Should people downvote just because they disagree? I’m not saying they shouldn’t, just that it’d be good to have a discussion of this. :) I’ve just started one in the latest open thread. I’ve heard people argue that they shouldn’t, and the text that appears when you other over the upvote/downvote icons suggests as much.
It’s a pretty universal standard on websites with comment voting that you shouldn’t downvote to indicate disagreement. People still do it anyway though.
Yup, people do it anyway, I just hoped EAs would be better about it. We’re all in this together, after all—we share the same goal, even if disagreeing somewhat about the methods.
You misunderstand me. I don’t think the person is down voting because they disagree, but the fact they are down voting without commenting is an indication they disagree that a down vote requires a comment.
That’s not ironic.
Maybe it would be useful to have a rule that you can only downvote after you post a comment?
I like that idea! Then people can choose to avoid revealing that they downvoted, but would have to post comments at least.
Again, ironic that someone downvoted your comment—I upvoted it when I posted this.
Not really ironic—just clearly someone who disagrees.
Should people downvote just because they disagree? I’m not saying they shouldn’t, just that it’d be good to have a discussion of this. :) I’ve just started one in the latest open thread. I’ve heard people argue that they shouldn’t, and the text that appears when you other over the upvote/downvote icons suggests as much.
Thanks for starting the discussion, Tom!
It’s a pretty universal standard on websites with comment voting that you shouldn’t downvote to indicate disagreement. People still do it anyway though.
Yup, people do it anyway, I just hoped EAs would be better about it. We’re all in this together, after all—we share the same goal, even if disagreeing somewhat about the methods.
Why is that an universal agreement?
Common reasons I hear:
Downvoting for disagreement creates an insular environment where people only see popular opinions.
We should vote based on quality, not agreement, so that the top comments are high quality even if a lot of people disagree with them.
You misunderstand me. I don’t think the person is down voting because they disagree, but the fact they are down voting without commenting is an indication they disagree that a down vote requires a comment. That’s not ironic.
Ah ok, gotcha. Sorry for misunderstanding.