So do you think I should have just ignored Zack’s comment, or fired off the first defense that came to mind (which probably would have gotten me deeper into trouble)? Or something else?
My general strategy is to say what I think, moderated slightly by the desire to avoid major negative karma (I hold back on the most offensive responses that occur to me). On average I get positive karma. If my karma started to trend downwards I’d consider revising my tone but I don’t think it is productive to worry about the occasional downvote. In fact, without the occasional downvote I would worry that I wasn’t adding anything to the conversation.
Here’s my reply, after some reflection. The reason I strive for having no comments with negative scores is so that when people see a comment from me that is confusing, controversial or just seems wrong (of course I try to prevent that if possible, but sometimes it isn’t), they’ll think “It’s not like Wei to write nonsense. Maybe I should think about this again” instead of just dismissing it. That kind of power seems worth the effort to me. (Except that it hasn’t been working well recently, hence the frustration.)
Your karma is currently 6218. If you are worrying about downvotes at that level I think perhaps you are placing undue weight on karma.
So do you think I should have just ignored Zack’s comment, or fired off the first defense that came to mind (which probably would have gotten me deeper into trouble)? Or something else?
My general strategy is to say what I think, moderated slightly by the desire to avoid major negative karma (I hold back on the most offensive responses that occur to me). On average I get positive karma. If my karma started to trend downwards I’d consider revising my tone but I don’t think it is productive to worry about the occasional downvote. In fact, without the occasional downvote I would worry that I wasn’t adding anything to the conversation.
In this case it wasn’t just a downvote, it was a downvote backed up by a reason from someone that I respect. That’s pretty hard to ignore...
I’m not sure I can give you useful advice because I don’t seem to ascribe the same meaning to karma.
Here’s my reply, after some reflection. The reason I strive for having no comments with negative scores is so that when people see a comment from me that is confusing, controversial or just seems wrong (of course I try to prevent that if possible, but sometimes it isn’t), they’ll think “It’s not like Wei to write nonsense. Maybe I should think about this again” instead of just dismissing it. That kind of power seems worth the effort to me. (Except that it hasn’t been working well recently, hence the frustration.)