Which - to me - is a good thing.
Do not know what downvotes are.
// image title: a lemmy post which shows a multiple of comments in regards to its upvotes/downvotes
Yeah, it’s the strange thing about engaging post titles - people seem to be so busy answering them, they ‘forget’ to also upvote them. In contrast, a meme that’s funny but about which there’s not much to say, is more likely to get an upvote as some kind of compensation for the lack of discussion.
If a post is interesting enough to write a comment, it also deserves an upvote.
you must upvote this post in order to comment
Its a silly system that only worked on reddit for a short while. If you are old enough you’d know that already from slaahdot karma development/history
/. 's moderation is the closest any moderation will get to ‘adequate at best’, but vastly imperfect.
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My expectation is that a post’s score is upvotes minus downvotes, but I think it should be more like upvotes plus comments with downvotes excluded (or maybe let users filter based on upvote/downvote ratio or something). Maybe count commenters instead of comments.
Downvotes without any response: This is unpopular with this community, but probably correct.
Downvotes with responses: This was either contentious or wrong.
1 upvote, 0 downvotes, 10+ responses: You posted something really dumb, and Hexbear found out.
You posted something
really dumbcriticizing china, and Hexbear found out.You posted something really dumb criticizing china.
I turned off vote display and rarely miss seeing the votes. See also Facebook Demetricator.
Sounds like an interesting experiment. Know if I can do this using Boost?
IDK what Boost is here, but Voyager and the standard web UI can both turn off the vote display.
Semi-tangential. Every time I get downvoted, I move an inch closer to the exit door of this community.
I’m talking about comments rather than posts, of course. And it should go without saying that the comments in question do not contain factual errors or even rudeness. Just pure opinion, expressed civilly.
Downvoting is, almost always, poisonous behavior in an online community. It is just as poisonous as saying “Shut up” to someone in a real-life social situation.
IMO the corporate social networks get this fact better than the literalist geeky types and other well-meaning idealists to be found in this forum.
Every time I get downvoted, I move an inch closer to the exit door of this community.
Lol OK bye.
Nobody gives a shit and complaining about down votes is the quickest way to get them.
Guess what! Outside of a few custom instances that for some reason want to be reddit, the fediverse doesn’t track your total karma.
Unless you’re going back to keep track of your comments for some weird reason, the only time you see a down voted comment is when you get replies.
I could have hundreds of net down votes by now, but I don’t know because luckily my instance doesn’t track votes.
The point is, it’s a little number next to an arrow. Who gives a shit.
Yeah I know that I’m courting downvotes here but that doesn’t disprove my argument.
My argument is that downvoting opinions expressed in a thoughtful way is just uncivil. It degrades the atmosphere. It causes the less thick-skinned to shut up, to self-censor, to leave. The inevitable result will be less civil conversation, less participants, and - to caricature it a bit - just a bunch of guys shouting and snarking and sniping and generally “not giving a shit”.
And let’s be honest, you probably are a guy. I am too BTW.
Every time I get downvoted, I move an inch closer to the exit door of this community.
By community, do you mean just this particular Lemmy community or the community on Lemmy collectively? If the latter, there are other alternative Lemmy communities on other instances that may be better suited for you.
Just would hate to see someone leave Lemmy over toxic energy in one place. There’s a big world here in fediverse!
It is still important to be able to disagree publicly with people who’s opinions are just wrong, such as those saying something is trash because it is old, or not answering the asked question but instead answering some useless hypothetical about “safety”.
By community, do you mean just this particular Lemmy community or the community on Lemmy collectively? If the latter, there are other alternative Lemmy communities on other instances that may be better suited for you.
You mean “the former”. But this is a counter-argument that dares not speak its name. My proposition is that all online communities suffer when opinions are downvoted (which is how the downvote button is overwhelmingly used), not just this community. Just as all dinner parties suffer when someone points their finger at someone else and says, “Shut up, you’re wrong”.
I disagree. Communities suffer when noise outweighs signal.
This is to explicitly invalidate other people’s opinions. We are talking about points of view expressing civilly, not about irrelevancy.
There’s always the option to join an instance with downvoting disabled or to turn off the vote tallies yourself in your account settings.
Yeah I’m always confused by the people who are like the downvote button is for off topic discussions. Like no that’s reporting and functionally the downvote button is the “I had a negative reaction to this button” and the up vote is the “I had a positive reaction to this button”
Personally I don’t downvote anyone because it just feels petty and pointless. Some of my favorite comments have loads of downvotes and to me it just makes whatever dumb shit I said funnier
functionally the downvote button is the “I had a negative reaction to this button” and the up vote is the “I had a positive reaction to this button”
Exactly this.
Some of my favorite comments have loads of downvotes and to me it just makes whatever dumb shit I said funnier
If you’re talking about your comments, and you laugh at others who downvote them, then well done. But I submit that most humans are not so thick-skinned.
There’s also the question of visibility: downvoting a comment is not just saying “You’re wrong”, it’s making the comment less visible to others. A form of censorship, basically. I personally find it extremely annoying and unfair when it happens.
Perhaps it also has to do with how much time and thought you put into the offending comment.
Man you can’t be spending more than 30 seconds on a comment. If its taking longer to write out just delete it and move on. If you’ve really got something to say in longer than 30 seconds make a post about it
Not bad advice, admittedly
Obviously my argument is being confirmed by the response to this comment. Seriously guys - I would bet that you’re all guys - you’ll regret it when you’re left with nobody to talk to but other cynics and nihilists and mindless jokers.
I would bet that you’re all guys
Weirdly sexist take…
I gave you some from a girl to help balance things out!
But I can promise you, from many years net positive on reddit and a not disimilar result here, that you’re not reading your own tone.
Be mindful of the tone, only come off as combative against a near universally disliked topic, and know when you don’t care to curate yourself and are ready for the downvotes.
Your wording here makes you out to be combative, and people are combative in response. Read your own comments as if they’re directed AT you. And look specifically at what’s likely to make you want to argue back. You may even be surprised at what can get net positive response with the right wording.