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The biggest problem with Reddit right now is that not enough people downvote weak content IMO the biggest problem with Reddit is that too many people downvote
by Anechoic 15y ago
The biggest problem with Reddit right now is that not enough people downvote weak content
IMO the biggest problem with Reddit is that too many people downvote well-supported arguments because it goes against their belief system which really stymies the conversation. I'd like to see downvotes haves some 'cost' associated with them so they are used sparingly and on content that really deserves to be downvoted.
- mkr-hn 15y agoThe problem with this is that even the best communities have types of arguments that get plenty of upvotes. That would make it easy for someone who knows how to win upvotes to get all the downvote points they need, while making it hard on people who play fairly.
- Anechoic 15y agoIt doesn't have to be "downvote points", perhaps it's a limit on downvotes per day, perhaps it's a hit on karma (every downvote means a costs x number of karma points, and below a certain karma you can no longer downvote), etc. There's always going to be a way for determined users to get around the limits, but if it can reduce the number of reflexive downvotes from most users it could still be a net win.
- adharmad 15y agoOne tweak to this can be to segregate karma points by category (or sub-reddit). That way, any downvote points that you need will need to be "earned" in the same topic.
- saryant 15y agoThis was essentially Slashdot's approach to voting. Make mod points a sparse currency, forcing users to be far more cautious in their use of them. I don't agree with their policy that those who vote in a thread may not comment in that thread but I think a lot can still be learned from Slashdot's model.