I guess a problem with discussing voting is that there isn't really agreement on the purpose of it. One view could be that the purpose of upvoting is to lift i

I guess a problem with discussing voting is that there isn't really agreement on the purpose of it. One view could be that the purpose of upvoting is to lift informative posts to the top and make them quicker to find. In that case, I don't see that downvotes really add much. Poor posts just sink to the bottom from lack of upvotes. Another view could be that the purpose of voting is to show dis/agreement. My own feeling is that expressing a position without offering a supporting argument is a bad practice. Others no doubt feel differently about that.