Downvoter here. Is there a custom of always explaining downvotes? Should there be one?
No! I don’t have enough time to write comments for all the times I downvote. And I’d rather not read pages and pages of “downvoted because something you said in a different thread offended me” every week or two.
Just click and go. If you wish to also verbalize disapproval then by all means put word to the specific nature of your contempt, ire or disinterest.
downvoted because something you said in a different thread offended me.
I’m somewhat upset and disappointed that adults would do this. It seems like a very kindergartener thing. Would you go around upvoting all of a user’s comments because you liked one? I wouldn’t, and I have a tendency to upvote more than I downvote. Why downvote a perfectly good, reasonable comment just because another comment by the same user wasn’t as appealing to you?
Why downvote a perfectly good, reasonable comment just because another comment by the same user wasn’t as appealing to you?
I don’t think that wedrifid was saying that he does this. (I’m not sure that you were reading him that way.) I think that he just expects that, if explaining downvotes were the norm, then he would read a comment every week or so saying, “downvoted because something you said in a different thread offended me”.
I didn’t interpret the comment as meaning that wedrifid would downvote on this policy, or that he advocated. It’s probably true that there are people who do. That just makes me sad.
I think that he just expects that, if explaining downvotes were the norm, then he would read a comment every week or so saying, “downvoted because something you said in a different thread offended me”.
Yes, although not so much ‘a comment every week or so’ as ‘a page or two every week or so’.
then by all means put word to the specific nature of your contempt, ire or disinterest.
I do very much hope LWers can occasionally disagree with an idea, and downvote it, without feeling contempt or ire. If not, we need to have a higher proportion of social skill and emotional intelligence posts.
I do very much hope LWers can occasionally disagree with an idea, and downvote it, without feeling contempt or ire.
It’s a good thing I included even mere disinterest in the list of options. You could add ‘disagreement’ too—although some people object to downvoting just because you disagree.
No! I don’t have enough time to write comments for all the times I downvote. And I’d rather not read pages and pages of “downvoted because something you said in a different thread offended me” every week or two.
Just click and go. If you wish to also verbalize disapproval then by all means put word to the specific nature of your contempt, ire or disinterest.
I’m somewhat upset and disappointed that adults would do this. It seems like a very kindergartener thing. Would you go around upvoting all of a user’s comments because you liked one? I wouldn’t, and I have a tendency to upvote more than I downvote. Why downvote a perfectly good, reasonable comment just because another comment by the same user wasn’t as appealing to you?
I don’t think that wedrifid was saying that he does this. (I’m not sure that you were reading him that way.) I think that he just expects that, if explaining downvotes were the norm, then he would read a comment every week or so saying, “downvoted because something you said in a different thread offended me”.
I didn’t interpret the comment as meaning that wedrifid would downvote on this policy, or that he advocated. It’s probably true that there are people who do. That just makes me sad.
Yes, although not so much ‘a comment every week or so’ as ‘a page or two every week or so’.
I do very much hope LWers can occasionally disagree with an idea, and downvote it, without feeling contempt or ire. If not, we need to have a higher proportion of social skill and emotional intelligence posts.
It’s a good thing I included even mere disinterest in the list of options. You could add ‘disagreement’ too—although some people object to downvoting just because you disagree.