumes an append / write-only forum.) C) For all USERS, it would be nice if a special type of reply allowed for a post to be a "contrasting viewpoint", which might get displayed at the same node-level as the post being replied to, as part of a package of tightly related views on a topic.
notafraudster 6y ago
I tend to downvote at the nexus of stuff I disagree with + expressed in an unproductive, rude, spammy, abusive, or flip manner. It's certainly true that when a flippant post is something I agree with I'm more likely to elide on by it. I assume most people do the same thing.
noxToken 6y ago
Downvoting can also have a snowball effect. If someone disagrees with you, especially in a contested topic where it's opinion or unclear who is correct, downvotes signal other people to also downvote. You can see the effect on Reddit. Comments that hit -1 can still recover. Comments rarely recover after -3 or so. The only counter is for the commenter to edit and call out readers for frivolous downvoting.
- bena 6y ago
  I have a comment on reddit that was both downvoted to nearly -100 and was given gold. I was given the award because the actual information I gave was correct. Which someone mentioned in a reply. It was downvoted because no one liked the answer.
  - DoreenMichele 6y ago
    Well, you have my respect. Standing on a thing you know to be correct that gets that much open dislike is not an easy thing to do. Most people likely would have deleted the correct but hated answer long before it accumulated that many downvotes.
    - bena 6y ago
      The only posts I delete are when the site goes weird and it double or triple posts. I never delete posts simply because they are unpopular. In my personal view, that's a coward's move. It tells me that the user doesn't really have any actual conviction, doesn't really believe in what they're saying. If being popular is more important to that person than being correct, then I find their opinion worthless. Because apparently it can be dictated by popular opinion. And I mean actually correct, not just "winning the argument". I also dislike people who double reply or who use the edit feature to essentially pull an "and another thing". Living out the l'esprit d'escalier fantasy essentially. Also people who proclaim they won't be responding or tell others not to respond. It's a poor rhetorical tactic to silence opposition because you don't have a good response.
      - 6y ago
renewiltord 6y ago
pg once said that since upvotes are used to agree, using downvotes to disagree isn't bad. I am often downvoted even when making civil comments that people disagree with and I'm fine with it. That's how this forum operates. So be it.
- pixl97 6y ago
  I'd love to create a new voting system that looks like an orange sliced in half. The top 4 options are positives, the bottom 4 negatives. Everyone gets 2 votes per post. Two of the options are 'I agree' and the other is 'I disagree with this post'

by elhudy 6y ago

robbyking 6y ago

I moderate a reddit community with ~200k subscribers, and I really wish I could disable downvoting. Automod takes care of most posts that violate our community rules, and I usually catch the ones that slip past within an hour or so. On the opposite end of the spectrum, quality posts are almost always downvoted immediately. (I assume it's by self-promoters hoping that it will cause their content to rise in the rankings.) Hiding posts scores has helped with bandwagoning, but I wish the two options were "upvote" and "report to mods."

FpUser 6y ago
>"...upvote and report to mods." This to me seems like the best approach.
mjevans 6y ago
Further: A) It would be nice if the mods had a way to flag the post to make it require additional work to see on most / default clients. B) If multiple mods sign off on a given post being a poor match for constructive discourse that is when most clients wouldn't even display the existence without a special viewing mode or preference. (This assumes an append / write-only forum.) C) For all USERS, it would be nice if a special type of reply allowed for a post to be a "contrasting viewpoint", which might get displayed at the same node-level as the post being replied to, as part of a package of tightly related views on a topic.

notafraudster 6y ago

I tend to downvote at the nexus of stuff I disagree with + expressed in an unproductive, rude, spammy, abusive, or flip manner. It's certainly true that when a flippant post is something I agree with I'm more likely to elide on by it. I assume most people do the same thing.

noxToken 6y ago

Downvoting can also have a snowball effect. If someone disagrees with you, especially in a contested topic where it's opinion or unclear who is correct, downvotes signal other people to also downvote. You can see the effect on Reddit. Comments that hit -1 can still recover. Comments rarely recover after -3 or so. The only counter is for the commenter to edit and call out readers for frivolous downvoting.

bena 6y ago
I have a comment on reddit that was both downvoted to nearly -100 and was given gold. I was given the award because the actual information I gave was correct. Which someone mentioned in a reply. It was downvoted because no one liked the answer.
- DoreenMichele 6y ago
  Well, you have my respect. Standing on a thing you know to be correct that gets that much open dislike is not an easy thing to do. Most people likely would have deleted the correct but hated answer long before it accumulated that many downvotes.
  - bena 6y ago
    The only posts I delete are when the site goes weird and it double or triple posts. I never delete posts simply because they are unpopular. In my personal view, that's a coward's move. It tells me that the user doesn't really have any actual conviction, doesn't really believe in what they're saying. If being popular is more important to that person than being correct, then I find their opinion worthless. Because apparently it can be dictated by popular opinion. And I mean actually correct, not just "winning the argument". I also dislike people who double reply or who use the edit feature to essentially pull an "and another thing". Living out the l'esprit d'escalier fantasy essentially. Also people who proclaim they won't be responding or tell others not to respond. It's a poor rhetorical tactic to silence opposition because you don't have a good response.
    - 6y ago

renewiltord 6y ago

pg once said that since upvotes are used to agree, using downvotes to disagree isn't bad. I am often downvoted even when making civil comments that people disagree with and I'm fine with it. That's how this forum operates. So be it.

pixl97 6y ago
I'd love to create a new voting system that looks like an orange sliced in half. The top 4 options are positives, the bottom 4 negatives. Everyone gets 2 votes per post. Two of the options are 'I agree' and the other is 'I disagree with this post'