3 ms·

How can explaining why you downvoted, when nobody else has, add more noise than signal, unless your opinion is not worth sharing in the first place? And if your

by adgar 15y ago

How can explaining why you downvoted, when nobody else has, add more noise than signal, unless your opinion is not worth sharing in the first place? And if your opinion is not worth sharing, why is it worth a downvote? Let's be honest - we downvote here because we disagree, just like very other site.

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
gruseom 15y ago
That's a good enough question that you've provoked me into figuring out what I think about this. Adding words takes up space. A downvote doesn't. Therefore a downvote is more lightweight, therefore there are times when it's more appropriate than a comment. It's an in-between gesture, partway between silence and verbalization. I like that subtlety. It's an especially good way to express disagreement with something one feels is not only wrong but also somehow debasing. A comment doesn't have to be rude to be debasing, it can just be mediocre or somehow crass, nor is one always able to say exactly how. Those are cases where fostering more discussion is unlikely to do good and it's better to hold one's tongue. But downvoting still gives a signal to the original commenter as well as to other readers that someone's not ok with what was said. I think that's meaningful, and also that it's fairly rare to see people abusing that signal. It does happen, but more often when someone thinks they don't deserve it, it's kind of obvious to others that really they do. So when it happens, the best way to respond is with a touch of self-honesty. Maybe you'll come out roses but just maybe you'll notice something worth correcting. One other thing about downvoting. I think what makes it controversial, and also interesting, is that it's an emotional expression. (Upvotes are too, but downvotes are stronger.) That explains why people get upset about it, have strong opinions and so on. But it also explains why it's a good thing to have around. There are very few emotional channels available to us that don't require proximity. It also explains why it's wrong to say that downvotes are inferior and should be replaced by comments. Imagine if people were forced to put every emotional gesture into words. It would be impossibly ponderous. And we'd end up talking about nothing else.
yxhuvud 15y ago
The basic problem is that the OP motivated his decision to do what he did, while you just said that he were wrong without motivating why that second matters so much for him. OP found a solution that worked for him, and then shared that solution to give other people with a similar problem the option to use the same solution. That is a good thing even if it doesn't apply everywhere. People are not sheep that copy things without reflecting on how it applies to them before implementing. (Well - perhaps some are, but there are plenty of even more stupid stuff out there for them to copy, so this solution to OP's problem will hardly make this problem worse) I didn't downvote you cause I don't have the downvote arrow, but I probably would have done so if I had had the ability to do so.

by adgar 15y ago

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

gruseom 15y ago

That's a good enough question that you've provoked me into figuring out what I think about this. Adding words takes up space. A downvote doesn't. Therefore a downvote is more lightweight, therefore there are times when it's more appropriate than a comment. It's an in-between gesture, partway between silence and verbalization. I like that subtlety. It's an especially good way to express disagreement with something one feels is not only wrong but also somehow debasing. A comment doesn't have to be rude to be debasing, it can just be mediocre or somehow crass, nor is one always able to say exactly how. Those are cases where fostering more discussion is unlikely to do good and it's better to hold one's tongue. But downvoting still gives a signal to the original commenter as well as to other readers that someone's not ok with what was said. I think that's meaningful, and also that it's fairly rare to see people abusing that signal. It does happen, but more often when someone thinks they don't deserve it, it's kind of obvious to others that really they do. So when it happens, the best way to respond is with a touch of self-honesty. Maybe you'll come out roses but just maybe you'll notice something worth correcting. One other thing about downvoting. I think what makes it controversial, and also interesting, is that it's an emotional expression. (Upvotes are too, but downvotes are stronger.) That explains why people get upset about it, have strong opinions and so on. But it also explains why it's a good thing to have around. There are very few emotional channels available to us that don't require proximity. It also explains why it's wrong to say that downvotes are inferior and should be replaced by comments. Imagine if people were forced to put every emotional gesture into words. It would be impossibly ponderous. And we'd end up talking about nothing else.

yxhuvud 15y ago

The basic problem is that the OP motivated his decision to do what he did, while you just said that he were wrong without motivating why that second matters so much for him. OP found a solution that worked for him, and then shared that solution to give other people with a similar problem the option to use the same solution. That is a good thing even if it doesn't apply everywhere. People are not sheep that copy things without reflecting on how it applies to them before implementing. (Well - perhaps some are, but there are plenty of even more stupid stuff out there for them to copy, so this solution to OP's problem will hardly make this problem worse) I didn't downvote you cause I don't have the downvote arrow, but I probably would have done so if I had had the ability to do so.