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You can't downvote a whole thread, only comments. Threads can only be flagged or upvoted and the thread is not flagged. If there isn't enough interest it fades
by daveguy 4y ago
You can't downvote a whole thread, only comments. Threads can only be flagged or upvoted and the thread is not flagged. If there isn't enough interest it fades to the second page after a while. That's what happened here.
- gtirloni 4y agoThanks for the clarification. Does it penalize a submission when someone flags it (but it doesn't reach whatever threshold there is to actually mark it as flagged)? I'm assuming there's a threshold.
- daveguy 3y agoThat's a good question and it looks like a flag is considered in ranking before it goes defunct. From the faq [0]: How are stories ranked? ...upvotes [positive]...time [negative]... Other factors affecting rank include user flags, anti-abuse software, software which demotes overheated discussions, account or site weighting, and moderator action. So for all intents and purposes it looks like a flag acts in some way as a downvote. I was just confused by the term "downvote". They don't have the same effect as an upvote (maybe more effect?) but they do drop a story in the rankings even though they may not be removed. Those last three factors look like it can be rather arbitrary. But in general I prefer the quality of articles and discussions here to other sites.