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Do you mean deeply nested comment threads? I don't think many users would be calculating enough to resist replying to something just because their comment woul
by pg 18y ago
Do you mean deeply nested comment threads? I don't think many users would be calculating enough to resist replying to something just because their comment wouldn't get attention. After all, most people who make a comment they really believe in will sit and watch it get modded down rather than delete it.
But if there does start to be a problem, it will certainly be visible.
- jhancock 18y agoIts one of the first things I thought of, after thinking "The Rich Get Richer" as I predict there will be accelerated upvoting towards those that are orange. However, as you note, I decided "ehhh" and still replied to you right here anyway ;).
- swombat 18y agoI agree. I reply to comments because I feel the overwhelming urge illustrated by http://xkcd.com/386/ http://xkcd.com/386/ , not because I think the comment will be seen or ignored. I for one think this is a good move, though the best part of the recent change is not so much the username highlighting, but the capping of negative karma at -8. Referring to the recent thread where I was being seriously downmodded, with this cap I probably wouldn't bother defending myself (and creating all that "waste of space"), because -8 or -16 is not all that much karma. Thanks!
- pbrown 18y agoCounterpoint: I read the thread to which you refer, and while I didn't agree necessarily with some of what you said, or some of what the others said, it was insightful to me to see both sides of the argument spelled out in more detail. I think this makes the comments more compelling, and helps us to get to know the other users a little better.
- jonnytran 18y agoYes, different sides of the argument is definitely what makes a thread interesting. I think downmodding comments that people disagree with needs to be discouraged. I'm guessing people have become accustomed to doing this on other sites like Reddit, but that's not what it's for here.
- diN0bot 18y ago>"I think downmodding comments that people disagree with needs to be discouraged." i completely agree. it might explain this in the guidelines, but it needs to be written right where people evaluate. maybe the first time someone votes they get a pop-up with the vote guidelines, kind of like sudo. it pops again once every two months as a reminder. it's really hard not to see voting as opinion tallying rather than comment goodness. that's what voting is used for everywhere else.
- pbrown 18y agoOn the contrary, I would (be calculating enough). I typically won't make a comment to a thread that is over two hours old, because shelf-life on here is so short, and because I don't think many people will see it, unless it's a super-active thread. Humans (at least this one) like to hear themselves speak, and like it even more when others hear them speak. The new system actually encourages me NOT to comment on less active threads, because it's going to hurt my "average score."