The posts and comments on any forum aren’t judged on their “objective merits” (because there is no such thing), but on its suitability for the forum in question. If you have been downvoted, your post deserves it by definition.
First, you’re correct that it’s irrational to post to a forum you don’t enjoy. I’ll work on decreasing my akrasia.
But it’s hard not to comment on a non sequitur like the above. (Although probably futile because one who’s really not into a persuasion effort won’t do it well.) That posts are properly evaluated by suitability to the forum does not imply that a downvoted post deserves the downvote by definition! That’s a maladaptive view of the sort I’m amazed is so seldom criticized on this forum. Your view precludes (by definition yet) criticism of the evaluators’ biases, which do not advance the forum’s purpose. You would eschew not only absolute merits but also any objective consideration of the forum’s function.
A forum devoted to rationality, to be effective and honest, must assess and address the irrationalities in its own functioning. (This isn’t always “fun.”) To define a post that should be upvoted as one that is upvoted constitutes an enormous obstacle to rational function.
First, you’re correct that it’s irrational to post to a forum you don’t enjoy. I’ll work on decreasing my akrasia.
But it’s hard not to comment on a non sequitur like the above. (Although probably futile because one who’s really not into a persuasion effort won’t do it well.) That posts are properly evaluated by suitability to the forum does not imply that a downvoted post deserves the downvote by definition! That’s a maladaptive view of the sort I’m amazed is so seldom criticized on this forum. Your view precludes (by definition yet) criticism of the evaluators’ biases, which do not advance the forum’s purpose. You would eschew not only absolute merits but also any objective consideration of the forum’s function.
A forum devoted to rationality, to be effective and honest, must assess and address the irrationalities in its own functioning. (This isn’t always “fun.”) To define a post that should be upvoted as one that is upvoted constitutes an enormous obstacle to rational function.