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Ask HN: Anyone else miss not having a downvote button?
I recently broke the karma threshold to get the downvote link on comments. I'm finding myself not only not using it, but feeling slightly burdened by even having it, in that I now read comments, I find myself thinking (if only in the back of my mind) "is this something I should downvote?"
It's a small nitpick, and I think it's cool that downvotes are delayed from new users to prevent abuse, but not having the option to downvote for so long (~1 year) has me beginning to think that doing away with all downvotes altogether isn't necessarily a bad thing. Anyone else agree?
- kstenerud 15y agoI haven't accumulated enough frequent flyer points to downvote yet. Not sure (and don't really care) how many I need, but when I do get it in a year or two, I doubt I'd downvote anything except obvious trolls.
- smokestack 15y agoI guess it could be seen as an "extra vote" for HN veterans, by separating good and bad content a little further apart. I haven't really seen it being abused. I'd really like to see downvotes removed altogether, while assigning extra weight to upvotes proportional to the voter's karma.
- leon_ 15y ago> while assigning extra weight to upvotes proportional to the voter's karma if you make power users too powerful you end up with digg.
- da5e 15y agoI've noticed that there is no downvoting allowed on comments on your own submissions. I think that's a good idea. I think downvoting is important. I'd like to see when a comment has been downvoted. I also miss the karma points being shown. More indicators like that create a richer, more Minority Report feel for reading HN.
- mike-cardwell 15y agoStick this in a GreaseMonkey script and watch the downvote buttons disappear: var a=document.getElementsByTagName('a'); for(var i in a){ if(a[i].href && a[i].href.match(/^http:\/\/news\.ycombinator\.com\/vote\?for=\d+&dir=down/)) a[i].style.display='none' }
- ctdonath 15y agoIf nothing else, we need a way to downvote posts which are objectively wrong. Nothing wrong with having an earned downvote if you in fact think somber thoughts about using it. I could perhaps support a change to earning each downvote, further encouraging contemplation ("do I really want to burn a downvote on _this_?").
- noodle 15y agothe only time i downvote anything is if i feel it is objectively wrong. if i simply disagree or am ambivalent, i don't vote at all.
- seanp2k 15y agoThis. I've been downvoted so many times for EXPLAINING why something is (stupid,silly,useless). Want to offer a counterpoint? How about REPLY instead of just downvote (which doesn't add anything to the conversation, as has been mentioned already).
- scythe 15y ago>If nothing else, we need a way to downvote posts which are objectively wrong. I don't know. Objective wrongness ranks low on my list of reasons to downvote, which is usually because a post is off-topic or intended only to insult the parent. Consequently, I rarely use the downvote option. If I think someone is wrong, I usually respond with an explanation, or wait for someone else to do the same.
- pavel_lishin 15y agoAnd you're why I'll sometimes upvote factually wrong comments - because often, the reply to it corrects the mistakes and educates someone else. If the wrong comment were pushed to the bottom, nobody might see your reply.
- HeyLaughingBoy 15y agoRather than simply downvoting something that is wrong, explain why it's wrong. That contributes to the discussion. I reserve downvoting for useless comments (e.g., "me 2") or ad-hominem or other offensive attacks.
- r00fus 15y agoI also rarely downvote. It's a pain on the iPad when the buttons are so small, I feel nervous unless I pinch-zoom the button to be really large... I have inadvertently downvoted when I meant to upvote on numerous occasions. Consequently, I simply don't rate while reading HN in bed. It would be nice to have an opt-out just like hiding dead.
- SkyMarshal 15y agoSecond that. I'd much rather have the ability to undo a vote like Reddit. I rarely misvote, but hate it when I do.
- dpcan 15y agoDon't use it. But when the opportunity presents itself, you will KNOW that it's time to use it.
- Sakes 15y agoI agree, the only time you should use it is when you are 100% sure that the comment needs a down vote. If you have to think about it, then it doesn't need to be down voted.
- code_duck 15y agoIt seems some people downvote that with which they disagree, others downvote for spelling errors. I try to reserve it for blatant abuse.
- sixtofour 15y ago"is this something I should downvote?" Just tell yourself to be very stingy with downvotes. Then only the most egregious posts will call attention to themselves. Be stingy.
- daimyoyo 15y agoIMHO downvotes are a weapon of last resort. I rarely downvote anything unless it's something I genuinely think adds nothing to the conversation on the thread(as an aside, I don't downvote dissenting opinions as long as they're presented intelligently), or is inflammatory.
- impendia 15y agoI have at times made inflammatory, sarcastic comments on topics about which I knew little, and then gotten downvoted for it. It was annoying, and it pissed me off a little at the time, but in retrospect I deserved it.
- arkitaip 15y agoI'm pretty cautious when it comes to downvoting. A comment would have to factually incorrect, FUD, abusive or utterly pointless and stupid for me to downvote it. If in doubt, I just leave the comment be to the mercy of other HN'ers. Another option is to upvote a child comment so there's more balance in the discussion.
- Swannie 15y agoI try and reserve down votes for abuse, blatant trolling, etc. Sometimes I find it hard not to down vote on objective things. Especially when the poster has completely missed the point and is getting carried away - potentially they trolling, but not doing it very well! :-)
- namank 15y agoI feel downvotes are cool as long as they don't affect a post's popularity and are only used to as a tool for teaching posters about this forum's tacit rules. After that you can (maybe) pose a filter on something that has >10 downvotes. 1-3 downvotes should not affect a post(er)'s credibility.